Understand Password Hashing

Learn how cryptographic hashing works by seeing how text changes produce completely different hash outputs.

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Tip: SHA-256 and SHA-512 are cryptographically secure. SHA-1 is legacy and no longer recommended for security-sensitive use. All hashing runs locally in your browser — files and text are never sent anywhere.

Security tips

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SHA-256 and SHA-512 are one-way hash functions — you can't reverse the hash to get the original text. This is why hashed passwords are secure.

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This tool demonstrates hashing but is NOT suitable for password storage in production. Use bcrypt, Argon2, or scrypt — these add salting and key stretching.

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Notice how changing even a single character produces a completely different hash. This is the "avalanche effect" — intentional in cryptographic hash design.

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SHA-1 is shown for reference only. It is cryptographically broken and should not be used for security purposes in modern applications.