Is it advisable to encrypt or obfuscate sensitive information, such as user IDs, in URLs for security purposes in PHP applications?

It is advisable to encrypt or obfuscate sensitive information, such as user IDs, in URLs for security purposes in PHP applications. This helps prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data and protects user privacy. One way to achieve this is by using encryption algorithms like AES to encrypt the user ID before including it in the URL. 

// Encrypt the user ID before including it in the URL
$userId = 123; // Example user ID
$encryptedUserId = openssl_encrypt($userId, 'aes-256-cbc', 'secret_key', 0, '16_character_iv');

// Include the encrypted user ID in the URL
$url = "https://example.com/profile.php?id=" . urlencode($encryptedUserId);

Keywords

encryption obfuscation sensitive information user IDs security purposes

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