A genuinely blank Discord name used to be possible with a zero-width character alone. Discord has since closed that off — usernames and, in most cases, display names now require at least one character Discord recognizes as non-blank. What still works is a visually blank character with real width, like the one this site's invisible text generator produces, which is why the two are worth telling apart.
What changed
Discord's current username system requires lowercase letters, numbers, underscores, or periods, and it rejects names Discord's client treats as empty. Display names (the friendlier name shown instead of your @handle) are more permissive of Unicode but still get validated for emptiness — a string of pure zero-width characters is typically caught and rejected, either at save time or by other members reporting the name.
What still works for a blank-looking display name or nickname
1. Open the invisible text generator and type a short placeholder — three or four characters is usually enough.
2. Copy the blank result — it looks empty but has real character width, so it passes emptiness checks that reject pure whitespace or zero-width strings.
3. In Discord, go to User Settings → Profiles to set it as your display name, or right-click your name in a server → Edit Server Profile for a nickname there.
4. Paste and save. If Discord still rejects it, add one regular character at the start, since some validation only blocks names that are entirely non-visible.
Blank captions and messages
Messages are less strict than usernames — pasting a blank-looking character as a message, or using it to add visual space between two messages, generally works without extra steps. Keep in mind the content still exists in Discord's message logs even though it looks empty on screen; it's a visual effect, not a way to send nothing.
Blank messages as channel spacers
A message that's just one visible-width blank character reads as an empty line in the channel, which some people use to separate announcements or push a previous message up. It works, but two cautions: server AutoMod or anti-spam rules can flag repeated blank or near-empty messages, and moderators generally frown on using them to pad a channel. Keep it to the occasional single spacer, not a habit.