diff --git a/bookwyrm/utils/regex.py b/bookwyrm/utils/regex.py
index 98bcde5ad7..5d4bf77bf5 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/utils/regex.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/utils/regex.py
@@ -3,9 +3,11 @@
 DOMAIN = r"[\w_\-\.]+\.[a-z\-]{2,}"
 LOCALNAME = r"@?[a-zA-Z_\-\.0-9]+"
 STRICT_LOCALNAME = r"@[a-zA-Z_\-\.0-9]+"
+REMOTENAME = r"[\w\-\.\~](?:[\w\-\.\~]|(?:%[0-9A-Fa-f]{2})){0,149}"
 USERNAME = rf"{LOCALNAME}(@{DOMAIN})?"
 STRICT_USERNAME = rf"(\B{STRICT_LOCALNAME}(@{DOMAIN})?\b)"
 FULL_USERNAME = rf"{LOCALNAME}@{DOMAIN}\b"
+REMOTE_USER_URL = rf"(?:^http(?:s?):\/\/)([\w\-\.]*)(?:.)*(?:(?:\/)({REMOTENAME}))"
 SLUG = r"/s/(?P<slug>[-_a-z0-9]*)"
 HASHTAG = r"(#[^!@#$%^&*(),.?\":{}|<>\s]+)"
 # should match (BookWyrm/1.0.0; or (BookWyrm/99.1.2;
diff --git a/bookwyrm/views/follow.py b/bookwyrm/views/follow.py
index dcb1c695cd..5001ca9174 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/views/follow.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/views/follow.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 
 from bookwyrm import models
 from bookwyrm.models.relationship import clear_cache
+from bookwyrm.utils import regex
 from .helpers import (
     get_user_from_username,
     handle_remote_webfinger,
@@ -135,7 +136,8 @@ def ostatus_follow_request(request):
     """prepare an outgoing remote follow request"""
     uri = urllib.parse.unquote(request.GET.get("acct"))
     username_parts = re.search(
-        r"(?:^http(?:s?):\/\/)([\w\-\.]*)(?:.)*(?:(?:\/)([\w]*))", uri
+        regex.REMOTE_USER_URL,
+        uri,
     )
     account = f"{username_parts[2]}@{username_parts[1]}"
     user = handle_remote_webfinger(account)