diff --git a/lib-es5/utils/consts.js b/lib-es5/utils/consts.js
index 167c205e..a5364e90 100644
--- a/lib-es5/utils/consts.js
+++ b/lib-es5/utils/consts.js
@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@ var LAYER_KEYWORD_PARAMS = {
 
 var UPLOAD_PREFIX = "https://api.cloudinary.com";
 
+var SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS = ["sha1", "sha256"];
+var DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM = "sha1";
+
 module.exports = {
   DEFAULT_RESPONSIVE_WIDTH_TRANSFORMATION,
   DEFAULT_POSTER_OPTIONS,
@@ -79,5 +82,7 @@ module.exports = {
   LAYER_KEYWORD_PARAMS,
   TRANSFORMATION_PARAMS,
   SIMPLE_PARAMS,
-  UPLOAD_PREFIX
+  UPLOAD_PREFIX,
+  SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS,
+  DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM
 };
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib-es5/utils/index.js b/lib-es5/utils/index.js
index 79c83afd..7d9b72d1 100644
--- a/lib-es5/utils/index.js
+++ b/lib-es5/utils/index.js
@@ -99,7 +99,9 @@ var _require2 = require('./consts'),
     LAYER_KEYWORD_PARAMS = _require2.LAYER_KEYWORD_PARAMS,
     TRANSFORMATION_PARAMS = _require2.TRANSFORMATION_PARAMS,
     SIMPLE_PARAMS = _require2.SIMPLE_PARAMS,
-    UPLOAD_PREFIX = _require2.UPLOAD_PREFIX;
+    UPLOAD_PREFIX = _require2.UPLOAD_PREFIX,
+    SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS = _require2.SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS,
+    DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM = _require2.DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM;
 
 function textStyle(layer) {
   var keywords = [];
@@ -757,6 +759,10 @@ function url(public_id) {
   var api_secret = consumeOption(options, "api_secret", config().api_secret);
   var url_suffix = consumeOption(options, "url_suffix");
   var use_root_path = consumeOption(options, "use_root_path", config().use_root_path);
+  var signature_algorithm = consumeOption(options, "signature_algorithm", config().signature_algorithm || DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM);
+  if (long_url_signature) {
+    signature_algorithm = 'sha256';
+  }
   var auth_token = consumeOption(options, "auth_token");
   if (auth_token !== false) {
     auth_token = exports.merge(config().auth_token, auth_token);
@@ -812,9 +818,8 @@ function url(public_id) {
       }
       // eslint-disable-next-line no-empty
     } catch (error) {}
-    var shasum = crypto.createHash(long_url_signature ? 'sha256' : 'sha1');
-    shasum.update(utf8_encode(to_sign + api_secret), 'binary');
-    signature = shasum.digest('base64').replace(/\//g, '_').replace(/\+/g, '-').substring(0, long_url_signature ? 32 : 8);
+    var hash = computeHash(to_sign + api_secret, signature_algorithm, 'base64');
+    signature = hash.replace(/\//g, '_').replace(/\+/g, '-').substring(0, long_url_signature ? 32 : 8);
     signature = `s--${signature}--`;
   }
   var prefix = unsigned_url_prefix(public_id, cloud_name, private_cdn, cdn_subdomain, secure_cdn_subdomain, cname, secure, secure_distribution);
@@ -1009,9 +1014,24 @@ function api_sign_request(params_to_sign, api_secret) {
 
