Base64, encryption, and hashing

These tools solve different problems: moving bytes, keeping data secret, and comparing data.

Checklist

1. Identify whether the goal is transport, confidentiality, or a one-way comparison.
2. Use Base64 for bytes as text; use encryption for secrecy; use a hash for verification.
3. Treat encoded text as readable data, not as a protected secret.

Privacy and accuracy

Encoding changes representation; it does not protect a secret.