Encoding is not encryption
Base64 turns arbitrary bytes into ASCII so they survive email, JSON, or HTTP headers. Anyone can decode it. If you need confidentiality, use real encryption (and then maybe Base64 the ciphertext for transport).
Still, Base64 shows up everywhere: data URLs, JWT segments, basic auth headers, and embedding small binaries in config files.
Good and bad use cases
Keep this distinction clear:
- Good: embedding a small icon as a data URL
- Good: putting binary hashes into a JSON API
- Bad: "hiding" API keys by Base64-encoding them in source
- Bad: storing passwords as Base64 instead of hashing
- Caution: Base64 increases size by ~33% — avoid for large files over the wire
Encode and decode locally
code.live's Base64 Encoder/Decoder runs in the browser. Paste text, flip between encode and decode, and never upload secrets to a remote converter.