diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index f0e0428..e664e51 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -20,20 +20,11 @@ pub struct DnsConfig {
 
 #[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
 pub struct WebAppConfig {
-    #[serde(deserialize_with = "from_base64")]
-    pub secret: Vec<u8>,
+    pub secret: String,
     #[serde(deserialize_with = "from_duration")]
     pub token_duration: Duration,
 }
 
-fn from_base64<'de, D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Vec<u8>, D::Error>
-    where D: Deserializer<'de>
-{
-    use serde::de::Error;
-    String::deserialize(deserializer)
-        .and_then(|string| base64::decode(&string).map_err(|err| Error::custom(err.to_string())))
-}
-
 fn from_duration<'de, D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Duration, D::Error>
     where D: Deserializer<'de>
 {
diff --git a/src/models/users.rs b/src/models/users.rs
index cd0989b..be1a6b7 100644
--- a/src/models/users.rs
+++ b/src/models/users.rs
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ impl AuthClaims {
         }
     }
 
-    pub fn encode(self, secret: &[u8]) -> JwtResult<String> {
-        encode(&Header::default(), &self, &EncodingKey::from_secret(&secret))
+    pub fn encode(self, secret: &str) -> JwtResult<String> {
+        encode(&Header::default(), &self, &EncodingKey::from_secret(secret.as_bytes()))
     }
 }