What Base64 is for
Base64 turns binary or arbitrary text into a safe set of 64 ASCII characters so it can travel through systems that only handle plain text: email attachments, JSON payloads, data URLs for inline images, HTTP basic auth headers and JWT tokens. It is encoding, not encryption; anyone can decode it.
Unicode and padding
This tool encodes text as UTF-8 first, so Hindi, emoji and symbols round-trip correctly. The trailing = signs are padding and are normal.
Frequently asked questions
Is Base64 secure?
No. It is reversible by anyone; use it for transport, not secrecy.
Why is the output about 33% longer?
Base64 represents every 3 bytes as 4 characters.