diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 5504aeca..acb81ccf 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 - better handling of deprecated args in python
 - much better handling of arrayimage command-line args
 - faster hist_find (Lovell Fuller)
+- webpload has a @shrink parameter for shrink-on-load
+- vipsthumbnail knows about webp shrink-on-load
 
 27/1/16 started 8.2.3
 - fix a crash with SPARC byte-order labq vips images
diff --git a/libvips/deprecated/im_webp2vips.c b/libvips/deprecated/im_webp2vips.c
index 5bccd981..44ae9053 100644
--- a/libvips/deprecated/im_webp2vips.c
+++ b/libvips/deprecated/im_webp2vips.c
@@ -51,11 +51,11 @@ webp2vips( const char *name, IMAGE *out, gboolean header_only )
 
 #ifdef HAVE_LIBWEBP
 	if( header_only ) {
-		if( vips__webp_read_file_header( filename, out ) )
+		if( vips__webp_read_file_header( filename, out, 1 ) )
 			return( -1 );
 	}
 	else {
-		if( vips__webp_read_file( filename, out ) )
+		if( vips__webp_read_file( filename, out, 1 ) )
 			return( -1 );
 	}
 #else
diff --git a/libvips/foreign/foreign.c b/libvips/foreign/foreign.c
index b51ab386..a701c9e4 100644
--- a/libvips/foreign/foreign.c
+++ b/libvips/foreign/foreign.c
@@ -2372,8 +2372,14 @@ vips_jpegsave_mime( VipsImage *in, ... )
  * @out: decompressed image
  * @...: %NULL-terminated list of optional named arguments
  *
+ * Optional arguments:
+ *
+ * @shrink: %gint, shrink by this much on load
+ *
  * Read a WebP file into a VIPS image. 
  *
+ * Use @shrink to specify a shrink-on-load factor.
+ *
  * See also: vips_image_new_from_file().
  *
  * Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error.
@@ -2398,6 +2404,10 @@ vips_webpload( const char *filename, VipsImage **out, ... )
  * @out: image to write
  * @...: %NULL-terminated list of optional named arguments
  *
+ * Optional arguments:
+ *
+ * @shrink: %gint, shrink by this much on load
+ *
  * Read a WebP-formatted memory block into a VIPS image. Exactly as
  * vips_webpload(), but read from a memory buffer. 
  *
diff --git a/libvips/foreign/webp.h b/libvips/foreign/webp.h
index 1f750ec5..83e8653b 100644
--- a/libvips/foreign/webp.h
+++ b/libvips/foreign/webp.h
@@ -40,13 +40,13 @@ extern const char *vips__webp_suffs[];
 int vips__iswebp_buffer( const void *buf, size_t len );
 int vips__iswebp( const char *filename );
 
-int vips__webp_read_file_header( const char *name, VipsImage *out ); 
-int vips__webp_read_file( const char *name, VipsImage *out ); 
+int vips__webp_read_file_header( const char *name, VipsImage *out, int shrink );
+int vips__webp_read_file( const char *name, VipsImage *out, int shrink ); 
 
 int vips__webp_read_buffer_header( const void *buf, size_t len, 
-	VipsImage *out ); 
+	VipsImage *out, int shrink ); 
 int vips__webp_read_buffer( const void *buf, size_t len, 
-	VipsImage *out ); 
+	VipsImage *out, int shrink ); 
 
 int vips__webp_write_file( VipsImage *out, const char *filename, 
 	int Q, gboolean lossless );
diff --git a/libvips/foreign/webp2vips.c b/libvips/foreign/webp2vips.c
index 722195b8..97fcba87 100644
--- a/libvips/foreign/webp2vips.c
+++ b/libvips/foreign/webp2vips.c
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
  * 	- from png2vips.c
  * 24/2/14
  * 	- oops, buffer path was broken, thanks Lovell
+ * 28/2/16
+ * 	- add @shrink
  */
 
 /*
@@ -75,6 +77,15 @@ typedef struct {
 	const void *data;
 	gint64 length;
 
