What counts as a character
Characters are what you would see: a letter, a space, a full stop, a line break, and an emoji or an accented letter each count as one, even when they are stored as several codes. Without spaces leaves out spaces, tabs and line breaks, for the limits that only count what is written.
Fits in
The bars show how much room is left in a text message (160), an X post (280), a YouTube title (100), an Instagram caption (2,200) and a LinkedIn post (3,000), plus the 650 words of a Common App essay, each turning red with the number over when the text is too long.
Private by design
The counting happens in this page as you type. Nothing you write is uploaded or saved, so it is safe to paste a draft, an essay or an email you have not sent yet. Close the tab and it is gone.
Questions
Do spaces count as characters?
Usually, yes. Most character limits, including the ones on X and in text messages, count spaces. Both numbers are shown so you can use whichever your limit asks for.
Why did X refuse a post under 280?
X counts an emoji, and a Chinese, Japanese or Korean character, as two. A post full of them reaches the limit sooner than this count shows.
Why did my text message split before 160?
160 is the limit for plain letters. One emoji or one of some accented letters switches the whole message to a code that fits 70 characters, so a long message splits sooner.