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Q & A Developer · September 11, 2026

Is Base64 encryption or just encoding?

Just encoding — Base64 is NOT encryption. It’s a bijective mapping between binary data and printable ASCII characters. Anyone can decode Base64 with any tool in seconds (the Base64 converter is one example). Storing ‘encoded’ secrets in Base64 is equivalent to storing them in plaintext. If you need confidentiality, use actual encryption (AES-256-GCM, ChaCha20-Poly1305). Common misconception: Base64 makes data ‘safer’ — it doesn’t. It just makes binary data safe to include in text formats (email, JSON, HTTP headers).

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What Is a JWT?
JWT (JSON Web Token) is the dominant format for API authentication, OAuth access tokens, and stateless session management. Three base64-encoded segments carry the header, claims, and signature — anyone can read them, but only the key holder can produce a valid token.
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