noun
- text that is not encrypted or encoded and can be read without special decoding
- text without special formatting or markup
Usage: computing; cryptography
Usage: computing
Examples
- The password was stored in plaintext, making it vulnerable to hackers.
- Before encryption, the message exists as plaintext.
- The document was saved as plaintext without any bold or italic formatting.
- Email headers are typically transmitted in plaintext.
- The plaintext file contained only basic characters with no special styling.
- Developers should never store sensitive data in plaintext format.