Unicode Homoglyph Detector & Normalizer
Detect hidden Unicode homoglyph characters in text online for free. Our Unicode homoglyph detector scans for Cyrillic, Greek, fullwidth, and mathematical lookalike characters. Identify phishing attempts, get risk scores, and normalize suspicious text to ASCII. Secure, private, and no signup required.
Detect and analyze Unicode homoglyph characters in text. Identifies visually similar characters from different scripts (Cyrillic, Greek, fullwidth, mathematical) that can be used in phishing attacks and text obfuscation.
Your text stays in your browser. All detection is done locally - nothing is uploaded to any server.
Why Use Our Unicode Homoglyph Detector?
Multi-Script Homoglyph Detection
Detects homoglyph characters from Cyrillic, Greek, Latin Extended, fullwidth forms, mathematical alphanumerics, superscript/subscript, and Roman numeral Unicode blocks. Comprehensive coverage of known homoglyph pairs used in phishing attacks and text obfuscation.
Anti-Phishing Pattern Recognition
Identifies suspicious patterns such as mixed-script words (Latin + Cyrillic) and homoglyph substitutions near known brand names like PayPal, Google, and Apple. Flags potentially malicious domain and text obfuscation attempts with clear warnings.
Risk Assessment & Statistics
Get a clear risk score (Safe/Low/Moderate/High/Critical) based on the percentage and types of homoglyphs detected. View detailed statistics including category breakdowns, unique characters found, and positional data for each match.
100% Free With No Limits
Our Unicode homoglyph detector is completely free with no signup required, no usage limits, no text length restrictions, and no hidden costs. Detect as much text as you want. All processing happens locally in your browser for complete privacy.
Common Use Cases for Unicode Homoglyph Detector
Phishing Email Detection
Analyze suspicious emails for homoglyph-based impersonation attacks. Cybercriminals often replace ASCII letters with visually identical Unicode characters from Cyrillic or Greek scripts to bypass spam filters and trick recipients. Our detector reveals these hidden substitutions in seconds.
Social Media Impersonation Prevention
Detect fake accounts and impersonators on social media platforms who use homoglyph characters in usernames and display names to mimic legitimate profiles. Homoglyph detector helps identify accounts using Unicode tricks to copy brand or personal profiles.
Domain & URL Phishing Analysis
Analyze domain names and URLs for homoglyph-based phishing attacks (IDN homograph attacks). Our tool detects when Cyrillic or Greek characters are substituted for Latin letters in domain names, revealing phishing sites that look identical to legitimate URLs.
Code & Data Integrity Verification
Verify source code, configuration files, and data for hidden Unicode homoglyph substitutions. Malicious actors can inject homoglyph characters into code to create backdoors, alter variable names, or hide malicious strings that evade standard code review.
Content Moderation & Trust & Safety
Support content moderation workflows by detecting obfuscated text containing banned words, hate speech, or policy violations that use homoglyph characters to evade automated filters. Normalize the text to reveal the actual content for review.
Document & Contract Authenticity
Check legal documents, contracts, and certificates for Unicode substitutions that could alter meaning or conceal fraudulent alterations. Homoglyph substitutions in critical documents can change names, dates, or figures while maintaining visual similarity.
Understanding Unicode Homoglyph Detection
What are Unicode Homoglyphs?
Unicode homoglyphs are characters from different writing systems that look visually identical or very similar to Latin ASCII letters but have completely different Unicode code points. For example, the Cyrillic lowercase letter "а" (U+0430) looks indistinguishable from the Latin "a" (U+0061) to most readers, yet they are entirely different characters. This visual similarity makes homoglyphs a powerful tool for text obfuscation and phishing attacks, as automated systems processing the text see different characters than what humans perceive.
How Our Unicode Homoglyph Detector Works
- Input Analysis - Paste any text into the detector. The tool scans every character in your input, checking each one against a comprehensive database of known homoglyph pairs spanning Cyrillic, Greek, Latin Extended, fullwidth forms, mathematical alphanumerics, superscript/subscript, and Roman numeral Unicode blocks.
- Character Matching & Classification - For each character found in the homoglyph database, the detector records its position, Unicode code point, script/block origin, and the ASCII character it visually resembles. Characters are categorized by their script type for easy filtering and analysis.
