diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 76a6fab3..b1ca18d7 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -8,8 +8,7 @@ source = "init"
 
 [tool.poetry]
 name = "sherlock-project"
-# single source of truth for version is __init__.py
-version = "0"
+version = "0.16.0"
 description = "Hunt down social media accounts by username across social networks"
 license = "MIT"
 authors = [
@@ -50,6 +49,7 @@ stem = "^1.8.0"
 torrequest = "^0.1.0"
 pandas = "^2.2.1"
 openpyxl = "^3.0.10"
+tomli = "^2.2.1"
 
 [tool.poetry.extras]
 tor = ["torrequest"]
diff --git a/sherlock_project/__init__.py b/sherlock_project/__init__.py
index 382d7cd0..ad6c9e30 100644
--- a/sherlock_project/__init__.py
+++ b/sherlock_project/__init__.py
@@ -5,11 +5,26 @@ networks.
 
 """
 
+from importlib.metadata import version as pkg_version, PackageNotFoundError
+import pathlib
+import tomli
+
+
+def get_version() -> str:
+    """Fetch the version number of the installed package."""
+    try:
+        return pkg_version("sherlock_project")
+    except PackageNotFoundError:
+        pyproject_path: pathlib.Path = pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "pyproject.toml"
+        with pyproject_path.open("rb") as f:
+            pyproject_data = tomli.load(f)
+        return pyproject_data["tool"]["poetry"]["version"]
+
 # This variable is only used to check for ImportErrors induced by users running as script rather than as module or package
 import_error_test_var = None
 
 __shortname__   = "Sherlock"
 __longname__    = "Sherlock: Find Usernames Across Social Networks"
-__version__     = "0.16.0"
+__version__     = get_version()
 
 forge_api_latest_release = "https://api.github.com/repos/sherlock-project/sherlock/releases/latest"