Zero-Width Space U+200B
Copy the zero-width space (U+200B) in one click. What ZWSP is, how to use it for invisible names, and how to find and remove it from text.
Remove the Zero-Width Space from your text
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- Codepoint
U+200B- Decimal
8203- HTML
​- CSS
\200B- JS
\u200B- URL
%E2%80%8B- UTF-8
E2 80 8B- Category
Format (Cf)- Block
General Punctuation
The zero-width space (ZWSP, U+200B) is one of the most widely used invisible characters in Unicode. It takes up no space on screen but marks a spot where the line may break. It was designed to mark word boundaries in scripts like Thai, Khmer and Myanmar, which do not put visible spaces between words.
If pasted text broke search, matching or formatting for no visible reason, a zero-width space may be hiding in it.
Common Uses
- Invisible usernames in Fortnite, Instagram and Discord. Where a platform accepts it, a ZWSP display name looks blank to other users. Many platforms strip or reject it.
- Line-break opportunities in long strings. Insert ZWSP into long URLs, email addresses or technical terms so browsers can wrap them without a visible hyphen.
- Text watermarking and fingerprinting. A unique pattern of zero-width spaces in each copy of a document identifies who leaked it.
- Bypassing text filters. A simple keyword filter sees "bad" + ZWSP + "word" as two tokens, not one banned phrase.
- AI-generated content artifacts. Text copied from AI chat tools sometimes contains invisible characters. The best-documented case involved narrow no-break spaces (U+202F) rather than ZWSP; see our Non-Breaking Space page.
How to Type
| Platform | Method |
|---|---|
| Windows | No direct keyboard shortcut. Copy from this page. In Microsoft Word, type 200B then press Alt+X. |
| macOS | No direct keyboard shortcut. Copy from this page, or enable the Unicode Hex Input source and hold Option while typing 200B. |
| Linux | Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 200B, press Enter. |
| Mobile (iOS/Android) | Copy from this page and paste. No native keyboard input. |
| HTML | Type ​ or ​ in your source code. |
| JavaScript | Use the escape sequence \u200B in strings. |
| CSS | Use content: '\200B'; in pseudo-elements. |
| Python | Use \u200B in strings: text = "word\u200Bword" |
Platform Guide
Fortnite: Some players report it works as a display name, but Epic's display-name rules may reject it.
Instagram: Often reported to work in bios and display names. Test first.
Discord: Works in some message and name fields, but Discord may trim it. Results vary by field and client.
Among Us: Generally reported not to work. Players usually recommend the Hangul Filler (U+3164) instead.
WhatsApp: ZWSP may not work on all versions. For blank messages, the Left-to-Right Mark (U+200E) is the usual suggestion.
YouTube: For blank video titles, people usually suggest the Zero-Width Non-Joiner (U+200C) instead.
Technical Details
Unicode classifies ZWSP as a Format character (category Cf). It has no width, height or glyph, but it is a real character in the text:
- It creates a line-break opportunity (line break class ZW) with no visible gap.
- The Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm ignores it (bidi class BN, Boundary Neutral), so it does not change the display order of mixed left-to-right and right-to-left text.
- Most text processing systems preserve it, so it survives copy-paste, database storage and transmission.
Match it with \u200B in most regex flavors. In JavaScript, string.includes('\u200B') detects it and string.replace(/\u200B/g, '') removes every one.
Security Considerations
- Strings that look identical but differ. Two URLs or email addresses can look the same while one hides ZWSP characters, sending users somewhere else. Phishing attacks use this.
- AI prompt injection. Attackers use ZWSP and other invisible characters to hide instructions in text fed to AI systems, which then follow the hidden commands.
- Breaking string comparison. Code that compares user input to expected values can fail silently, which can let input slip past authentication or validation checks.
Strip zero-width characters from user input whenever you process text in security-sensitive code.
How ZWSP Differs from Similar Characters
These five characters are often confused. The difference is what they do to line breaking and character joining:
| Character | Width | Line break? | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zero-Width Space (U+200B) | Zero | Yes, allows break | Line-break opportunity |
| Zero-Width Non-Joiner (U+200C) | Zero | No | Prevents character joining |
| Zero-Width Joiner (U+200D) | Zero | No | Forces character joining (emoji combiner) |
| Word Joiner (U+2060) | Zero | No, prevents break | Prevents line break (opposite of ZWSP) |
| Non-Breaking Space (U+00A0) | Normal width | No, prevents break | Keeps words together with visible space |
For invisible usernames, ZWSP is not always the best choice. See Hangul Filler (commonly suggested for Among Us), Braille Pattern Blank (often suggested for Discord) and Left-to-Right Mark (often suggested for WhatsApp blank messages).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a zero-width space used for?
A zero-width space (U+200B) is used to create invisible line-break opportunities in text, make invisible usernames in games and social media, watermark text content, and help word segmentation in languages like Thai that don't use visible spaces.
How do I copy a zero-width space?
Click the copy button at the top of this page to copy a zero-width space to your clipboard. Then paste it anywhere with Ctrl+V (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+V (Mac).
Can I use zero-width space for an invisible Fortnite name?
Possibly. Players have reported using a zero-width space in Fortnite (Epic Games) display names, but Epic enforces its own display-name rules and may reject names made only of invisible characters. Copy the character from this page, paste it, and see whether Epic accepts it.
How do I detect zero-width spaces in my text?
Paste your text into the Invisible Character Viewer on our homepage. It highlights every zero-width space and other hidden character, and shows their Unicode code points on hover.
Does ChatGPT insert zero-width spaces?
Not as a documented feature. Pasted AI output sometimes contains hidden characters: in April 2025 users reported OpenAI's o3 and o4-mini models emitting narrow no-break spaces (U+202F), which OpenAI called a quirk of large-scale reinforcement learning, not a watermark. Our tool detects and removes invisible characters from any source.
Related Characters
U+200CZero-Width JoinerU+200DWord JoinerU+2060Non-Breaking SpaceU+00A0Byte Order MarkU+FEFFBraille Pattern BlankU+2800Soft HyphenU+00ADHangul FillerU+3164Need to find every hidden character in your text, not just the Zero-Width Space?
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