Editing Invisible ink (section)

== Modern usage ==
Former [[MI6]] agent [[Richard Tomlinson]] stated that Pentel Rolling Writer rollerball pens were extensively used by MI-6 agents to produce secret writing in the form of invisible messages while on missions.<ref>Tomlinson, Richard: The Big Breach: From Top Secret to Maximum Security, pg 44. Mainstream Publishing 2001 {{ISBN|1-903813-01-8}}</ref>

In 2002, a gang was indicted for spreading a riot between federal penitentiaries using coded telephone messages, and messages in invisible ink.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2002/11/03/2002-11-03_aryan_prison_gang_links_with.html | location=New York | work=Daily News | title=ARYAN PRISON GANG LINKS WITH MAFIA Drugs, money & the Gambinos | date=2002-11-03 }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=== United States declassification of invisible ink recipes ===

In 1995, [[Bill Clinton|President Clinton]] issued an executive order requesting that all agencies [[declassification|declassify]] information 25 years or older by the year 2000. Six World War I documents referencing the recipes for invisible ink were due to be declassified under this order, including:

* ''Secret Inks''
* ''Detection of Secret Ink''
* ''German Secret Ink Formula''
* ''Pamphlet on Invisible Photography and Writing''<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-13-cl-9673-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | title=The Very Visible Battle Over Invisible Ink | first=Bill | last=Miller | date=2001-06-13 | access-date=2010-05-02 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706045432/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jun/13/news/cl-9673 | archive-date=2010-07-06 }}</ref>

In 1999, however, the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) successfully exempted these documents, arguing that the recipes provided the basis for more advanced formulas still in use at the time.<ref>[https://fas.org/sgp/news/1999/06/spt062399.html The formula for invisible ink will remain classified] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222120938/https://fas.org/sgp/news/1999/06/spt062399.html |date=2015-12-22 }} St. Petersburg Times, June 23, 1999</ref> This exemption made the recipes for invisible ink the oldest classified documents held by the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] until their declassification in 2011. At this time, the CIA no longer considered the documents sensitive due to recent advancements in technology.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/19/cia.invisible.ink/ | work=CNN | title=Spy agency reveals invisible ink formula | first=Laurie | last=Ure | date=2011-04-19 | access-date=2011-04-19 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110091629/http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/19/cia.invisible.ink/ | archive-date=2014-01-10 }}</ref>

=== Invisible ink in art===

Invisible ink is not commonly used in art. Some artists, however, have incorporated invisible ink into their work, either alone or in conjunction with more conventional media.

[[Jean-Michel Basquiat]] is known to have worked with invisible ink. In 2012, [[Sotheby's]] London discovered Basquiat's signature painted in invisible ink on the 1982 work, ''Orange Sports Figure''. In 2018, analysis by an art conservator revealed invisible ink markings on an untitled Basquiat painting from 1981.<ref name="Ars Technica 2019-02 Basquiat">{{cite web |last1=Ouellette |first1=Jennifer |title=Basquiat used invisible ink to make secret drawings in his paintings |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/02/conservator-finds-secret-drawings-in-invisible-ink-in-basquiat-painting/ |website=Ars Technica |date=3 February 2019 |access-date=2 March 2019}}</ref>

In 2012, the [[Hayward Gallery]] exhibition, ''Invisible: Art about the Unseen, 1957-2012'', included the 1989 work, ''Magic Ink'', by Gianni Motti. It consisted of two drawings created with undeveloped invisible ink.<ref name="Guardian 2012-06 Invisible">{{cite news |title=Invisible: Art about the Unseen – in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2012/jun/17/invisible-art-unseen-in-pictures |website=The Guardian |date=16 June 2012 |access-date=17 June 2012}}</ref>

In 2015, [[Aowen Jin]] exhibited artwork drawn in invisible ink at the [[Horniman Museum]] in London. The illustrations, drawn on the walls and floor of the Music Gallery Performance Space, were only visible under UV light.<ref name="Ars Technica 2019-02 Basquiat" />

=== Invisible ink online===

In addition to traditional chemical methods, modern digital techniques utilize Unicode characters to create invisible text, enabling hidden messages within standard text formats.<ref>{{cite web |title=Invisible Text Generator |url=https://invisibletext.ink |access-date=2025-03-08}}</ref>