diff --git a/src/kleinanzeigen_bot/utils/dicts.py b/src/kleinanzeigen_bot/utils/dicts.py
index f33b153..3709f7d 100644
--- a/src/kleinanzeigen_bot/utils/dicts.py
+++ b/src/kleinanzeigen_bot/utils/dicts.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
 # SPDX-ArtifactOfProjectHomePage: https://github.com/Second-Hand-Friends/kleinanzeigen-bot/
 import copy, json, os  # isort: skip
+from collections import defaultdict
 from collections.abc import Callable
 from gettext import gettext as _
 from importlib.resources import read_text as get_resource_as_string
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ from typing import Any, Final
 from ruamel.yaml import YAML
 
 from . import files, loggers  # pylint: disable=cyclic-import
+from .misc import K, V
 
 LOG:Final[loggers.Logger] = loggers.get_logger(__name__)
 
@@ -23,30 +25,50 @@ def apply_defaults(
     override:Callable[[Any, Any], bool] = lambda _k, _v: False
 ) -> dict[Any, Any]:
     """
-    >>> apply_defaults({}, {"foo": "bar"})
-    {'foo': 'bar'}
-    >>> apply_defaults({"foo": "foo"}, {"foo": "bar"})
-    {'foo': 'foo'}
-    >>> apply_defaults({"foo": ""}, {"foo": "bar"})
-    {'foo': ''}
-    >>> apply_defaults({}, {"foo": "bar"}, ignore = lambda k, _: k == "foo")
+    >>> apply_defaults({}, {'a': 'b'})
+    {'a': 'b'}
+    >>> apply_defaults({'a': 'b'}, {'a': 'c'})
+    {'a': 'b'}
+    >>> apply_defaults({'a': ''}, {'a': 'b'})
+    {'a': ''}
+    >>> apply_defaults({}, {'a': 'b'}, ignore = lambda k, _: k == 'a')
     {}
-    >>> apply_defaults({"foo": ""}, {"foo": "bar"}, override = lambda _, v: v == "")
-    {'foo': 'bar'}
-    >>> apply_defaults({"foo": None}, {"foo": "bar"}, override = lambda _, v: v == "")
-    {'foo': None}
+    >>> apply_defaults({'a': ''}, {'a': 'b'}, override = lambda _, v: v == '')
+    {'a': 'b'}
+    >>> apply_defaults({'a': None}, {'a': 'b'}, override = lambda _, v: v == '')
+    {'a': None}
+    >>> apply_defaults({'a': {'x': 1}}, {'a': {'x': 0, 'y': 2}})
+    {'a': {'x': 1, 'y': 2}}
+    >>> apply_defaults({'a': {'b': False}}, {'a': { 'b': True}})
+    {'a': {'b': False}}
     """
     for key, default_value in defaults.items():
         if key in target:
             if isinstance(target[key], dict) and isinstance(default_value, dict):
-                apply_defaults(target[key], default_value, ignore = ignore)
-            elif override(key, target[key]):
+                apply_defaults(
+                    target = target[key],
+                    defaults = default_value,
+                    ignore = ignore,
+                    override = override
+                )
+            elif override(key, target[key]):  # force overwrite if override says so
                 target[key] = copy.deepcopy(default_value)
-        elif not ignore(key, default_value):
+        elif not ignore(key, default_value):  # only set if not explicitly ignored
             target[key] = copy.deepcopy(default_value)
     return target
 
 
+def defaultdict_to_dict(d: defaultdict[K, V]) -> dict[K, V]:
+    """Recursively convert defaultdict to dict."""
+    result: dict[K, V] = {}
+    for key, value in d.items():
+        if isinstance(value, defaultdict):
+            result[key] = defaultdict_to_dict(value)  # type: ignore[assignment]
+        else:
+            result[key] = value
+    return result
+
+
 def load_dict(filepath:str, content_label:str = "") -> dict[str, Any]:
     """
     :raises FileNotFoundError
diff --git a/src/kleinanzeigen_bot/utils/misc.py b/src/kleinanzeigen_bot/utils/misc.py
index f377d27..2c92b4b 100644
--- a/src/kleinanzeigen_bot/utils/misc.py
+++ b/src/kleinanzeigen_bot/utils/misc.py
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ from . import i18n
 
 # https://mypy.readthedocs.io/en/stable/generics.html#generic-functions
 T = TypeVar("T")
+K = TypeVar("K")
+V = TypeVar("V")
 
 
 def ensure(