     return `${k}=${toArray(v).join(",")}`;
   }).sort().join("&");
-  var shasum = crypto.createHash('sha1');
-  shasum.update(utf8_encode(to_sign + api_secret), 'binary');
-  return shasum.digest('hex');
+  return computeHash(to_sign + api_secret, config().signature_algorithm || DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM, 'hex');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Computes hash from input string using specified algorithm.
+ * @private
+ * @param {string} input string which to compute hash from
+ * @param {string} signature_algorithm algorithm to use for computing hash
+ * @param {string} encoding type of encoding
+ * @return {string} computed hash value
+ */
+function computeHash(input, signature_algorithm, encoding) {
+  if (!SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS.includes(signature_algorithm)) {
+    throw new Error(`Signature algorithm ${signature_algorithm} is not supported. Supported algorithms: ${SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS.join(', ')}`);
+  }
+  var hash = crypto.createHash(signature_algorithm);
+  hash.update(utf8_encode(input), 'binary');
+  return hash.digest(encoding);
 }
 
 function clear_blank(hash) {
@@ -1053,9 +1073,8 @@ function webhook_signature(data, timestamp) {
   ensurePresenceOf({ data, timestamp });
 
   var api_secret = ensureOption(options, 'api_secret');
-  var shasum = crypto.createHash('sha1');
-  shasum.update(data + timestamp + api_secret, 'binary');
-  return shasum.digest('hex');
+  var signature_algorithm = ensureOption(options, 'signature_algorithm', DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM);
+  return computeHash(data + timestamp + api_secret, signature_algorithm, 'hex');
 }
 
 /**
@@ -1075,7 +1094,10 @@ function verifyNotificationSignature(body, timestamp, signature) {
   if (timestamp < Date.now() - valid_for) {
     return false;
   }
-  var payload_hash = utils.webhook_signature(body, timestamp, { api_secret: config().api_secret });
+  var payload_hash = utils.webhook_signature(body, timestamp, {
+    api_secret: config().api_secret,
+    signature_algorithm: config().signature_algorithm
+  });
   return signature === payload_hash;
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/utils/consts.js b/lib/utils/consts.js
index d2eb686f..90f74494 100644
--- a/lib/utils/consts.js
+++ b/lib/utils/consts.js
@@ -131,6 +131,9 @@ const LAYER_KEYWORD_PARAMS = {
 
 const UPLOAD_PREFIX = "https://api.cloudinary.com";
 
+const SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS = ["sha1", "sha256"];
+const DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM = "sha1";
+
 module.exports = {
   DEFAULT_RESPONSIVE_WIDTH_TRANSFORMATION,
   DEFAULT_POSTER_OPTIONS,
@@ -140,5 +143,7 @@ module.exports = {
   LAYER_KEYWORD_PARAMS,
   TRANSFORMATION_PARAMS,
   SIMPLE_PARAMS,
-  UPLOAD_PREFIX
+  UPLOAD_PREFIX,
+  SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS,
+  DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM
 };
diff --git a/lib/utils/index.js b/lib/utils/index.js
index 8719daad..13867857 100644
--- a/lib/utils/index.js
+++ b/lib/utils/index.js
@@ -85,7 +85,9 @@ const {
   LAYER_KEYWORD_PARAMS,
   TRANSFORMATION_PARAMS,
   SIMPLE_PARAMS,
-  UPLOAD_PREFIX
+  UPLOAD_PREFIX,
+  SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS,
+  DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM
 } = require('./consts');
 
