diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 72ff563..8ff6037 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Count visits in your view like this:
 ```python
 def view_blog_post(request, post_id):
     post = get_object_or_404(MyBlogPost, pk=post_id)
-    post.update_visit_count()
+    post.count_visit()
     ...
 ```
 
@@ -59,6 +59,17 @@ def view_blog_post(request, post_id):
     ...
 ```
 
+You can pass an optional keyword argument `session_duration` (integer, number of seconds)
+to `count_visit` or `is_new_visit`.
+
+## Settings
+
+Default settings:
+
+```python
+VISIT_COUNT_DEFAULT_SESSION_DURATION = 5 * 60  # seconds
+```
+
 ## Development
 
 - Install development dependencies in your virtualenv with `pip install -e '.[dev]'`
diff --git a/django_visit_count/app_settings.py b/django_visit_count/app_settings.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6936bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/django_visit_count/app_settings.py
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+import os
+
+from django.conf import settings
+
+VISIT_COUNT_DEFAULT_SESSION_DURATION = getattr(settings, "VISIT_COUNT_DEFAULT_SESSION_DURATION", 5 * 60)
diff --git a/django_visit_count/models.py b/django_visit_count/models.py
index 13ad2b7..6c22849 100644
--- a/django_visit_count/models.py
+++ b/django_visit_count/models.py
@@ -2,13 +2,14 @@
 from django.db.models import F
 from django.utils.translation import gettext_lazy as _
 
+from .app_settings import VISIT_COUNT_DEFAULT_SESSION_DURATION
 from .utils import is_new_visit
 
 
 class VisitCountMixin:
     visit_count = models.PositiveIntegerField(default=0, help_text=_("Visit count"))
 
-    def update_visit_count(self, request):
-        if is_new_visit(request, self):
+    def count_visit(self, request, session_duration=VISIT_COUNT_DEFAULT_SESSION_DURATION):
+        if is_new_visit(request, self, session_duration=session_duration):
             self.visit_count = F("visit_count") + 1
             self.save(update_fields=["visit_count"])
diff --git a/django_visit_count/utils.py b/django_visit_count/utils.py
index f2e0a45..6bc85dc 100644
--- a/django_visit_count/utils.py
+++ b/django_visit_count/utils.py
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 from django.core.cache import cache
 from ipware import get_client_ip
 
+from .app_settings import VISIT_COUNT_DEFAULT_SESSION_DURATION
 
-def is_new_visit(request, obj, *, timeout=5 * 60):
+
+def is_new_visit(request, obj, *, session_duration=VISIT_COUNT_DEFAULT_SESSION_DURATION):
     if request.user.is_authenticated:
         user_key = f"user-{request.user.id}"
     else:
@@ -16,5 +18,5 @@ def is_new_visit(request, obj, *, timeout=5 * 60):
     if cache.get(cache_key):
         return False
 
-    cache.set(cache_key, True, timeout)
+    cache.set(cache_key, True, timeout=session_duration)
     return True