Protocol Buffers, often abbreviated as protobuf, is a method developed by Google for serializing structured data. It allows developers to define data structures in a simple language and then automatically generate code in various programming languages. This makes it easier to send data between different systems or store it efficiently. One of the main advantages of Protocol Buffers is its compact binary format, which reduces the amount of data transmitted over networks. This efficiency is especially beneficial for applications that require fast communication, such as mobile apps and microservices, where minimizing data size can lead to better performance.