Q: What happens if the input is not valid Base64?
The decoder will display an error message indicating that the input contains invalid characters. Valid Base64 strings only contain A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /, and = (padding). Whitespace and line breaks are typically ignored.
Q: Can I decode Base64 that was encoded with a different character set?
The decoder interprets the decoded bytes as UTF-8 text by default. If the original data was encoded using a different character set (e.g., ISO-8859-1), some characters may not display correctly in the output.
Q: Does the decoder handle URL-safe Base64?
Yes, the decoder supports both standard Base64 (with + and /) and URL-safe Base64 (with - and _). It automatically detects and handles both variants, so you can paste either format.
Q: Is Base64 decoding the same as decryption?
No, Base64 is an encoding scheme, not encryption. It transforms binary data into ASCII text for safe transport, but provides no security. Anyone with the Base64 string can decode it — it should never be used to protect sensitive data.