+	/* Shrink-on-load factor. Use this to set scaled_width.
+	 */
+	int shrink;
+
+	/* Size we are decoding to.
+	 */
+	int width;
+	int height;
+
 	/* If we are opening a file object, the fd.
 	 */
 	int fd;
@@ -132,7 +143,7 @@ read_free( Read *read )
 }
 
 static Read *
-read_new( const char *filename, const void *data, size_t length )
+read_new( const char *filename, const void *data, size_t length, int shrink )
 {
 	Read *read;
 
@@ -142,6 +153,7 @@ read_new( const char *filename, const void *data, size_t length )
 	read->filename = g_strdup( filename );
 	read->data = data;
 	read->length = length;
+	read->shrink = shrink;
 	read->fd = 0;
 	read->idec = NULL;
 
@@ -171,7 +183,23 @@ read_new( const char *filename, const void *data, size_t length )
 		read->config.output.colorspace = MODE_RGBA;
 	else
 		read->config.output.colorspace = MODE_RGB;
-	read->config.options.use_threads = TRUE;
+
+	read->config.options.use_threads = 1;
+
+	read->width = read->config.input.width / read->shrink;
+	read->height = read->config.input.height / read->shrink;
+
+	if( read->width == 0 ||
+		read->height == 0 ) {
+		vips_error( "webp", "%s", _( "bad setting for shrink" ) ); 
+		return( NULL ); 
+	}
+
+	if( read->shrink > 1 ) { 
+		read->config.options.use_scaling = 1;
+		read->config.options.scaled_width = read->width;
+		read->config.options.scaled_height = read->height; 
+	}
 
 	return( read );
 }
@@ -180,7 +208,7 @@ static int
 read_header( Read *read, VipsImage *out )
 {
 	vips_image_init_fields( out,
-		read->config.input.width, read->config.input.height,
+		read->width, read->height,
 		read->config.input.has_alpha ? 4 : 3,
 		VIPS_FORMAT_UCHAR, VIPS_CODING_NONE,
 		VIPS_INTERPRETATION_sRGB,
@@ -192,11 +220,11 @@ read_header( Read *read, VipsImage *out )
 }
 
 int
-vips__webp_read_file_header( const char *filename, VipsImage *out ) 
+vips__webp_read_file_header( const char *filename, VipsImage *out, int shrink ) 
 {
 	Read *read;
 
-	if( !(read = read_new( filename, NULL, 0 )) ) {
+	if( !(read = read_new( filename, NULL, 0, shrink )) ) {
 		vips_error( "webp2vips",
 			_( "unable to open \"%s\"" ), filename ); 
 		return( -1 );
@@ -210,16 +238,11 @@ vips__webp_read_file_header( const char *filename, VipsImage *out )
 	return( 0 );
 }
 
-typedef uint8_t *(*webp_decoder)( const uint8_t* data, size_t data_size,
-	   uint8_t* output_buffer, size_t output_buffer_size, 
-	   int output_stride );
-
 static int
 read_image( Read *read, VipsImage *out )
 {
 	VipsImage **t = (VipsImage **) 
 		vips_object_local_array( VIPS_OBJECT( out ), 3 );
-	webp_decoder decoder;
 
 	t[0] = vips_image_new_memory();
 	if( read_header( read, t[0] ) )
@@ -227,15 +250,13 @@ read_image( Read *read, VipsImage *out )
 	if( vips_image_write_prepare( t[0] ) ) 
 		return( -1 );
 
-	if( t[0]->Bands == 3 )
-		decoder = WebPDecodeRGBInto;
-	else
-		decoder = WebPDecodeRGBAInto;
+	read->config.output.u.RGBA.rgba = VIPS_IMAGE_ADDR( t[0], 0, 0 );
+	read->config.output.u.RGBA.stride = VIPS_IMAGE_SIZEOF_LINE( t[0] );
+	read->config.output.u.RGBA.size = VIPS_IMAGE_SIZEOF_IMAGE( t[0] );
+	read->config.output.is_external_memory = 1;
 
