diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 28b26e6..51bed48 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -61,3 +61,22 @@ compile_commands.json
 *creator.user*
 
 *_qmlcache.qrc
+
+# Python
+__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+
+# Virtual environments
+.venv/
+venv/
+
+# IDEs
+.idea/
+.vscode/
+
+# Runtime data
+.local_data/
+
+# OS files
+.DS_Store
+Thumbs.db
diff --git a/settings.py b/settings.py
index ea36c5a..c663b98 100644
--- a/settings.py
+++ b/settings.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 
-
 APP_NAME = "UniNews"
 
 BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
@@ -8,7 +7,7 @@
 DATA_DIR = BASE_DIR / "data"
 FEEDS_FILE = DATA_DIR / "feeds.json"
 
-APP_DATA_DIR = BASE_DIR / "local_data"
+APP_DATA_DIR = BASE_DIR / ".local_data"
 APP_DATA_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 
 DATABASE_PATH = APP_DATA_DIR / "uninews.db"