Zero-Width & Invisible Character Stripper
Remove zero-width spaces, invisible Unicode characters, and hidden formatting marks from text.
About the Zero-Width & Invisible Character Stripper
Our free online tool strips invisible and zero-width Unicode characters from your text that can cause problems in data processing, web forms, and document formatting. It removes zero-width space (U+200B), zero-width non-joiner (U+200C), zero-width joiner (U+200D), left-to-right mark (U+200E), right-to-left mark (U+200F), BOM (U+FEFF), soft hyphen (U+00AD), word joiner (U+2060), and other hidden formatting characters. These invisible characters often get pasted from web pages, PDFs, and rich text editors, causing issues with validation, string comparison, and data processing.
Features
- Removes zero-width spaces (U+200B)
- Removes zero-width joiners and non-joiners (U+200C, U+200D)
- Removes direction marks (LRM, RLM — U+200E, U+200F)
- Removes BOM (U+FEFF) and soft hyphen (U+00AD)
- Removes invisible operators and word joiners
- Shows count of invisible characters removed
- Copy cleaned text to clipboard
- 100% private — browser-only processing
How to use this tool
The Zero-Width & Invisible Character Stripper works right in your browser — no signup, no installation. Follow these steps:
- Paste text to inspect.
- Review which supported invisible characters were found.
- Check the cleaned output, especially joined emoji and non-Latin scripts.
- Copy the cleaned text.
Frequently asked questions
What are zero-width characters?
Zero-width characters are Unicode characters that take up no visible space but affect text processing. Common examples include zero-width space (used for line breaking), zero-width joiner (used in emoji sequences), and BOM (byte order mark used in UTF-16 files). They are invisible to the user but can break data processing.
How do invisible characters get into my text?
Invisible characters often sneak in when copying from web pages (especially from CMS editors), PDFs, Word documents, and rich text editors. They can also be deliberately inserted for text formatting or emoji rendering.
Will this affect visible emoji or special characters?
Yes. Removing a zero-width joiner can split a joined emoji into separate symbols. Removing joiners and direction controls can also change how some scripts render. The tool removes a predefined list of characters, not every Unicode Format character. Review the cleaned text before replacing your original.
Using the results
Bulk text edits that would take ages by hand happen in one step with the Zero-Width & Invisible Character Stripper. It applies your changes the moment you make them, entirely in the browser, so your content stays on your device and the result is ready to copy immediately.