 function textStyle(layer) {
@@ -692,6 +694,10 @@ function url(public_id, options = {}) {
   let api_secret = consumeOption(options, "api_secret", config().api_secret);
   let url_suffix = consumeOption(options, "url_suffix");
   let use_root_path = consumeOption(options, "use_root_path", config().use_root_path);
+  let signature_algorithm = consumeOption(options, "signature_algorithm", config().signature_algorithm || DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM);
+  if (long_url_signature) {
+    signature_algorithm = 'sha256';
+  }
   let auth_token = consumeOption(options, "auth_token");
   if (auth_token !== false) {
     auth_token = exports.merge(config().auth_token, auth_token);
@@ -735,9 +741,8 @@ function url(public_id, options = {}) {
       // eslint-disable-next-line no-empty
     } catch (error) {
     }
-    let shasum = crypto.createHash(long_url_signature ? 'sha256' : 'sha1');
-    shasum.update(utf8_encode(to_sign + api_secret), 'binary');
-    signature = shasum.digest('base64').replace(/\//g, '_').replace(/\+/g, '-').substring(0, long_url_signature ? 32 : 8);
+    let hash = computeHash(to_sign + api_secret, signature_algorithm, 'base64');
+    signature = hash.replace(/\//g, '_').replace(/\+/g, '-').substring(0, long_url_signature ? 32 : 8);
     signature = `s--${signature}--`;
   }
   let prefix = unsigned_url_prefix(
@@ -934,9 +939,24 @@ function api_sign_request(params_to_sign, api_secret) {
   ).map(
     ([k, v]) => `${k}=${toArray(v).join(",")}`
   ).sort().join("&");
-  let shasum = crypto.createHash('sha1');
-  shasum.update(utf8_encode(to_sign + api_secret), 'binary');
-  return shasum.digest('hex');
+  return computeHash(to_sign + api_secret, config().signature_algorithm || DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM, 'hex');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Computes hash from input string using specified algorithm.
+ * @private
+ * @param {string} input string which to compute hash from
+ * @param {string} signature_algorithm algorithm to use for computing hash
+ * @param {string} encoding type of encoding
+ * @return {string} computed hash value
+ */
+function computeHash(input, signature_algorithm, encoding) {
+  if (!SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS.includes(signature_algorithm)) {
+    throw new Error(`Signature algorithm ${signature_algorithm} is not supported. Supported algorithms: ${SUPPORTED_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHMS.join(', ')}`);
+  }
+  let hash = crypto.createHash(signature_algorithm);
+  hash.update(utf8_encode(input), 'binary');
+  return hash.digest(encoding);
 }
 
 function clear_blank(hash) {
@@ -966,9 +986,8 @@ function webhook_signature(data, timestamp, options = {}) {
   ensurePresenceOf({ data, timestamp });
 
   let api_secret = ensureOption(options, 'api_secret');
-  let shasum = crypto.createHash('sha1');
-  shasum.update(data + timestamp + api_secret, 'binary');
-  return shasum.digest('hex');
+  let signature_algorithm = ensureOption(options, 'signature_algorithm', DEFAULT_SIGNATURE_ALGORITHM);
+  return computeHash(data + timestamp + api_secret, signature_algorithm, 'hex');
 }
 
 /**
@@ -986,7 +1005,10 @@ function verifyNotificationSignature(body, timestamp, signature, valid_for = 720
   if (timestamp < Date.now() - valid_for) {
     return false;
   }
-  const payload_hash = utils.webhook_signature(body, timestamp, { api_secret: config().api_secret });
+  const payload_hash = utils.webhook_signature(body, timestamp, {
+    api_secret: config().api_secret,
+    signature_algorithm: config().signature_algorithm
+  });
   return signature === payload_hash;
 }
 
