What are the potential pitfalls of using htmlentities() before inserting data into a database in PHP?

Using htmlentities() before inserting data into a database in PHP can potentially cause issues when retrieving and displaying the data later on. This function converts characters like < and > into HTML entities, which can make the data harder to work with. Instead, it's recommended to use prepared statements with parameterized queries to securely insert data into a database without the need for htmlentities().

// Using prepared statements to safely insert data into a database in PHP
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2) VALUES (:value1, :value2)");
$stmt->bindParam(':value1', $value1);
$stmt->bindParam(':value2', $value2);

// Set the values of $value1 and $value2 before executing the query
$value1 = "Some data";
$value2 = "More data";

$stmt->execute();