Frequently Asked Questions
What is Base64 encoding?
Base64 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that represents binary data using 64 printable ASCII characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /). It is widely used in email (MIME), data URIs, JSON Web Tokens (JWT), and embedding images in CSS/HTML. Base64 increases data size by approximately 33%.
Is my data safe using this tool?
Yes. All encoding and decoding happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript's built-in btoa(), atob(), and FileReader APIs. No data is transmitted to any server. You can verify this by disconnecting from the internet and using the tool offline.
How do I convert a file to Base64?
Switch to the "File to Base64" tab, then drag and drop a file or click to browse. The file is read locally in your browser and converted to a Base64 string. You can copy the raw Base64 or copy it as a complete Data URI (useful for embedding images in HTML/CSS).
Does Base64 provide encryption?
No. Base64 is an encoding, not encryption. It does not provide any security or confidentiality. Anyone can decode a Base64 string. If you need to protect sensitive data, use proper encryption (e.g., AES-256) before Base64 encoding.
Why does Base64 make data larger?
Base64 uses 6 bits per character to represent data that originally uses 8 bits per byte. Every 3 bytes of input become 4 Base64 characters, resulting in approximately 33% size increase. Padding characters (=) are added when the input length is not a multiple of 3.