diff --git a/HPNetwork.podspec b/HPNetwork.podspec
index 57e4138..3a90567 100644
--- a/HPNetwork.podspec
+++ b/HPNetwork.podspec
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 Pod::Spec.new do |s|
 
   s.name         = "HPNetwork"
-  s.version      = "0.4.2"
+  s.version      = "0.5.0"
   s.summary      = "A lightweight but customisable networking stack written in Swift"
   s.swift_version = "5.0"
 
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Pod::Spec.new do |s|
   s.author             = { "Henrik Panhans" => "henrik@panhans.dev" }
   s.social_media_url   = "https://twitter.com/henrik_dmg"
 
-  s.ios.deployment_target = "8.0"
+  s.ios.deployment_target = "9.0"
   s.osx.deployment_target = "10.11"
   s.watchos.deployment_target = "3.0"
   s.tvos.deployment_target = "9.0"
diff --git a/Package.swift b/Package.swift
index d372214..3eab024 100644
--- a/Package.swift
+++ b/Package.swift
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import PackageDescription
 let package = Package(
     name: "HPNetwork",
     platforms: [
-        .iOS(.v8), .macOS(.v10_11), .tvOS(.v9), .watchOS(.v3)
+        .iOS(.v9), .macOS(.v10_11), .tvOS(.v9), .watchOS(.v3)
     ],
     products: [
         .library(name: "HPNetwork", targets: ["HPNetwork"]),
diff --git a/Sources/HPNetwork/DecodableRequest.swift b/Sources/HPNetwork/DecodableRequest.swift
index 7563328..ba92409 100644
--- a/Sources/HPNetwork/DecodableRequest.swift
+++ b/Sources/HPNetwork/DecodableRequest.swift
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ open class DecodableRequest<T: Decodable>: NetworkRequest {
     public typealias Input = Data
     public typealias Output = T
 
+    public let urlSession: URLSession
     public let finishingQueue: DispatchQueue
     public let requestMethod: NetworkRequestMethod
     public let authentication: NetworkRequestAuthentication?
@@ -21,11 +22,13 @@ open class DecodableRequest<T: Decodable>: NetworkRequest {
 
     public init(
         urlString: String,
+        urlSession: URLSession = .shared,
         finishingQueue: DispatchQueue = .main,
         requestMethod: NetworkRequestMethod = .get,
         authentication: NetworkRequestAuthentication? = nil)
     {
         self.urlString = urlString
+        self.urlSession = urlSession
         self.finishingQueue = finishingQueue
         self.requestMethod = requestMethod
         self.authentication = authentication
@@ -33,11 +36,13 @@ open class DecodableRequest<T: Decodable>: NetworkRequest {
 
     public init(
         url: URL,
+        urlSession: URLSession = .shared,
         finishingQueue: DispatchQueue = .main,
         requestMethod: NetworkRequestMethod = .get,
         authentication: NetworkRequestAuthentication? = nil)
     {
         self.urlString = url.absoluteString
+        self.urlSession = urlSession
         self.finishingQueue = finishingQueue
         self.requestMethod = requestMethod
         self.authentication = authentication
diff --git a/Sources/HPNetwork/ImageRequest.swift b/Sources/HPNetwork/ImageRequest.swift
index ea49eac..4889e3c 100644
--- a/Sources/HPNetwork/ImageRequest.swift
+++ b/Sources/HPNetwork/ImageRequest.swift
@@ -13,17 +13,20 @@ public class ImageDownloadRequest: NetworkRequest {
     #endif
 
     public let url: URL?
+    public let urlSession: URLSession
     public let finishingQueue: DispatchQueue
     public let requestMethod: NetworkRequestMethod
     public let authentication: NetworkRequestAuthentication?
 
     public init(
         url: URL?,
+        urlSession: URLSession = .shared,
         finishingQueue: DispatchQueue = .main,
         requestMethod: NetworkRequestMethod = .get,
         authentication: NetworkRequestAuthentication? = nil)
     {
         self.url = url
+        self.urlSession = urlSession
         self.finishingQueue = finishingQueue
         self.requestMethod = requestMethod
         self.authentication = authentication
diff --git a/Sources/HPNetwork/NetworkRequest+URLSessionTask.swift b/Sources/HPNetwork/NetworkRequest+URLSessionTask.swift
index 98abfc9..82fc1d3 100644
--- a/Sources/HPNetwork/NetworkRequest+URLSessionTask.swift
+++ b/Sources/HPNetwork/NetworkRequest+URLSessionTask.swift
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ extension NetworkRequest {
 
         let queue = finishingQueue
 
-        return URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: urlRequest) { data, response, error in
+        return urlSession.dataTask(with: urlRequest) { data, response, error in
             self.finish(
                 data: data,
                 response: response,
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ extension NetworkRequest {
 
         let queue = finishingQueue
 
-        return URLSession.shared.uploadTask(with: urlRequest, from: data) { data, response, error in
+        return urlSession.uploadTask(with: urlRequest, from: data) { data, response, error in
             self.finish(
                 data: data,
                 response: response,
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ extension NetworkRequest {
 
         let queue = finishingQueue
 
-        return URLSession.shared.uploadTask(with: urlRequest, fromFile: fileURL) { data, response, error in
+        return urlSession.uploadTask(with: urlRequest, fromFile: fileURL) { data, response, error in
             self.finish(
                 data: data,
                 response: response,
diff --git a/Sources/HPNetwork/NetworkRequest.swift b/Sources/HPNetwork/NetworkRequest.swift
index 108391f..f5c839d 100644
--- a/Sources/HPNetwork/NetworkRequest.swift
+++ b/Sources/HPNetwork/NetworkRequest.swift
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ public protocol NetworkRequest {
     var url: URL? { get }
     var requestMethod: NetworkRequestMethod { get }
     var authentication: NetworkRequestAuthentication? { get }
+    var urlSession: URLSession { get }
 
     func convertResponse(response: NetworkResponse) throws -> Output