Base64

Base64 is an encoding that represents binary data using a set of 64 text characters, so that bytes which are not printable can travel safely through systems built for text. It works by taking three bytes at a time and rewriting them as four characters, which is why encoded data is roughly a third larger than the original. Base64 is common in data URIs, email attachments, and anywhere binary content must sit inside a text format. A crucial point often misunderstood: Base64 is not encryption. Anyone can decode it, so it protects nothing — it only makes binary data text-safe.