-	if( !decoder( (uint8_t *) read->data, read->length, 
-		VIPS_IMAGE_ADDR( t[0], 0, 0 ), 
-		VIPS_IMAGE_SIZEOF_IMAGE( t[0] ),
-		VIPS_IMAGE_SIZEOF_LINE( t[0] ) ) ) { 
+	if( WebPDecode( (uint8_t *) read->data, read->length, 
+		&read->config) != VP8_STATUS_OK ) {
 		vips_error( "webp2vips", "%s", _( "unable to read pixels" ) ); 
 		return( -1 );
 	}
@@ -247,11 +268,11 @@ read_image( Read *read, VipsImage *out )
 }
 
 int
-vips__webp_read_file( const char *filename, VipsImage *out ) 
+vips__webp_read_file( const char *filename, VipsImage *out, int shrink ) 
 {
 	Read *read;
 
-	if( !(read = read_new( filename, NULL, 0 )) ) {
+	if( !(read = read_new( filename, NULL, 0, shrink )) ) {
 		vips_error( "webp2vips",
 			_( "unable to open \"%s\"" ), filename ); 
 		return( -1 );
@@ -266,11 +287,12 @@ vips__webp_read_file( const char *filename, VipsImage *out )
 }
 
 int
-vips__webp_read_buffer_header( const void *buf, size_t len, VipsImage *out ) 
+vips__webp_read_buffer_header( const void *buf, size_t len, VipsImage *out,
+	int shrink ) 
 {
 	Read *read;
 
-	if( !(read = read_new( NULL, buf, len )) ) {
+	if( !(read = read_new( NULL, buf, len, shrink )) ) {
 		vips_error( "webp2vips",
 			"%s", _( "unable to open buffer" ) ); 
 		return( -1 );
@@ -285,11 +307,12 @@ vips__webp_read_buffer_header( const void *buf, size_t len, VipsImage *out )
 }
 
 int
-vips__webp_read_buffer( const void *buf, size_t len, VipsImage *out ) 
+vips__webp_read_buffer( const void *buf, size_t len, VipsImage *out, 
+	int shrink ) 
 {
 	Read *read;
 
-	if( !(read = read_new( NULL, buf, len )) ) {
+	if( !(read = read_new( NULL, buf, len, shrink )) ) {
 		vips_error( "webp2vips",
 			"%s", _( "unable to open buffer" ) ); 
 		return( -1 );
diff --git a/libvips/foreign/webpload.c b/libvips/foreign/webpload.c
index cb7edcb8..0922c957 100644
--- a/libvips/foreign/webpload.c
+++ b/libvips/foreign/webpload.c
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
  *
  * 6/8/13
  * 	- from pngload.c
+ * 28/2/16
+ * 	- add @shrink
  */
 
 /*
@@ -52,6 +54,9 @@
 typedef struct _VipsForeignLoadWebp {
 	VipsForeignLoad parent_object;
 
+	/* Shrink by this much during load.
+	 */
+	int shrink; 
 } VipsForeignLoadWebp;
 
 typedef VipsForeignLoadClass VipsForeignLoadWebpClass;
@@ -91,11 +96,19 @@ vips_foreign_load_webp_class_init( VipsForeignLoadWebpClass *class )
 
 	load_class->get_flags = vips_foreign_load_webp_get_flags;
 
+	VIPS_ARG_INT( class, "shrink", 10, 
+		_( "Shrink" ), 
+		_( "Shrink factor on load" ),
+		VIPS_ARGUMENT_OPTIONAL_INPUT,
+		G_STRUCT_OFFSET( VipsForeignLoadWebp, shrink ),
+		1, 1024, 1 );
+
 }
 
 static void
 vips_foreign_load_webp_init( VipsForeignLoadWebp *webp )
 {
+	webp->shrink = 1;
 }
 
 typedef struct _VipsForeignLoadWebpFile {
@@ -127,9 +140,11 @@ vips_foreign_load_webp_file_is_a( const char *filename )
 static int
 vips_foreign_load_webp_file_header( VipsForeignLoad *load )
 {
+	VipsForeignLoadWebp *webp = (VipsForeignLoadWebp *) load;
 	VipsForeignLoadWebpFile *file = (VipsForeignLoadWebpFile *) load;
 
