// GUIDES // ZERO WIDTH SPACE

U+200B · inspector action: remove

Zero Width Space (U+200B)

U+200B ZERO WIDTH SPACE is an invisible character that occupies no horizontal space. It belongs to no alphabet: typography engines insert it to mark line-break opportunities, and steganographic tools insert it to encode hidden information inside ordinary-looking text. When you copy text containing U+200B, the invisible characters travel with it.

How it is abused

  • Invisible watermarking: leak-tracing tools sprinkle U+200B sequences through a document so each recipient's copy carries a unique hidden fingerprint.
  • Hidden keywords and dedup evasion: listings, reviews, or spam can carry invisible characters that break exact-match filters and duplicate detection.
  • Smuggled identifiers: pasted text can silently carry tagging that reveals where it was copied from.

Legitimate uses

Some typography engines place U+200B at line-break opportunities, and some editors leave it behind after formatting. Presence alone is not proof of tampering — read the context before judging.

Detect it locally

The AIPwn AI Detector inspects pasted text for this mark and its siblings entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded. The inspector reports the code point, count, and position, and treats this mark as an observation to review, not an automatic verdict.

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