diff --git a/src/steps/da.py b/src/steps/da.py
index b613bb7..5aaaa98 100644
--- a/src/steps/da.py
+++ b/src/steps/da.py
@@ -2,8 +2,11 @@ import allure
 from tenacity import retry, stop_after_delay, wait_fixed
 
 from src.env_vars import NOMOS_EXECUTOR
+from src.libs.custom_logger import get_custom_logger
 from src.steps.common import StepsCommon
 
+logger = get_custom_logger(__name__)
+
 
 def add_padding(orig_bytes):
     """
@@ -46,14 +49,17 @@ def remove_padding(padded_bytes):
     return padded_bytes[:-padding_len]
 
 
-def prepare_dispersal_request(data, app_id, index, with_utf8_padding=True):
-    if with_utf8_padding:
+def prepare_dispersal_request(data, app_id, index, utf8=True, padding=True):
+    if utf8:
         data_bytes = data.encode("utf-8")
-        padded_bytes = add_padding(list(data_bytes))
     else:
-        padded_bytes = list(data)
+        data_bytes = bytes(data)
 
-    dispersal_data = {"data": padded_bytes, "metadata": {"app_id": app_id, "index": index}}
+    data_list = list(data_bytes)
+    if padding:
+        data_list = add_padding(data_list)
+
+    dispersal_data = {"data": data_list, "metadata": {"app_id": app_id, "index": index}}
     return dispersal_data
 
 
@@ -80,9 +86,9 @@ class StepsDataAvailability(StepsCommon):
 
     @allure.step
     @retry(stop=stop_after_delay(65), wait=wait_fixed(1), reraise=True)
-    def disperse_data(self, data, app_id, index, with_utf8_padding=True):
+    def disperse_data(self, data, app_id, index, utf8=True, padding=True):
         response = []
-        request = prepare_dispersal_request(data, app_id, index, with_utf8_padding)
+        request = prepare_dispersal_request(data, app_id, index, utf8=utf8, padding=padding)
         executor = self.find_executor_node()
         try:
             response = executor.send_dispersal_request(request)
diff --git a/tests/networking_privacy/test_networking_privacy.py b/tests/networking_privacy/test_networking_privacy.py
index 9b85ee7..2ae100e 100644
--- a/tests/networking_privacy/test_networking_privacy.py
+++ b/tests/networking_privacy/test_networking_privacy.py
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ class TestNetworkingPrivacy(StepsDataAvailability):
         successful_dispersals = 0
         for i in range(20):
             try:
-                self.disperse_data(data_to_disperse, to_app_id(1), to_index(0), with_utf8_padding=False)
+                self.disperse_data(data_to_disperse, to_app_id(1), to_index(0), utf8=False, padding=False)
                 successful_dispersals += 1
             except Exception as ex:
                 logger.warning(f"Dispersal #{i} was not successful with error {ex}")