style_id stringlengths 4 15 | style stringlengths 4 27 | family stringclasses 8
values | label stringclasses 3
values | windows_10_glyph_coverage_pct int64 100 100 | android_8_glyph_coverage_pct int64 100 100 | android_10_glyph_coverage_pct int64 100 100 | android_12_glyph_coverage_pct int64 100 100 | android_latest_glyph_coverage_pct int64 100 100 | android_14_glyph_coverage_pct int64 100 100 | iphone_ipad stringclasses 1
value | macos stringclasses 1
value | why stringclasses 5
values | tested_on stringdate 2026-10-24 00:00:00 2026-10-24 00:00:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
stars | Star trail | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
hearts | Heart trail | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
sparkles | Sparkle trail | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
dots | Dotted | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-sparkle | Sparkle script | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-paren | Soft small caps | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-heart | Heart bold script | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-angel | Angel small caps | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-star | Star dust wide | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-spark2 | Little sparkle sans | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-wing | Winged heart script | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-flower | Flower italic | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-ribbon | Ribbon script | Cute | May show boxes | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | These characters show as colour emoji on many phones, not as plain letters. | 2026-10-24 |
c-dream | Dreamy plain | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-moon | Moon fraktur | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
c-diamond | Diamond mono | Cute | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
script | Script | Cursive | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
boldscript | Bold script | Cursive | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
fraktur | Old English | Cursive | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
boldfraktur | Bold old English | Cursive | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
italic | Italic serif | Cursive | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
bolditalic | Bold italic serif | Cursive | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
sansitalic | Italic sans | Cursive | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
circled | Bubble | Bubble | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | A few letters (Ⓜ) can turn into emoji in some apps. | 2026-10-24 |
negcircled | Filled bubble | Bubble | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
squared | Squares | Bubble | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
negsquared | Filled squares | Bubble | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | A few letters (🅰 🅱 🅾 🅿) can turn into emoji in some apps. | 2026-10-24 |
parenthesized | Parentheses | Bubble | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
tiles | Letter tiles | Bubble | May show boxes | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | These characters show as colour emoji on many phones, not as plain letters. Without the invisible separator between letters, neighbouring tiles can merge into country flags. | 2026-10-24 |
smallcaps | Small caps | Small | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
superscript | Tiny text | Small | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
subscript | Subscript | Small | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
bold | Bold serif | Bold & wide | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
sansbold | Bold sans | Bold & wide | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
sans | Sans | Bold & wide | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
sansbolditalic | Bold italic sans | Bold & wide | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
mono | Typewriter | Bold & wide | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
doublestruck | Double struck | Bold & wide | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
fullwidth | Wide | Bold & wide | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
spaced | Spaced out | Bold & wide | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
upsidedown | Upside down | Flip & glitch | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
reversed | Reversed | Flip & glitch | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
mirror | Mirror | Flip & glitch | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
strike | Strikethrough | Flip & glitch | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | Uses combining marks: each mark counts as a character and stacking looks different in each app. | 2026-10-24 |
underline | Underline | Flip & glitch | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | Uses combining marks: each mark counts as a character and stacking looks different in each app. | 2026-10-24 |
doubleunderline | Double underline | Flip & glitch | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | Uses combining marks: each mark counts as a character and stacking looks different in each app. | 2026-10-24 |
slash | Slashed | Flip & glitch | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | Uses combining marks: each mark counts as a character and stacking looks different in each app. | 2026-10-24 |
dotbelow | Dotted below | Flip & glitch | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | Uses combining marks: each mark counts as a character and stacking looks different in each app. | 2026-10-24 |
overline | Overline | Flip & glitch | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | Uses combining marks: each mark counts as a character and stacking looks different in each app. | 2026-10-24 |
tildestrike | Wavy strike | Flip & glitch | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | Uses combining marks: each mark counts as a character and stacking looks different in each app. | 2026-10-24 |
ringed | Ringed | Flip & glitch | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | Uses combining marks: each mark counts as a character and stacking looks different in each app. | 2026-10-24 |
glitch | Glitch | Flip & glitch | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | Uses combining marks: each mark counts as a character and stacking looks different in each app. | 2026-10-24 |
numcircled2 | Double circled numbers | Numbers | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
numsans | Circled sans numbers | Numbers | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
numsansneg | Filled circled sans numbers | Numbers | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
canadian | Chunky | Look-alikes | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
squiggle | Squiggle | Look-alikes | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
brush | Brush strokes | Look-alikes | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
money | Money | Look-alikes | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
stroked | Stroked | Look-alikes | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
hooked | Hooked | Look-alikes | Safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | null | 2026-10-24 |
diaeresis | Heavy dots | Look-alikes | Mostly safe | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | not measured | not measured | Uses combining marks: each mark counts as a character and stacking looks different in each app. | 2026-10-24 |
Unicode font compatibility: which fancy text styles and symbols show as boxes
Fancy text such as bold script, bubble letters or glitch text is not a font. It is a set of other Unicode characters that look like letters, so it only displays if the reader's system has a font that contains those characters. When it does not, the reader sees empty boxes.
This dataset records, for the 62 text styles and 889 symbols, combos and dividers offered on cutefonts.art, whether the characters were found in the system fonts of Windows 10 and of several Android releases. I make cutefonts.art and I am publishing the same tables here that are on its public data page.
