How Base64 encoding works
This tool converts text to UTF-8 bytes, then represents every three bytes with four printable characters. Base64 is useful where only text is accepted, but it usually increases data size by about one third.
When to use Base64
- Transfer binary data or Unicode text in JSON, API requests, and configuration files.
- Create Base64URL for URLs, tokens, and protocol fields that do not use padding.
- Split long output into 76-character lines when a MIME-compatible format is required.
Security and privacy
Base64 is not encryption and does not protect passwords, tokens, or personal data. Do not put sensitive content in links, screenshots, or logs. Text and files are processed only in this browser session; the tool does not retain conversion results after the page is closed or refreshed.
Common questions
Turn on URL-safe encoding when the result must be used in a URL. It replaces the standard Base64 special characters with - and _. If text becomes garbled between systems, make sure both the sender and receiver use UTF-8.