What is Base64?
Base64 is a way of writing any data, including text in any language, using only 64 plain characters:
A–Z, a–z, 0–9, + and /, with =
as padding at the end. It's used wherever binary data has to travel through something that only handles
text: email attachments, data: URLs, JSON payloads, HTTP Basic authentication headers and
JSON Web Tokens.
Every 3 bytes of input become 4 characters of output, so Base64 is about a third larger than the original.
How to use it
Type in either box and the result updates as you type. Text is converted to UTF-8 bytes before encoding,
so accented letters, emoji and non-Latin scripts work. The decoder also accepts
URL-safe Base64 (which uses - and _ instead of + and
/), such as the parts of a JWT.
Is Base64 encryption?
No. Base64 is an encoding, not encryption: anyone can decode it, and it gives no protection at all. If you need to share something privately, use an end-to-end encrypted paste instead.