Cast Private To Array¶

By Paul Shryock

<?php

class MyClass {
    private $hi = 'Hi';
    protected $hello = 'Hello';
    public $goodday = 'Goodday';
}

$thing = new MyClass();
print json_encode($thing); // {"goodday":"Goodday"}

print json_encode((array) $thing);
// {"MyClasshi":"Hi","*hello":"Hello","goodday":"Goodday"}

Today I learned that PHP exposes private properties when an object is cast to an array. 🤦.

See Also¶

Original Toot
Casting private properties [Try me]

PHP Features¶

Last updated: 14 July 2026