diff --git a/app/persistence/azure_queue_storage.py b/app/persistence/azure_queue_storage.py
index d677006..4a07e90 100644
--- a/app/persistence/azure_queue_storage.py
+++ b/app/persistence/azure_queue_storage.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+from base64 import b64decode, b64encode
+from binascii import Error as BinasciiError
 from typing import Any, AsyncGenerator
 
 from azure.core.exceptions import (
@@ -5,7 +7,6 @@
     ResourceNotFoundError,
     ServiceRequestError,
 )
-from azure.storage.queue import TextBase64DecodePolicy, TextBase64EncodePolicy
 from azure.storage.queue.aio import QueueClient, QueueServiceClient
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 from tenacity import (
@@ -47,7 +48,7 @@ async def send_message(
         self,
         message: str,
     ) -> None:
-        await self._client.send_message(message)
+        await self._client.send_message(self._escape(message))
 
     @retry(
         reraise=True,
@@ -66,7 +67,7 @@ async def receive_messages(
         )
         async for message in messages:
             yield Message(
-                content=message.content,
+                content=self._unescape(message.content),
                 delete_token=message.pop_receipt,
                 dequeue_count=message.dequeue_count,
                 message_id=message.id,
@@ -99,13 +100,28 @@ async def delete_queue(
         await self._client.delete_queue()
         logger.info('Deleted Queue Storage "%s"', self._config.name)
 
+    def _escape(self, value: str) -> str:
+        """
+        Escape value to base64 encoding.
+        """
+        return b64encode(value.encode(self.encoding)).decode(self.encoding)
+
+    def _unescape(self, value: str) -> str:
+        """
+        Unescape value from base64 encoding.
+
+        If the value is not base64 encoded, return the original value as string. This will handle retro-compatibility with old messages.
+        """
+        try:
+            return b64decode(value.encode(self.encoding)).decode(self.encoding)
+        except BinasciiError:
+            return value
+
     async def __aenter__(self) -> "AzureQueueStorage":
         self._service = QueueServiceClient.from_connection_string(
             self._config.connection_string
         )
         self._client = self._service.get_queue_client(
-            message_decode_policy=TextBase64DecodePolicy(),
-            message_encode_policy=TextBase64EncodePolicy(),
             queue=self._config.name,
         )
         # Create if it does not exist
diff --git a/app/persistence/iqueue.py b/app/persistence/iqueue.py
index dc02f0a..d28ba6d 100644
--- a/app/persistence/iqueue.py
+++ b/app/persistence/iqueue.py
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ class Provider(str, Enum):
 
 
 class IQueue:
+    encoding = "utf-8"
+
     @abstractmethod
     async def send_message(
         self,
diff --git a/tests/blob.py b/tests/blob.py
index fd1045f..c696b6c 100644
--- a/tests/blob.py
+++ b/tests/blob.py
@@ -297,12 +297,20 @@ async def _validate(
 
 
 def _random_name() -> str:
+    """
+    Generate a random name with 32 characters.
+
+    All lowercase letters and digits are used.
+    """
     return "".join(
         random.choice(string.ascii_lowercase + string.digits) for _ in range(32)
     )
 
 
 def _random_content() -> str:
-    return "".join(
-        random.choice(string.printable) for _ in range(random.randint(1, 512))
-    )
+    """
+    Generate a random content with a length of 512 characters.
+
+    All printable ASCII characters are used.
+    """
+    return "".join(random.choice(string.printable) for _ in range(512))
diff --git a/tests/queue.py b/tests/queue.py
index 56967f9..e133445 100644
--- a/tests/queue.py
+++ b/tests/queue.py
@@ -169,12 +169,20 @@ async def test_send_many(provider: QueueProvider) -> None:
 
 
 def _random_name() -> str:
+    """
+    Generate a random name with 32 characters.
+
+    All lowercase letters and digits are used.
+    """
     return "".join(
         random.choice(string.ascii_lowercase + string.digits) for _ in range(32)
     )
 
 
 def _random_content() -> str:
-    return "".join(
-        random.choice(string.printable) for _ in range(random.randint(1, 512))
-    )
+    """
+    Generate a random content with a length of 512 characters.
+
+    All printable ASCII characters are used.
+    """
+    return "".join(random.choice(string.printable) for _ in range(512))