Paste text to reveal every invisible or unusual character in it: zero-width spaces and joiners, non-breaking spaces, byte order marks, direction marks, soft hyphens and odd whitespace. Each one is highlighted in place, listed with its code point, and can be removed or replaced with a normal space in one click.
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Highlighted view
Characters found
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How to use the Hidden Character Detector
Paste your text into the box, or load a .txt file.
Check the highlighted view: every hidden character appears as a colored label at its exact position.
Review the summary table to see which characters were found, their Unicode code points and how many times each appears.
Choose a cleanup option: remove invisible characters, convert unusual spaces to regular spaces, or both.
Click Clean text, then copy or download the result.
Common hidden characters
Character
Code point
Where it usually comes from
Zero width space
U+200B
Web pages, CMS editors, chat apps, line-break hints in long URLs
No-break space
U+00A0
Word processors, HTML , copied PDFs, French punctuation
Narrow no-break space
U+202F
Number and currency formatting, some operating system date and time strings
Byte order mark
U+FEFF
The start of UTF-8 or UTF-16 files saved by some editors
Zero width joiner
U+200D
Emoji sequences (family, profession and flag emoji) and complex scripts
Soft hyphen
U+00AD
Hyphenation hints from word processors and e-books
Left/right-to-left marks
U+200E, U+200F
Mixed-language text, phone numbers and names in right-to-left languages
Tips for avoiding hidden characters
Paste as plain text (Ctrl+Shift+V or Cmd+Shift+Option+V in many apps) to drop formatting. Save code and data files as UTF-8 without a BOM. In spreadsheets, a formula like =SUBSTITUTE(A1,CHAR(160)," ") replaces non-breaking spaces, but checking the text here first shows exactly which characters you need to deal with.
Frequently asked questions
What is a hidden character?
A hidden character is a Unicode character that takes up no visible space or looks identical to a normal space, such as the zero-width space (U+200B), the non-breaking space (U+00A0) or the byte order mark (U+FEFF). They are invisible on screen but are still part of the text.
Why do hidden characters cause problems?
They can break code, passwords, search, sorting and spreadsheet formulas, make two identical-looking words compare as different, cause JSON or CSV parsing errors, and add unexpected line wrapping. Copying text from web pages, PDFs, chat apps and word processors often brings them along.
Can this tool tell if text was written by AI?
No. Some people look for zero-width characters or special spaces as possible watermarks, and this tool will show any that are present, but their presence or absence does not prove where text came from. Ordinary copying and formatting adds these characters all the time.
Is it safe to remove all hidden characters?
Usually, but not always. Zero-width joiners (U+200D) are needed inside some emoji sequences and in scripts such as Arabic and Indic languages, and right-to-left marks can matter in mixed-direction text. The tool keeps joiners inside emoji by default; review the table before removing others.
What is the difference between a non-breaking space and a normal space?
A normal space is U+0020. A non-breaking space (U+00A0) looks the same but prevents a line break at that position. Many programs treat it as a different character, so searches and formulas that expect a normal space fail to match.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. The detection and cleanup run in your browser with JavaScript, and your text never leaves your device.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.