- Risk Assessment & Normalization - Based on the density and types of homoglyphs detected, the tool calculates a risk score from Safe to Critical. It can also normalize the text by replacing all detected homoglyphs with their ASCII equivalents, revealing the underlying content for further inspection.
Types of Unicode Homoglyphs Detected
- Cyrillic Homoglyphs: Characters from the Cyrillic script that visually match Latin letters. The Cyrillic alphabet shares many letterforms with Latin but with completely different code points, making it the most common source of homoglyph-based attacks.
- Greek Homoglyphs: Greek alphabet characters that resemble Latin letters, such as Greek Alpha (Α), Beta (Β), and Omicron (Ο) which are visually identical to their Latin counterparts A, B, and O.
- Fullwidth & Mathematical Alphanumerics: Fullwidth ASCII characters (U+FF01-U+FF5E) and mathematical alphanumeric symbols (bold, italic, script, fraktur, double-struck) that provide visually distinct but character-different alternatives for every ASCII letter.
- Script Modifiers & Number Forms: Superscript and subscript characters that mimic digits and letters, plus Roman numeral forms that visually match Latin letters. These can be used for subtle text substitutions in specific contexts.
Privacy, Security & Best Practices
All homoglyph detection and text analysis happens entirely in your browser. Your text never leaves your device - no uploads, no server processing, no third-party access. While our detector identifies known homoglyph patterns with high accuracy, it is important to note that new homoglyph combinations can be created from any similar-appearing Unicode characters. For security-critical applications, always verify normalized text manually and consider using additional validation tools. This tool is designed for threat analysis, content moderation, and educational purposes - it should be one part of a comprehensive security strategy.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Unicode Homoglyph Detector
A Unicode homoglyph detector is a tool that scans text to find characters that look visually identical or very similar to standard ASCII letters but are actually different Unicode characters from other writing systems. For example, it can detect when a Cyrillic "а" (U+0430) is used instead of a Latin "a" (U+0061), revealing hidden text substitutions that may indicate phishing attempts or content obfuscation.
Attackers use Unicode homoglyphs in IDN homograph attacks where domain names look legitimate but contain different characters. For example, "paypal.com" might be written with a Cyrillic "а" (A) that looks identical to the Latin "a" to human readers but points to a different, malicious website. Similarly, email senders can use homoglyphs in display names to impersonate trusted contacts or brands.
Our detector covers the most common homoglyph sources: Cyrillic, Greek, Latin Extended, fullwidth ASCII forms, mathematical alphanumerics (bold, italic, script, fraktur, double-struck), superscripts, subscripts, and Roman numeral forms. While this covers the vast majority of real-world homoglyph attacks, the Unicode standard contains many scripts and the number of potential homoglyph combinations is theoretically unlimited. We continuously expand our detection database.
Absolutely. All text analysis is done locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your text is never uploaded, stored, or transmitted to any server. This tool works entirely offline once loaded, ensuring complete privacy for any sensitive content you analyze. This is critical for security professionals analyzing potentially malicious content.
The risk score categorizes text as Safe, Low, Moderate, High, or Critical based on the percentage of characters that are homoglyphs and their context. Safe (0%) means no homoglyphs detected. Low (under 5%) may be incidental. Moderate (5-15%) warrants attention. High (15-30%) is likely intentional obfuscation. Critical (over 30%) indicates heavy obfuscation and potential phishing. The tool also detects patterns like mixed-script words and brand-name proximity.
Normalization replaces all detected homoglyph characters with their standard ASCII equivalents. For example, if the detector finds a Cyrillic "а" (U+0430), normalization replaces it with the Latin "a" (U+0061). This produces readable ASCII text that reveals the intended content behind the Unicode obfuscation, making it easy to see what the text actually says.
Yes, our Unicode homoglyph detector is 100% free with no signup required, no usage limits, no text length restrictions, and no hidden costs. Analyze as much text as you need, as many times as you want, all in your browser for complete privacy and security.
Yes, paste any domain name or URL into the tool to check for homoglyph-based IDN homograph attacks. The detector will identify any non-ASCII characters that visually resemble Latin letters, show their Unicode code points and script origins, and normalize them to reveal the actual characters. This is particularly useful for verifying links in emails before clicking them.