Fix My Formatting

Invisible Character Scanner

Scan text for zero-width spaces, soft hyphens, BOMs, and direction marks, see a count of each kind, and remove them so search and validation work again.

The Invisible Character Scanner removes 27 invisible Unicode characters: zero-width spaces and joiners, soft hyphens, direction marks and other bidirectional controls, the word joiner, invisible math operators and the byte order mark. Ordinary spaces, tabs, no-break spaces and line breaks are kept.

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Every invisible character the scanner handles

Printed below so you can read it without running the tool. U+2065 is unassigned in Unicode and is removed as well. Tabs, no-break spaces and line or paragraph separators are kept, because deleting them would join words or lines.

Code pointUnicode nameWhat it isScannerViewer label
U+0009CHARACTER TABULATIONTab or no-break spaceKept[TAB]
U+00A0NO-BREAK SPACETab or no-break spaceKept[NBSP]
U+00ADSOFT HYPHENHidden hyphen shown only at a line breakRemoved[SHY]
U+200BZERO WIDTH SPACEZero-width space or joinerRemoved[ZWSP]
U+200CZERO WIDTH NON-JOINERZero-width space or joinerRemoved[ZWNJ]
U+200DZERO WIDTH JOINERZero-width space or joinerRemoved[ZWJ]
U+200ELEFT-TO-RIGHT MARKText direction markRemoved[LRM]
U+200FRIGHT-TO-LEFT MARKText direction markRemoved[RLM]
U+2028LINE SEPARATORLine or paragraph separatorKept[LS]
U+2029PARAGRAPH SEPARATORLine or paragraph separatorKept[PS]
U+202ALEFT-TO-RIGHT EMBEDDINGBidirectional embedding or overrideRemoved[LRE]
U+202BRIGHT-TO-LEFT EMBEDDINGBidirectional embedding or overrideRemoved[RLE]
U+202CPOP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTINGBidirectional embedding or overrideRemoved[PDF]
U+202DLEFT-TO-RIGHT OVERRIDEBidirectional embedding or overrideRemoved[LRO]
U+202ERIGHT-TO-LEFT OVERRIDEBidirectional embedding or overrideRemoved[RLO]
U+202FNARROW NO-BREAK SPACETab or no-break spaceKept[NNBSP]
U+2060WORD JOINERWord joiner (prevents a line break)Removed[WJ]
U+2061FUNCTION APPLICATIONInvisible math operatorRemovedNot labelled
U+2062INVISIBLE TIMESInvisible math operatorRemovedNot labelled
U+2063INVISIBLE SEPARATORInvisible math operatorRemovedNot labelled
U+2064INVISIBLE PLUSInvisible math operatorRemovedNot labelled
U+2066LEFT-TO-RIGHT ISOLATEBidirectional isolateRemovedNot labelled
U+2067RIGHT-TO-LEFT ISOLATEBidirectional isolateRemovedNot labelled
U+2068FIRST STRONG ISOLATEBidirectional isolateRemovedNot labelled
U+2069POP DIRECTIONAL ISOLATEBidirectional isolateRemovedNot labelled
U+206AINHIBIT SYMMETRIC SWAPPINGDeprecated format controlRemovedNot labelled
U+206BACTIVATE SYMMETRIC SWAPPINGDeprecated format controlRemovedNot labelled
U+206CINHIBIT ARABIC FORM SHAPINGDeprecated format controlRemovedNot labelled
U+206DACTIVATE ARABIC FORM SHAPINGDeprecated format controlRemovedNot labelled
U+206ENATIONAL DIGIT SHAPESDeprecated format controlRemovedNot labelled
U+206FNOMINAL DIGIT SHAPESDeprecated format controlRemovedNot labelled
U+FEFFZERO WIDTH NO-BREAK SPACEByte order markRemoved[BOM]

Guide: Invisible Unicode characters: what they are and what they break

How to use Invisible Character Scanner

Invisible Unicode can break search, validation, code, and copy-paste workflows. This scanner identifies each supported character type and removes it safely.

  1. Copy the text or table you want to fix.
  2. Paste it into the input above. The result updates instantly.
  3. Copy, download, share, or embed the finished result.

Frequently asked questions

Is invisible character scanner free?

Yes. It is free, requires no account, and has no usage limit.

Does my text get uploaded?

No. Processing happens in your browser. Text is stored only if you explicitly create a share link.

Can I use it on mobile?

Yes. The editor works in current mobile and desktop browsers.

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Guides

Seven signs text was written by AIThe seven formatting and style patterns that show up in AI-generated text, how to check for each one, and why none of them is proof on its own.Do AI chatbots watermark their text?How AI text watermarks actually work, which chatbots use them in 2026, what survives copying and editing, and why invisible characters are not the mark.Does ChatGPT hide invisible characters in your text?AI output really does contain invisible Unicode. Here is what is actually in there, where it comes from, and whether any of it is a watermark.How many tokens is my prompt?Tokens are sub-word fragments, not words. Here is how tokenization works, why counts differ between models, and how to estimate cost.Invisible Unicode characters: what they are and what they breakA reference to zero-width spaces, soft hyphens, BOMs, and direction marks — what each one does, where it comes from, and how to remove it.Zero-width space (U+200B): what it is and what it breaksThe zero-width space is U+200B: invisible, but still a character. Why it breaks search and comparison, how to strip it, and how to insert one on purpose.