HTML Tag Stripper

Remove specific or all HTML tags from content with options to keep text content and whitespace handling.

Tested tool guide Tested browser tools Checked August 16, 2026

What HTML Tag Stripper does, with a checked example

HTML Tag Stripper removes every HTML tag or only the tag names you select. It can retain the character data enclosed by removed markup, and its whitespace controls determine how spacing is handled afterward. The key distinction is that stripping a tag does not necessarily delete its contents. With text retention enabled, <strong>note</strong> becomes note rather than an empty string. This tool is useful for markup removal, but its output should not be treated as proof that untrusted input is safe.

Worked example

A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.

Input

Remove: all tags
Keep text: yes
HTML: <strong>Red fox.</strong>

Expected output

Red fox.

The strong start and end tags are removed. Because text retention is enabled, the enclosed text and punctuation remain unchanged.

How the result is produced

Tag selection

Choose all tags when the desired result contains no HTML tag syntax, or provide the tag names that should be removed. In selective mode, targeted start and end tags are stripped while untargeted markup remains. Attribute text belongs to the removed tag and does not become visible text. Descendant character data is governed separately by the keep-text setting.

Text and whitespace

The keep-text option controls whether text nested inside removed markup survives. Whitespace handling matters because tags often separate words, lines, and blocks without literal spaces in the source. Compare the result around adjacent inline tags and block boundaries. Content from preformatted elements deserves special attention because collapsing or trimming whitespace can change its meaning.

Good uses

Convert a small rich-text fragment into plain copy while preserving the words contained in headings, paragraphs, links, and emphasis tags.
Remove legacy wrapper tags such as span or font from a snippet while leaving unrelated tags available for later editing.
Strip markup from two HTML fragments before comparing their retained character text, without manually deleting each start and end tag.

Limits and checks

A tag-free result is not necessarily identical to browser-visible text. Script or style contents, comments, character references, and malformed markup require separate inspection.
Removing a selected parent tag can leave children in a context where the remaining HTML is invalid, even though the requested tag removal succeeded.
Whitespace may be semantically important inside pre, textarea, code samples, templates, or prose where tags separate adjacent words. Check spacing before using the result.

Common questions

Can I remove span tags without deleting their text or other tags?

Yes. Select span as the tag to remove and enable text retention. The span start and end tags disappear, their enclosed character data remains, and tags outside the selected set remain available. Check nested spans and spacing in the result, especially when the original source relied on tag boundaries rather than literal spaces.

Does removing all tags make untrusted HTML safe to insert into a page?

No. Tag stripping is not a complete security verdict and should not replace context-appropriate sanitization or output encoding. The result may contain text that acquires special meaning when inserted into HTML, an attribute, a URL, CSS, or JavaScript. Treat the output as text unless it has been handled for its exact destination context.

References and verification

The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.