When creating a new ASP.NET application in Visual Studio, a couple of files and folders are created automatically. One of those folders is called `App_Data`.

Also when publishing a website by selecting the menu option `Build-&gt;Publish` a checkbox is available `Include files from the App_Data folder`.

Am I right assuming that the files put in this file and its sub-folders are not going to be accessible through the web? For example, would it be safe to put in that folder resources that I only intend to be used by the application code? 

What is the real intended use of the `App_Data` folder?

**EDIT:**

Thank you for all the answers. From the answers received so far I am interested mostly in two points mentioned: 

 1. [App_Data is essentially a storage point for file-based data store][1]
 2. [It should not be viewable by the web and is a place for the web app to store and read data from][2]

Would someone be able specify how the &quot;not viewable by the web&quot; is ensured? 
Can I rely on that fact when performing standard deployment, or do I need to check some IIS settings on the server as well.

In the situation when I have a set of pdf files that I want to be accessible only from the application. Would App_Data folder be the right place to use, or should I create a separate folder and manually set IIS to ensure that it is not accessible by Web?



  [1]: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/528858/what-is-the-appdata-folder-used-for-in-visual-studio/528876#528876
  [2]: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/528858/what-is-the-appdata-folder-used-for-in-visual-studio/528872#528872

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What is the App_Data folder used for in Visual Studio?