Developer Utility
Unicode & Invisible Character Inspector
Find hidden characters, inspect Unicode code points, compare strings, and remove unwanted formatting without uploading text.
See what your text is hiding.
Inspect invisible characters, Unicode code points, normalization differences, and suspicious formatting—all in your browser.
Text to inspect
Character map
Select a character to inspect its exact Unicode value.
Detected characters
3 flaggedClean text
Choose which categories to remove. Nothing is removed automatically.
Unicode normalization
Compare canonical and compatibility normalization forms.
No change under this normalization form.
Compare two strings
Compare the original text with another string, code point by code point.
Important: zero-width joiners, variation selectors, and formatting characters can be legitimate parts of emoji, Bengali, and other writing systems. Flagged does not always mean invalid. Compatibility normalization can also change the meaning or appearance of text.
Quick Answer
How do you detect invisible characters in text?
Paste text into the inspector. It identifies supported invisible and formatting characters, shows their Unicode code points and positions, and lets you examine each character. You can selectively remove categories of characters.
Common Problems
Why do two identical-looking strings compare differently?
Text can contain zero-width spaces, non-breaking spaces, combining marks, or different Unicode normalization forms. These can produce different code point sequences even when the strings look the same on screen.
const a = "HelloWorld";
const b = "Hello\u200BWorld";
console.log(a === b); // falseUnicode Basics
Code points vs UTF-16 length
JavaScript string length counts UTF-16 code units, not Unicode code points. Some characters, including many emoji, require two UTF-16 code units. This inspector shows both measurements.
Normalization
What are NFC, NFD, NFKC and NFKD?
NFC and NFD apply canonical composition or decomposition. NFKC and NFKD also apply compatibility mappings, which can change certain formatting distinctions. Choose the appropriate normalization form for your application rather than assuming every form is interchangeable.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Are zero-width characters always bad?
No. They can be essential for emoji sequences and writing systems including Bengali. Inspect them before removing them.
Does this tool upload my text?
No. The text analysis runs locally in your browser.
Can it identify every Unicode character by name?
Not yet. This version provides code points for all characters and descriptive names for selected formatting characters.
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