diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 7c2cb02e9..e6c73154d 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.70.1
+0.71.0
diff --git a/protocol/message_handler.go b/protocol/message_handler.go
index cb1ee4d9d..5f8c70131 100644
--- a/protocol/message_handler.go
+++ b/protocol/message_handler.go
@@ -423,6 +423,10 @@ func (m *MessageHandler) HandleChatMessage(state *ReceivedMessageState) error {
 		return err // matchChatEntity returns a descriptive error message
 	}
 
+	if chat.Public() && receivedMessage.ContentType == protobuf.ChatMessage_IMAGE {
+		return errors.New("images are not allowed in public chats")
+	}
+
 	// If profile updates check if author is the same as chat profile public key
 	if chat.ProfileUpdates() && receivedMessage.From != chat.Profile {
 		return nil