Copy an invisible character, paste it into the message box and send. The space bar doesn't work because chat apps treat a box of spaces as empty and keep Send switched off. An invisible character isn't a space, so the app sees a message.
The steps
- Copy a character. Open the invisible character tool and copy the Hangul Filler, which is the one to try first.
- Paste it into the chat. Long-press the message box and paste. The box looks empty, but Send now lights up.
- Send. You'll get an empty-looking bubble. If Send stays grey, go back and try the braille blank.
Why the space bar fails and this doesn't
Before a message goes out, apps trim it and check whether anything is left. The check removes whitespace, which is the category your space bar types. The invisible characters aren't in that category. The Hangul Filler is classed as a letter, the braille blank as a symbol, and the zero-width space as a formatting mark. None of them is whitespace, so the app finds something to send.
The tool page explains the categories in full if you want to know which character to pick for a username or a bio instead.
It might not work, and how to check
WhatsApp is the app people most often report this working on. Other apps change what they strip without saying so, so don't assume. Send one to yourself or a friend first. WhatsApp has a message-yourself chat for exactly this.
Before you send one
- It can look like an error. An empty bubble reads as a glitch or as a message that failed to load. A blank to someone waiting on an answer is confusing.
- In a group, it pings everyone. Everyone gets a notification for nothing. Save it for a chat where the joke lands.
- Screen readers struggle. A person using one may hear nothing, or hear the character's name read out.
If you meant to hide text, not send nothing
Discord has a spoiler tag that hides text until someone clicks it. Put two vertical bars on each side of the words, like ||this||. It's built in, and it's a better fit than a blank if the aim is to hide something.
Where to go from here
- Invisible character tool for the characters, with the category of each and which to try first
- Discord fonts for names and messages on Discord
- Bold, italic and strikethrough on WhatsApp for the formatting WhatsApp does support