diff --git a/src/content/content.js b/src/content/content.js
index 552fd65..c71ec63 100644
--- a/src/content/content.js
+++ b/src/content/content.js
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
     const sorted = [...maps].sort((a, b) => b.real.length - a.real.length);
 
     for (const m of sorted) {
-      if (!m.enabled || !m.real || !m.substitute) continue;
+      if (!m.enabled || !m.real?.trim() || !m.substitute?.trim()) continue;
       const escaped = esc(m.real);
       const regex = new RegExp(escaped, m.caseSensitive ? 'g' : 'gi');
       let match;
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
     let result = text;
     const sorted = [...maps].sort((a, b) => b.substitute.length - a.substitute.length);
     for (const m of sorted) {
-      if (!m.enabled || !m.real || !m.substitute) continue;
+      if (!m.enabled || !m.real?.trim() || !m.substitute?.trim()) continue;
       const escaped = esc(m.substitute);
       const regex = new RegExp(escaped, m.caseSensitive ? 'g' : 'gi');
       result = result.replace(regex, m.real);
@@ -1130,6 +1130,7 @@
 
       for (const p of pairs) {
         const searchTerm = settings.revealMode ? p.to : p.from;
+        if (!searchTerm?.trim()) continue;
         const escaped = esc(searchTerm);
         // Add word boundaries when the term starts/ends with word chars to
         // prevent partial-word matches (e.g. "aud" inside "Claude")
diff --git a/src/lib/substitution-engine.js b/src/lib/substitution-engine.js
index f7e5fd9..d0e64ec 100644
--- a/src/lib/substitution-engine.js
+++ b/src/lib/substitution-engine.js
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ const SubstitutionEngine = {
     );
 
     for (const mapping of sorted) {
-      if (!mapping.enabled || !mapping.real || !mapping.substitute) continue;
+      if (!mapping.enabled || !mapping.real?.trim() || !mapping.substitute?.trim()) continue;
 
       const escaped = this._escapeRegex(mapping.real);
       const regex = new RegExp(escaped, mapping.caseSensitive ? 'g' : 'gi');
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ const SubstitutionEngine = {
     );
 
     for (const mapping of sorted) {
-      if (!mapping.enabled || !mapping.real || !mapping.substitute) continue;
+      if (!mapping.enabled || !mapping.real?.trim() || !mapping.substitute?.trim()) continue;
 
       const escaped = this._escapeRegex(mapping.substitute);
       const regex = new RegExp(escaped, mapping.caseSensitive ? 'g' : 'gi');
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ const SubstitutionEngine = {
     const found = [];
 
     for (const mapping of mappings) {
-      if (!mapping.enabled || !mapping.real) continue;
+      if (!mapping.enabled || !mapping.real?.trim()) continue;
 
       const escaped = this._escapeRegex(mapping.real);
       const regex = new RegExp(escaped, mapping.caseSensitive ? 'g' : 'gi');
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ const SubstitutionEngine = {
     // Collect all match positions in the original text
     const matches = [];
     for (const mapping of sorted) {
-      if (!mapping.enabled || !mapping.real || !mapping.substitute) continue;
+      if (!mapping.enabled || !mapping.real?.trim() || !mapping.substitute?.trim()) continue;
 
       const escaped = this._escapeRegex(mapping.real);
       const regex = new RegExp(escaped, mapping.caseSensitive ? 'g' : 'gi');
diff --git a/src/options/options.js b/src/options/options.js
index 313aedf..f78374a 100644
--- a/src/options/options.js
+++ b/src/options/options.js
@@ -1814,11 +1814,12 @@ async function applyBulkImport() {
     await Storage.updateProfile(profile.id, profile);
   }
 
-  // Add mappings
+  // Add mappings — skip any with blank/whitespace-only real values
   for (const m of result.mappings) {
+    if (!m.real?.trim()) continue;
     await Storage.addMapping({
-      real: m.real,
-      substitute: m.substitute || '',
+      real: m.real.trim(),
+      substitute: m.substitute?.trim() || '',
       category: m.category || 'general',
       caseSensitive: false,
     });