diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index bbd9d9f..0df95e4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,13 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.36.1] - 2026-04-29
+
+### Fixed
+- Date input: default date format changed from US (`MM/DD/YYYY`) to day-month-year (`DD.MM.YYYY`) for new users
+- Date input: dot-separated dates (`DD.MM.YYYY`) are now accepted in addition to slash-separated dates
+- Date input: `dmy` placeholder and display format updated to use dots instead of slashes
+
 ## [0.36.0] - 2026-04-29
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 22c7f40..e22e06c 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "oikos",
-  "version": "0.36.0",
+  "version": "0.36.1",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "oikos",
-      "version": "0.36.0",
+      "version": "0.36.1",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
         "bcrypt": "^6.0.0",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index cb05482..9f3a45f 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "oikos",
-  "version": "0.36.0",
+  "version": "0.36.1",
   "description": "Self-hosted family planner - calendar, tasks, shopping, meal planning, budget and more. Private, open-source, no subscription.",
   "main": "server/index.js",
   "type": "module",
diff --git a/public/i18n.js b/public/i18n.js
index 9228070..ee3f587 100644
--- a/public/i18n.js
+++ b/public/i18n.js
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ const SUPPORTED_LOCALES = ['de', 'en', 'es', 'fr', 'it', 'sv', 'el', 'ru', 'tr',
 const DEFAULT_LOCALE = 'de';
 const STORAGE_KEY = 'oikos-locale';
 const DATE_FORMAT_KEY = 'oikos-date-format';
-const DEFAULT_DATE_FORMAT = 'mdy';
+const DEFAULT_DATE_FORMAT = 'dmy';
 
 let currentLocale = DEFAULT_LOCALE;
 let translations = {};
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ function formatDateParts(date, useUtc = false) {
   const month = String((useUtc ? d.getUTCMonth() : d.getMonth()) + 1).padStart(2, '0');
   const day = String(useUtc ? d.getUTCDate() : d.getDate()).padStart(2, '0');
   switch (getDateFormatPreference()) {
-    case 'dmy': return `${day}/${month}/${year}`;
+    case 'dmy': return `${day}.${month}.${year}`;
     case 'ymd': return `${year}-${month}-${day}`;
     default: return `${month}/${day}/${year}`;
   }
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ export function formatDate(date) {
 
 export function dateInputPlaceholder() {
   switch (getDateFormatPreference()) {
-    case 'dmy': return 'DD/MM/YYYY';
+    case 'dmy': return 'DD.MM.YYYY';
     case 'ymd': return 'YYYY-MM-DD';
     default: return 'MM/DD/YYYY';
   }
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ export function parseDateInput(value) {
   const isoMatch = raw.match(/^(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})$/);
   if (isoMatch) return isValidDateParts(isoMatch[1], isoMatch[2], isoMatch[3]) ? raw : '';
 
-  const slashMatch = raw.match(/^(\d{1,2})\/(\d{1,2})\/(\d{4})$/);
+  const slashMatch = raw.match(/^(\d{1,2})[\/.](\d{1,2})[\/.](\d{4})$/);
   if (!slashMatch) return '';
 
   const [, first, second, year] = slashMatch;