HTML Unescape / Decoder
What is HTML Unescaping?
HTML unescaping converts HTML entities back to their original characters. HTML entities are sequences that start with & and end with ; — they represent characters that would otherwise be interpreted as HTML markup. Common entities include & (&), < (<), > (>), " ("), ' ('), and numeric entities like © (©) or ♥ (♥). You encounter escaped HTML in database records where content was sanitised before storage, API responses that return HTML-encoded strings, log files containing escaped HTML, and copy-pasted text from HTML source code.
How to Use the HTML Unescape Tool
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Paste your HTML-encoded text (containing &, <, >, etc.) into the input box.
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Click Unescape — all HTML entities are converted back to their original characters.
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Copy the readable output text.
This HTML unescape tool runs entirely in your browser — no data is sent to any server. Handles all named HTML entities (©, —, etc.), decimal numeric entities (©), and hex numeric entities (©). Useful for reading escaped content from databases, APIs, and log files.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between HTML escape and HTML unescape? HTML escaping converts raw characters to safe HTML entities (< becomes <). HTML unescaping does the reverse — it converts HTML entities back to raw characters (< becomes <). Escape before rendering untrusted content; unescape when reading already-encoded strings.
Are numeric HTML entities also decoded? Yes. The tool decodes named entities (&), decimal numeric entities (&), and hexadecimal entities (&) — all three represent the same & character and are all converted.
Why is my database storing HTML entities instead of raw text? Many frameworks and ORMs automatically HTML-escape content when storing to prevent XSS. If you're reading that content for non-HTML uses (emails, plain text, analytics), you may need to unescape it first to get readable text.
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