Source and live version: https://cutefonts.art/unicode-font-compatibility/ (home page: https://cutefonts.art/)
Files
| file | config | rows | what one row is |
|---|---|---|---|
unicode-font-compatibility-styles.csv |
styles (default) |
62 | one text style |
unicode-font-compatibility-symbol-groups.csv |
symbol_groups |
12 | one group of symbols, combos, faces or dividers |
unicode-font-compatibility-missing-glyphs.csv |
missing_glyphs |
19 | one symbol entry that lacks at least one glyph on a measured system |
Headline numbers
- Of the 62 text styles, 48 are labelled Safe, 12 Mostly safe and 2 May show boxes.
- Of the 889 symbol entries in 12 groups, 723 are Safe, 151 Mostly safe and 15 May show boxes.
- 19 symbol entries lack at least one glyph on a measured system.
- iPhone, iPad and Mac were not measured. The cells say
not measured. Read them as unknown, not as safe and not as unsafe.
Columns of the styles file
| column | meaning |
|---|---|
style_id |
short id of the style on the site |
style |
display name of the style |
family |
one of Cute, Cursive, Bubble, Small, Bold & wide, Flip & glitch, Numbers, Look-alikes |
label |
Safe, Mostly safe or May show boxes (definitions below) |
windows_10_glyph_coverage_pct |
share of the style's characters (letters a-z, A-Z, digits and decorations) found in the Windows 10 fonts, in percent |
android_8_glyph_coverage_pct, android_10_glyph_coverage_pct, android_12_glyph_coverage_pct, android_latest_glyph_coverage_pct, android_14_glyph_coverage_pct |
the same share for the font files of each Android release |
iphone_ipad, macos |
not measured in every row |
why |
short reason when the label is not Safe, empty for Safe styles |
tested_on |
test date, 2026-10-24 |
In this release every style has 100 percent glyph coverage on every measured system. The label still differs between styles because it also looks at colour emoji and combining marks, so a style with all glyphs present can still be Mostly safe or May show boxes. Do not use the coverage columns alone to rank styles; use label and why.
The symbol_groups file has one row per group with the number of entries and, for each system, how many entries have every glyph. The missing_glyphs file lists each entry with a gap by code point and Unicode name, the group, the label and the systems where a glyph is missing.
What the labels mean
- Safe. Styles: every glyph found on Windows 10 and Android 8 or later, no combining marks and no emoji. Symbols: every character has a glyph on Android 8 or later and on Windows 10, and none switches to emoji.
- Mostly safe. Styles: some glyphs are missing on older systems, or the style uses combining marks, or a few letters can turn into colour emoji. Symbols: missing on Android 8 only, or may switch to emoji, or has combining marks.
- May show boxes. Styles: less than 95 percent of glyphs on Android 10 or Windows 10, a missing glyph on current Android, characters that are colour emoji by default, or letters that form flags. Symbols: no glyph on Android 10, on current Android or on Windows 10.
Method
- Windows 10: the stock font files of one Windows 10 PC (version 22H2), 139 files from the Windows font folder picked from a fixed list, with Office and third-party fonts left out. A character counts as found if any of these fonts has it, which assumes an app that falls back to other fonts the way a browser does.
- Android: every font file named in Android's own font list (fonts.xml) at the releases android-8.0.0_r1, android-10.0.0_r1, android-12.0.0_r1 and android-14.0.0_r1, and at the main branch on the test date, downloaded from android.googlesource.com. This reads the fonts that Android ships. The test was not run on phones.
- Glyph lookup: the character table (cmap) of every file was read with fontTools. For TrueType fonts an empty outline does not count as found, except for spaces.
- Emoji: the colour emoji font could not be downloaded for Android 12, 14 and the main branch, so emoji coverage there follows Android's documented support for Unicode emoji up to versions 13.0, 15.0 and 16.0. On Android 8 and 10 the emoji were read from the font files.
- Cross-check: on the same day Chrome on Windows 10 drew 2,110 of these characters on a canvas and compared each with the empty-box glyph. It showed 11 boxes, and they were exactly the 11 that the font files predicted for Windows 10.
- Invisible and blank characters are left out, because their job is to show nothing.
Limits
- The data describes the characters offered on cutefonts.art, not all of Unicode. Some symbols were added to the site's lists only when Android 8 and Windows 10 already had them, so the share of problems here is lower than it would be for a random pick of Unicode characters.
- One test date and one Windows PC. Systems change when they update.
- Not measured: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows versions other than 10, phone makers' own fonts such as those of Samsung or Xiaomi, and apps that draw text by themselves.
- Some Android font files could not be downloaded (Latin text fonts such as Dancing Script and Source Sans Pro, a serif font for Chinese, Japanese and Korean, and the colour emoji font for Android 12 onwards). They are not general symbol fonts, but small gaps cannot be ruled out.
- A glyph that exists says nothing about its shape or weight, and Safe does not mean that everyone can read the text. A screen reader may read fancy Unicode letters by their Unicode names or skip them, so use fancy text for decoration and keep important information in plain text.
Licence and citation
The data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Share and adapt it, also commercially, if you credit cutefonts.art with a link to https://cutefonts.art/unicode-font-compatibility/ and say if you changed anything.
Suggested citation:
cutefonts.art. (2026). Unicode font compatibility data: which fancy text styles and symbols show as boxes on Windows 10 and Android [Data set]. Measured 24 October 2026. https://cutefonts.art/unicode-font-compatibility/
The website is the maintained version. This repository is a copy of the three CSV files, downloaded from the site on 2026-10-29 (the page was last updated 2026-10-28). It is updated by hand when the site is measured again.
- Downloads last month
- 25