diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 168165b..e9eb31d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -9,8 +9,10 @@ __pycache__/
 .ruff_cache/
 .venv/
 venv/
-backup/*.sql
-backup/*.sql.gz
+# Everything under backup/ is operational data, never source: DB dumps and
+# pre-change .env copies (which hold live Stripe/SMTP secrets). The earlier
+# backup/*.sql* patterns missed the .env copies — ignore the whole directory.
+backup/
 *.egg-info/
 build/
 dist/