diff --git a/src/Internal/Api/Snackbar.elm b/src/Internal/Api/Snackbar.elm
index 85b8be1..d298d3c 100644
--- a/src/Internal/Api/Snackbar.elm
+++ b/src/Internal/Api/Snackbar.elm
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 module Internal.Api.Snackbar exposing (..)
 
-{-| The snackbar module helps wraps relevant credentials, access tokens, refresh tokens and more around internal types.
+{-| The snackbar module helps wraps relevant credentials, access tokens, 
+refresh tokens and more around internal types.
 
 Vault, Room and Event types don't need access to API tokens,
 but a user may way to redact an event, leave a room or reject an invite.
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@ without needing to update every data type whenever any of the tokens change.
 
 import Dict exposing (Dict)
 import Internal.Api.Versions.V1.Versions as V
+import Internal.Config.DefaultSettings as DS
 import Internal.Tools.LoginValues as Login exposing (AccessToken(..))
 import Task exposing (Task)
 
@@ -27,9 +29,14 @@ type Snackbar a vu
         , homeserver : String
         , transactionOffset : Int
         , vs : Maybe V.Versions
+        , settings : Settings
         }
 
 
+type alias Settings =
+    { syncTimeout : Int }
+
+
 accessToken : Snackbar a vu -> AccessToken
 accessToken (Snackbar { access }) =
     access
@@ -92,6 +99,9 @@ init data =
         , failedTasks = Dict.empty
         , failedTasksOffset = 0
         , homeserver = data.baseUrl
+        , settings =
+            { syncTimeout = DS.syncTimeout
+            }
         , transactionOffset = 0
         , vs = Nothing
         }
@@ -105,6 +115,7 @@ map f (Snackbar data) =
         , failedTasks = data.failedTasks
         , failedTasksOffset = 0
         , homeserver = data.homeserver
+        , settings = data.settings
         , transactionOffset = data.transactionOffset
         , vs = data.vs
         }
@@ -135,6 +146,11 @@ setTransactionOffset i (Snackbar data) =
     Snackbar { data | transactionOffset = max (data.transactionOffset + 1) (i + 1) }
 
 
+updateSettings : (Settings -> Settings) -> Snackbar a vu -> Snackbar a vu
+updateSettings f (Snackbar ({ settings } as data)) =
+    Snackbar { data | settings = f settings }
+
+
 userId : Snackbar a vu -> Maybe String
 userId (Snackbar { access }) =
     Login.getUserId access
diff --git a/src/Internal/Config/DefaultSettings.elm b/src/Internal/Config/DefaultSettings.elm
index dee906e..a383e48 100644
--- a/src/Internal/Config/DefaultSettings.elm
+++ b/src/Internal/Config/DefaultSettings.elm
@@ -33,3 +33,10 @@ supportedVersions =
 defaultDeviceName : String
 defaultDeviceName =
     "Elm Matrix SDK (v" ++ currentVersion ++ ")"
+
+
+{-| The amount of seconds that the Matrix Vault should wait for a response from the Matrix homeserver.
+-}
+syncTimeout : Int
+syncTimeout =
+    10
diff --git a/src/Matrix/Room.elm b/src/Matrix/Room.elm
index 1c9bcac..eebf837 100644
--- a/src/Matrix/Room.elm
+++ b/src/Matrix/Room.elm
@@ -68,9 +68,7 @@ allowed for every room admin.
 import Internal.Api.VaultUpdate exposing (VaultUpdate)
 import Internal.Event as Event
 import Internal.Room as Internal
-import Internal.Tools.Exceptions as X
 import Json.Decode as D
-import Task exposing (Task)
 
 
 {-| A room represents a channel of communication within a Matrix home server.
diff --git a/src/Matrix/Settings.elm b/src/Matrix/Settings.elm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f72e94d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Matrix/Settings.elm
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+module Matrix.Settings exposing (..)
+{-| There are a lot of settings that you can change!
+
+These settings change how the Vault interacts with the Matrix API.
+You can adjust these values for performance reasons, for customizability, benchmarking,
+or maybe just because you like it. :)
+
+It is common to set all settings in the `init` function, but you can adjust all settings on the fly.
+-}
+
+import Internal.Vault exposing (Vault)
+
+{-| When your Matrix client synchronizes with the homeserver, the homeserver often
+responds quite quickly, giving all the information that you need.
+
+Sometimes, the homeserver has nothing new to report, and instead makes you wait for a response.
+This is called long-polling, and it's the homeserver waiting for an update to give to you.
+Long-polling is very useful!
+
+This setting sets a limit on how long the long-polling should last. It is smart
+to make this equal to the interval at which you run the `sync` function.
+
+**Default:** 10 (seconds)
+-}
+syncTimeout : Int -> Vault -> Vault
+syncTimeout timeout =
+    Internal.Vault.settings \data -> { data | syncTimeout = timeout }
\ No newline at end of file