[7] On the receiving system it is responsible for the translation, formatting, and delivery of information for processing or display.
[8] In theory, it relieves application layer protocols of concern regarding syntactical differences in data representation within the end-user systems.
Serialization of complex data structures into flat byte-strings (using mechanisms such as TLV, XML or JSON) can be thought of as the key functionality of the presentation layer.
Encryption and Decryption are typically done at this level too,[9] although it can be done on the application, session, transport, or network layers, each having its own advantages and disadvantages.
For example, when logging on to bank account sites the presentation layer will decrypt the data as it is received.