# zero-width non-joiner

A language-sensitive shaping control reported without changing the source.

Canonical: https://watermarkslayer.com/supported-artifacts/zero-width-non-joiner
Markdown alternate: https://watermarkslayer.com/supported-artifacts/zero-width-non-joiner.md
Last reviewed: 2026-08-12

## Registry facts

- Code point or framing: U+200C
- Launch support: report-only
- Launch action: report
- Risk: high
- Explicit writer selection required: no
- Visible review label: [zero-width non-joiner]
- Fixture: fixture_report_u200c
- Last fixture test: 2026-08-12

## Why it may appear legitimately

Writers and software use it intentionally in Persian, Arabic, Indic, and other shaped writing systems.

- Persian, Arabic, Indic, and other shaped text

## Launch behavior

Registry status: report-only. Watermark Slayer reports this observation and does not propose a cleanup edit.

## What a change could affect

Removing it can alter spelling and glyph joining.

- Removal can alter spelling or glyph shaping.

## Claim boundary

Finding this artifact says only that the specified code point or framing was observed. It is not an authorship verdict, detector score, or evidence that text came from a particular system.

## Evidence

- [Unicode 17.0 Core Specification, Chapter 5](https://unicode.org/versions/Unicode17.0.0/core-spec/chapter-5/)
- [Unicode 17.0 Core Specification, Chapter 23](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode17.0.0/core-spec/chapter-23/)