-	if( vips__webp_read_file_header( file->filename, load->out ) )
+	if( vips__webp_read_file_header( file->filename, load->out, 
+		webp->shrink ) )
 		return( -1 );
 
 	VIPS_SETSTR( load->out->filename, file->filename );
@@ -140,9 +155,10 @@ vips_foreign_load_webp_file_header( VipsForeignLoad *load )
 static int
 vips_foreign_load_webp_file_load( VipsForeignLoad *load )
 {
+	VipsForeignLoadWebp *webp = (VipsForeignLoadWebp *) load;
 	VipsForeignLoadWebpFile *file = (VipsForeignLoadWebpFile *) load;
 
-	if( vips__webp_read_file( file->filename, load->real ) )
+	if( vips__webp_read_file( file->filename, load->real, webp->shrink ) )
 		return( -1 );
 
 	return( 0 );
@@ -202,10 +218,11 @@ G_DEFINE_TYPE( VipsForeignLoadWebpBuffer, vips_foreign_load_webp_buffer,
 static int
 vips_foreign_load_webp_buffer_header( VipsForeignLoad *load )
 {
+	VipsForeignLoadWebp *webp = (VipsForeignLoadWebp *) load;
 	VipsForeignLoadWebpBuffer *buffer = (VipsForeignLoadWebpBuffer *) load;
 
 	if( vips__webp_read_buffer_header( buffer->buf->data, 
-		buffer->buf->length, load->out ) )
+		buffer->buf->length, load->out, webp->shrink ) )
 		return( -1 );
 
 	return( 0 );
@@ -214,10 +231,11 @@ vips_foreign_load_webp_buffer_header( VipsForeignLoad *load )
 static int
 vips_foreign_load_webp_buffer_load( VipsForeignLoad *load )
 {
+	VipsForeignLoadWebp *webp = (VipsForeignLoadWebp *) load;
 	VipsForeignLoadWebpBuffer *buffer = (VipsForeignLoadWebpBuffer *) load;
 
 	if( vips__webp_read_buffer( buffer->buf->data, buffer->buf->length, 
-		load->real ) )
+		load->real, webp->shrink ) )
 		return( -1 );
 
 	return( 0 );
diff --git a/tools/vipsthumbnail.c b/tools/vipsthumbnail.c
index b1d34caa..f3d0b51d 100644
--- a/tools/vipsthumbnail.c
+++ b/tools/vipsthumbnail.c
@@ -73,6 +73,8 @@
  * 9/2/16
  * 	- add PDF --size support
  * 	- add SVG --size support
+ * 28/2/16
+ * 	- add webp --shrink support
  */
 
 #ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
@@ -327,6 +329,30 @@ thumbnail_open( VipsObject *process, const char *filename )
 			return( NULL );
 
 	}
+	else if( strcmp( loader, "VipsForeignLoadWebpFile" ) == 0 ) {
+		double shrink;
+
+		/* This will just read in the header and is quick.
+		 */
+		if( !(im = vips_image_new_from_file( filename, NULL )) )
+			return( NULL );
+
+		shrink = calculate_shrink( im ); 
+
+		g_object_unref( im );
+
+		vips_info( "vipsthumbnail", 
+			"loading webp with factor %g pre-shrink", 
+			shrink ); 
+
+		/* We can't use UNBUFERRED safely on very-many-core systems.
+		 */
+		if( !(im = vips_image_new_from_file( filename, 
+			"access", VIPS_ACCESS_SEQUENTIAL,
+			"shrink", (int) shrink,
+			NULL )) )
+			return( NULL );
+	}
 	else {
 		/* All other formats. We can't use UNBUFERRED safely on 
 		 * very-many-core systems.