unescape()
Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see thecompatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.
Note:unescape() is a non-standard function implemented by browsers and was only standardized for cross-engine compatibility. It is not required to be implemented by all JavaScript engines and may not work everywhere. UsedecodeURIComponent() ordecodeURI() if possible.
Theunescape() function computes a new string in which hexadecimal escape sequences are replaced with the characters that they represent. The escape sequences might be introduced by a function likeescape().
Syntax
unescape(str)Parameters
strA string to be decoded.
Return value
A new string in which certain characters have been unescaped.
Description
unescape() is a function property of the global object.
Theunescape() function replaces any escape sequence with the character that it represents. Specifically, it replaces any escape sequence of the form%XX or%uXXXX (whereX represents one hexadecimal digit) with the character that has the hexadecimal valueXX/XXXX. If the escape sequence is not a valid escape sequence (for example, if% is followed by one or no hex digit), it is left as-is.
Note:This function was used mostly forpercent-encoding and is partly based on the escape format inRFC 1738. Theunescape() function doesnot evaluateescape sequences in string literals. You can replace\xXX with%XX and\uXXXX with%uXXXX to get a string that can be handled byunescape().
Examples
Using unescape()
unescape("abc123"); // "abc123"unescape("%E4%F6%FC"); // "äöü"unescape("%u0107"); // "ć"Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| ECMAScript® 2026 Language Specification # sec-unescape-string |