Guides / FreeTools Lab

Base64 Is Encoding, Not Encryption

What Base64 does, what it does not protect and when it is useful.

Base64 changes representation

It turns bytes into a text alphabet that is easier to move through systems expecting text. Anyone who receives the value can decode it.

Do not hide secrets with Base64

Passwords, tokens and personal documents need proper access control and encryption. Base64 provides no confidentiality.

Check character encoding

Text should be converted with an agreed encoding such as UTF-8. Different systems can display non-ASCII text differently if they assume another encoding.

Try the related browser tools, then inspect the output before using it in your own workflow.