diff --git a/home/app/controllers/RegisterController.php b/home/app/controllers/RegisterController.php
index 3aa3ca3..11ad77e 100644
--- a/home/app/controllers/RegisterController.php
+++ b/home/app/controllers/RegisterController.php
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ class RegisterController extends Controller {
                 'name' => $name,
                 'email' => $email,
                 'password' => $password,
-                'projects' => implode(',', $invitation['assigned_projects'] ?? []),
+                'projects' => $invitation['assigned_projects'] ?? [],
                 'is_admin' => 0,
                 'status' => 'Active'
             ];
diff --git a/home/app/models/User.php b/home/app/models/User.php
index cb75aca..42c6337 100644
--- a/home/app/models/User.php
+++ b/home/app/models/User.php
@@ -4,13 +4,39 @@ class User {
     public function __construct() {
         $this->db = new Database();
     }
+    public static function parseProjects($projects): array {
+        if (is_array($projects)) {
+            $list = $projects;
+        } elseif (is_string($projects) && !empty($projects)) {
+            $decoded = json_decode($projects, true);
+            if (json_last_error() === JSON_ERROR_NONE && is_array($decoded)) {
+                $list = $decoded;
+            } else {
+                $list = explode(',', $projects);
+            }
+        } else {
+            return [];
+        }
+
+        $clean = [];
+        foreach ($list as $item) {
+            if (is_string($item)) {
+                $val = trim($item, " \t\n\r\0\x0B[]\"'");
+                if (!empty($val)) {
+                    $clean[] = $val;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return array_values(array_unique($clean));
+    }
+
     // Auth-Logic
     public function authenticate($email, $password) {
         $this->db->query("SELECT * FROM home_users WHERE email = :email AND status = 'Active'");
         $this->db->bind(':email', $email);
         $user = $this->db->single();
         if ($user && password_verify($password, $user['password'])) {
-            $user['projects'] = json_decode($user['projects'], true) ?? [];
+            $user['projects'] = self::parseProjects($user['projects'] ?? []);
             if (in_array(strtolower($user['email']), ['philipp.urbschat@gmail.com', 'hi@philippurbschat.de'])) {
                 $user['is_admin'] = true;
             } else {
@@ -25,7 +51,7 @@ class User {
         $this->db->query("SELECT id, name, email, is_admin, status, projects FROM home_users ORDER BY id DESC");
         $users = $this->db->resultSet();
         foreach ($users as &$user) {
-            $user['projects'] = json_decode($user['projects'], true) ?? [];
+            $user['projects'] = self::parseProjects($user['projects'] ?? []);
         }
         return $users;
     }
@@ -34,18 +60,13 @@ class User {
         $this->db->bind(':id', $id);
         $user = $this->db->single();
         if ($user) {
-            $user['projects'] = json_decode($user['projects'], true) ?? [];
+            $user['projects'] = self::parseProjects($user['projects'] ?? []);
         }
         return $user;
     }
     // Persistence
     public function save($data, $id = null) {
-        if (is_array($data['projects'] ?? null)) {
-            $projectsList = array_values(array_filter($data['projects']));
-        } else {
-            $projectsStr = $data['projects'] ?? '';
-            $projectsList = !empty($projectsStr) ? array_values(array_filter(array_map('trim', explode(',', $projectsStr)))) : [];
-        }
+        $projectsList = self::parseProjects($data['projects'] ?? []);
         $projectsJson = json_encode($projectsList);
         if ($id) {
             $sql = "UPDATE home_users SET name = :name, email = :email, projects = :projects, is_admin = :is_admin, status = :status ";
@@ -80,7 +101,7 @@ class User {
         $this->db->bind(':email', trim($email));
         $user = $this->db->single();
         if ($user) {
-            $user['projects'] = json_decode($user['projects'], true) ?? [];
+            $user['projects'] = self::parseProjects($user['projects'] ?? []);
         }
         return $user ?: null;
     }
diff --git a/home/views/admin/user_form.php b/home/views/admin/user_form.php
index 7b1c685..e3e3c00 100644
--- a/home/views/admin/user_form.php
+++ b/home/views/admin/user_form.php
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <?php require_once __DIR__ . '/../inc/admin_header.php'; ?>
 <?php
 $baseUrl = rtrim(Config::get('BASE_URL', 'https://philippurbschat.de/'), '/');
-$userProjects = $user['projects'] ?? [];
+$userProjects = User::parseProjects($user['projects'] ?? []);
 $modules = $allModules ?? ModuleService::getAll();
 ?>
 <div class="max-w-4xl w-full mx-auto mt-6 px-4 sm:px-6">
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ $modules = $allModules ?? ModuleService::getAll();
 
                 <div class="grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-2 md:grid-cols-3 gap-3">
                     <?php foreach ($modules as $slug => $mod): 
-                        $isChecked = in_array($slug, $userProjects, true);
+                        $isChecked = in_array(strtolower($slug), array_map('strtolower', $userProjects), true);
                     ?>
                         <label class="flex items-start gap-3 p-3.5 bg-slate-950/70 border border-slate-800 hover:border-emerald-500/50 rounded-xl cursor-pointer transition-all group">
                             <input type="checkbox" name="projects[]" value="<?= htmlspecialchars($slug) ?>" <?= $isChecked ? 'checked' : '' ?> class="module-checkbox mt-1 w-4 h-4 accent-emerald-500">