diff --git a/test/unit/cloudinary_spec.js b/test/unit/cloudinary_spec.js
index d920e295..27ed5703 100644
--- a/test/unit/cloudinary_spec.js
+++ b/test/unit/cloudinary_spec.js
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ describe("cloudinary", function () {
       cloud_name: "test123",
       api_key: 'a',
       api_secret: 'b',
-      responsive_width_transformation: null
+      responsive_width_transformation: null,
+      signature_algorithm: 'sha1'
     }));
   });
   it("should use cloud_name from config", function () {
@@ -471,6 +472,30 @@ describe("cloudinary", function () {
       undef: void 0
     }, "1234")).to.eql("f05cfe85cee78e7e997b3c7da47ba212dcbf1ea5");
   });
+  it("should correctly sign api requests with signature algorithm SHA1", function () {
+    cloudinary.config({ signature_algorithm: 'sha1' });
+    expect(cloudinary.utils.api_sign_request({
+      username: "user@cloudinary.com",
+      timestamp: 1568810420,
+      cloud_name: "dn6ot3ged"
+    }, "hdcixPpR2iKERPwqvH6sHdK9cyac")).to.eql("14c00ba6d0dfdedbc86b316847d95b9e6cd46d94");
+  });
+  it("should correctly sign api requests with signature algorithm SHA1 as default", function () {
+    cloudinary.config({ signature_algorithm: null });
+    expect(cloudinary.utils.api_sign_request({
+      username: "user@cloudinary.com",
+      timestamp: 1568810420,
+      cloud_name: "dn6ot3ged"
+    }, "hdcixPpR2iKERPwqvH6sHdK9cyac")).to.eql("14c00ba6d0dfdedbc86b316847d95b9e6cd46d94");
+  });
+  it("should correctly sign api requests with signature algorithm SHA256", function () {
+    cloudinary.config({ signature_algorithm: 'sha256' });
+    expect(cloudinary.utils.api_sign_request({
+      username: "user@cloudinary.com",
+      timestamp: 1568810420,
+      cloud_name: "dn6ot3ged"
+    }, "hdcixPpR2iKERPwqvH6sHdK9cyac")).to.eql("45ddaa4fa01f0c2826f32f669d2e4514faf275fe6df053f1a150e7beae58a3bd");
+  });
   it("should correctly build signed preloaded image", function () {
     expect(cloudinary.utils.signed_preloaded_image({
       resource_type: "image",
@@ -827,4 +852,13 @@ describe("cloudinary", function () {
     result = cloudinary.utils.url("sample.jpg", options);
     expect(result).to.eql('http://res.cloudinary.com/test123/image/upload/s--v2fTPYTu--/sample.jpg');
   });
+  it("should generate urls with signature algorithm SHA256 when sign_url is true", function () {
+    var options, result;
+    options = {
+      sign_url: true,
+      signature_algorithm: 'sha256'
+    };
+    result = cloudinary.utils.url("sample.jpg", options);
+    expect(result).to.eql('http://res.cloudinary.com/test123/image/upload/s--2hbrSMPO--/sample.jpg');
+  });
 });
diff --git a/test/utils/utils_spec.js b/test/utils/utils_spec.js
index 36806165..d3810d04 100644
--- a/test/utils/utils_spec.js
+++ b/test/utils/utils_spec.js
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ describe("utils", function () {
       private_cdn: false,
       secure: false,
       cname: null,
-      cdn_subdomain: false
+      cdn_subdomain: false,
+      signature_algorithm: undefined
     }));
     this.orig = clone(this.cfg);
     cloud_name = cloudinary.config("cloud_name");
@@ -1438,6 +1439,20 @@ describe("utils", function () {
         )
       ).to.eql(true);
     });
+    it("should return true when signature with algorithm SHA256 is valid", function () {
+      cloudinary.config({
+        api_secret: 'hardcoded',
+        signature_algorithm: 'sha256'
+      });
+      const distant_future_timestamp = 7952342400000; // 2222-01-01T00:00:00Z
+      expect(
+        utils.verifyNotificationSignature(
+          response_json,
+          distant_future_timestamp,
+          "6c5a29fd8815772fbac2f10ae741e093d0859313947ef8fadeb29126ded6649c"
+        )
+      ).to.eql(true);
+    });
     it("should return false when signature is not valid", function () {
       response_signature = utils.webhook_signature(response_json, valid_response_timestamp, {
         api_secret: cloudinary.config().api_secret
@@ -1485,18 +1500,13 @@ describe("utils", function () {
     });
   });
   context("sign URLs", function () {
-    var configBck = void 0;
-    before(function () {
-      configBck = cloudinary.config();
+    beforeEach(function () {
       cloudinary.config({
         cloud_name: 'test123',
         api_key: "1234",
         api_secret: "b"
       });
     });
-    after(function () {
-      cloudinary.config(configBck);
-    });
     it("should correctly sign URLs", function () {
       test_cloudinary_url("image.jpg", {
         version: 1234,