Invisible character detector
This tool finds characters you cannot see, which often break code, search, sorting and form fields. Developers, editors and data analysts use it to explain mystery bugs and clean text copied from websites, chats and documents.
- Runs in your browser
- Free, no account needed
- Copy or download the result
Result
Example
Price: $20 per item. Softhyphen and a right-to-left mark here.
Found 4 invisible or special characters (4 kinds). Line:Col Code point Name 1:7 U+00A0 No-break space 1:11 U+200B Zero width space 2:5 U+00AD Soft hyphen 2:37 U+200F Right-to-left mark Summary U+00A0 No-break space: 1 U+200B Zero width space: 1 U+00AD Soft hyphen: 1 U+200F Right-to-left mark: 1 Columns count Unicode characters from 1. Joiners can be meaningful in emoji and some scripts, so check before removing them.
How to use the invisible character detector
- Paste your text into the Text to scan box.
- Set Also show cleaned text to Yes if you want a cleaned copy.
- Press Run.
- Check each finding's line, column and code point, then copy the cleaned text if needed.
How it works
It reports zero width spaces and joiners, word joiners, byte order marks, soft hyphens, bidi controls such as right-to-left marks and overrides, special spaces like no-break and thin spaces, and other hidden format and control characters.
Each finding shows its line and column, counted in Unicode characters from 1, its code point such as U+200B, and its name. Tabs and normal line breaks are not reported.
Cleaned text removes hidden characters, turns special spaces into normal spaces and turns Unicode line separators into new lines. A zero width joiner inside an emoji is kept.
Joiners can be meaningful in some languages, such as Persian, so check before removing them. Up to 1,000 findings are listed.
Everything runs in your browser. Your input is not uploaded or stored.
Questions and answers
How do I find a zero width space?
Paste the text and press Run. Any zero width space is listed as U+200B with its line and column.
What is a byte order mark?
It is the character U+FEFF that some programs add to the start of a file. It is invisible but can break CSV headers, scripts and JSON.
Can it remove the hidden characters?
Yes. Set Also show cleaned text to Yes and copy the cleaned version under the report.