Unicode Character Inspector & Hidden Character Detector
An emoji that looks like one character may occupy multiple Unicode code points. Inspect the exact counts and locate suspicious invisible formatting characters.
Detected hidden formatting characters
Text calculations are performed locally. No account and no upload required.
Why are there different character counts?
A JavaScript string stores UTF-16 code units; a Unicode code point is a scalar value; and a grapheme cluster is the visible character a reader perceives. For instance, a family emoji can consist of several code points joined together. PostChars counts each measure separately.
UTF-8 bytes and hidden characters
UTF-8 uses between one and four bytes per Unicode scalar value. This inspector also flags a focused list of zero-width, directional and formatting characters that can make copied text unexpectedly hard to edit. The list is not an exhaustive Unicode security scan.
Common questions
Does it modify my text?
No. This is an inspection-only tool and never strips characters automatically.
Does an invisible character always mean malicious text?
No. Some scripts, emoji sequences and accessibility or typography workflows legitimately use formatting code points.