Invisible Character Copy and Paste
| Copy | Code point | Name | Visible width | Unicode whitespace | Removed by whitespace trimming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U+3164 | Hangul Filler | Full space | No | No | |
U+2800 | Braille Pattern Blank | Space-sized | No | No | |
U+FFA0 | Halfwidth Hangul Filler | Half space | No | No | |
U+115F | Hangul Choseong Filler | Varies by font | No | No | |
U+200B | Zero Width Space | None | No | No | |
U+2060 | Word Joiner | None | No | No | |
U+200D | Zero Width Joiner | None | No | No | |
U+00A0 | No-Break Space | Space-sized | Yes | Yes | |
U+2003 | Em Space | Wide | Yes | Yes | |
U+2004 | Three-Per-Em Space | Narrow | Yes | Yes | |
U+3000 | Ideographic Space | Full space | Yes | Yes |
An invisible character is a Unicode character that takes up a position in text but shows no visible shape, such as the Hangul Filler (U+3164) or the Braille Pattern Blank (U+2800). Copy one from the table above to make a blank-looking name, send an empty message or add spacing that an app would otherwise remove.
Why do invisible characters work when spaces do not?
Invisible characters work because apps remove whitespace, not characters. Unicode marks 25 characters as White_Space, including the normal space, No-Break Space and Em Space; name fields and message boxes trim these from the start and end of the text, so a name made only of spaces becomes empty and is rejected. The Hangul Filler, Braille Pattern Blank and zero-width characters are not White_Space, so trimming leaves them in place.
The table marks this difference in the last column. The 4 whitespace characters (U+00A0, U+2003, U+2004, U+3000) are removed by standard trimming; the 7 others survive it.
What is the Hangul Filler (U+3164)?
The Hangul Filler (U+3164, "γ €") is a Korean placeholder letter that stands in for a missing part of a Hangul syllable and has no shape of its own. Unicode classifies it as a letter (general category Lo) and as a default-ignorable code point, so fonts draw it as an empty space roughly as wide as a Korean character. Being a letter is what lets it pass name validation that requires "at least one character". The Halfwidth Hangul Filler (U+FFA0) and the Hangul Choseong Filler (U+115F) are narrower relatives.
What is the Braille blank (U+2800)?
The Braille Pattern Blank (U+2800, "β ") is the braille cell with no raised dots. It is a symbol (general category So), not whitespace and not ignorable, so it is drawn as a blank cell the width of other braille patterns. A screen reader that reads symbol names announces it as "braille pattern blank", which makes it a poor choice for text that blind users will read.
Zero width space and word joiner
The Zero Width Space (U+200B), Word Joiner (U+2060) and Zero Width Joiner (U+200D) are format characters with no width at all. They are used to split or join words without a visible gap: U+200B allows a line break inside a long word, U+2060 prevents one, and U+200D joins emoji into sequences such as π©βπ». Because they have no width, they produce an empty-looking message but not a visible blank gap.
How many characters does an invisible character count as?
Each invisible character counts as 1 Unicode character toward a field limit. The "Copy blanks" control above copies up to 500 of the selected character at once, which fills a 150-character Instagram bio with 150 blanks or adds vertical spacing between lines of a caption. The social media character limits page lists every field limit.
Are invisible names allowed?
Platforms accept invisible characters in most text but can block them in specific fields to stop blank or impersonating names, and they change these rules without notice. The guide is fancy text allowed covers platform rules on blank and look-alike names.
Related decorations
Blank characters often frame decorated names: the stylish name generator adds symbols around a name, and the text borders page has dividers for bios and channel lists. Game nickname rules for blanks are on the Free Fire name style page.
Invisible character questions
Which invisible character works for a blank name?
The Hangul Filler (U+3164) and the Braille Pattern Blank (U+2800) are the 2 characters most often used for blank names, because Unicode does not classify them as whitespace, so name fields that strip spaces keep them. Each platform can still block specific characters; the platform pages such as Discord fonts list known rules.
Why does my pasted blank character disappear?
The field removed it. Most apps trim whitespace from the start and end of names and messages, which deletes No-Break Space, Em Space and Ideographic Space. Some apps also strip zero-width characters. Try the Hangul Filler or Braille Pattern Blank instead.
Is the invisible character the same as a space?
No. A normal space (U+0020) is whitespace and is trimmed or collapsed by most apps. Invisible characters such as U+3164 are letters or symbols that happen to have no visible shape, so apps treat them as content.