}

    /**
     * Decodes a Base64 string to bytes.
     *
     * @param base64String the Base64 string to decode
     * @return the decoded bytes, or null if input is null
     */
    protected byte[] decodeBase64(String base64String) {
        if (base64String == null) {
            return null;
        }
        try {
            return BASE64_DECODER.decode(base64String);

                        try {
                            final String encoded = cookie.getValue();
                            final byte[] compressed = Base64.getUrlDecoder().decode(encoded);
                            final byte[] jsonBytes = gzipDecompress(compressed);
                            final List<?> list = mapper.readValue(jsonBytes, List.class);