diff --git a/swh/graphql/tests/functional/test_pagination.py b/swh/graphql/tests/functional/test_pagination.py
--- a/swh/graphql/tests/functional/test_pagination.py
+++ b/swh/graphql/tests/functional/test_pagination.py
@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@
     first_data, _ = get_origin_nodes(client, first=1)
     end_cursor = first_data["origins"]["pageInfo"]["endCursor"]
     # get again with endcursor as the after argument
+    # import pdb; pdb.set_trace()
+
     data, _ = get_origin_nodes(client, first=1, after=end_cursor)
     assert len(data["origins"]["nodes"]) == 1
     assert data["origins"]["pageInfo"] == {"hasNextPage": False, "endCursor": None}
diff --git a/swh/graphql/tests/functional/test_search.py b/swh/graphql/tests/functional/test_search.py
--- a/swh/graphql/tests/functional/test_search.py
+++ b/swh/graphql/tests/functional/test_search.py
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
                     "targetType": "origin",
                 }
             ],
-            "pageInfo": {"endCursor": "MQ==", "hasNextPage": True},
+            "pageInfo": {"endCursor": "VFJLSkplR1IxSkpFSEROT0hU", "hasNextPage": True},
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/swh/graphql/tests/unit/utils/test_utils.py b/swh/graphql/tests/unit/utils/test_utils.py
--- a/swh/graphql/tests/unit/utils/test_utils.py
+++ b/swh/graphql/tests/unit/utils/test_utils.py
@@ -22,12 +22,18 @@
         assert utils.get_encoded_cursor(None) is None
         assert utils.get_encoded_cursor("testing") == "dGVzdGluZw=="
 
+    def test_get_encoded_numeric_cursor(self):
+        assert utils.get_encoded_cursor("1003") == "VFJLSkplR1IxMDAzSkpFSEROT0hU"
+
     def test_get_decoded_cursor_is_none(self):
         assert utils.get_decoded_cursor(None) is None
 
     def test_get_decoded_cursor(self):
         assert utils.get_decoded_cursor("dGVzdGluZw==") == "testing"
 
+    def test_get_decoded_numeric_cursor(self):
+        assert utils.get_decoded_cursor("VFJLSkplR1IxMDAzSkpFSEROT0hU") == "1003"
+
     def test_get_formatted_date(self):
         date = datetime.datetime(
             2015, 8, 4, 22, 26, 14, 804009, tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc
diff --git a/swh/graphql/utils/utils.py b/swh/graphql/utils/utils.py
--- a/swh/graphql/utils/utils.py
+++ b/swh/graphql/utils/utils.py
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
 from swh.storage.interface import PagedResult
 
 ENCODING = "utf-8"
+CURSOR_PREFIX = "TRKJJeGR"
+CURSOR_SUFIX = "JJEHDNOHT"
 
 
 def get_b64_string(source) -> str:
@@ -21,13 +23,25 @@
 def get_encoded_cursor(cursor: Optional[str]) -> Optional[str]:
     if cursor is None:
         return None
+    if type(cursor) == str and cursor.isnumeric():
+        # Add two random strings to make cursor a bit more opaque
+        # add this only when the cursor is numeric, this check is
+        # to avoid making cursor unnecessarily longer in other situations
+        # (eg: in snapshot-branches the branch name is used as the cursor)
+        cursor = CURSOR_PREFIX + cursor + CURSOR_SUFIX
     return get_b64_string(cursor)
 
 
 def get_decoded_cursor(cursor: Optional[str]) -> Optional[str]:
     if cursor is None:
         return None
-    return base64.b64decode(cursor, validate=True).decode()
+    # strip the added random strings from left and right
+    return (
+        base64.b64decode(cursor, validate=True)
+        .decode()
+        .lstrip(CURSOR_PREFIX)
+        .rstrip(CURSOR_SUFIX)
+    )
 
 
 def get_formatted_date(date: datetime) -> str: