AES Decrypt
Decrypt AES-256-GCM encrypted text back to plaintext.
Must match the mode used during encryption
Must match the key size used during encryption
If you used a password during encryption, the salt is extracted automatically from the encrypted data.
Expected Input Structure
[Salt: 16 bytes] + [IV: 12 bytes] + [Ciphertext]
This matches the output format of the AES Encrypt tool with the same settings.
Troubleshooting
- • Cipher mode must match (GCM vs CBC)
- • Key size must match (128, 192, or 256 bits)
- • Key format must match (Password vs Base64/Hex)
- • Input format must match how data was encoded
- • Password/key must be exactly the same
When to Use This Tool
Read Encrypted Messages
Decrypt messages that were encrypted and shared with you securely.
Access Protected Notes
Unlock your password-protected notes and private information.
Recover Encrypted Data
Decrypt sensitive data like credentials or personal information that was previously encrypted.
Secure Communication
Part of a secure communication workflow - receive encrypted messages and decrypt them locally.
Examples
Decrypt Encrypted Text
Base64-encoded encrypted string
My secret message
💡 With the correct password, the original plaintext is recovered
Wrong Password
Encrypted string with wrong password
Error: Decryption failed
💡 An incorrect password will result in a decryption error
Corrupted Data
Modified or truncated encrypted string
Error: Invalid data
💡 AES-GCM detects any tampering with the encrypted data
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Wrong password
Solution: Double-check the password. AES decryption requires the exact same password used for encryption.
Incomplete encrypted text
Solution: Make sure to copy the entire encrypted string. Even one missing character will cause decryption to fail.
Mixing encryption methods
Solution: This tool only decrypts text encrypted with our AES Encrypt tool. Other encryption formats are not compatible.