diff --git a/demo.html b/demo.html
index acc1c6d..cf6f0a1 100644
--- a/demo.html
+++ b/demo.html
@@ -563,8 +563,8 @@ <h1>Demo</h1>
       </div>
       <div class="row mb-3 g-3">
         <div class="col-md-4">
-          <label for="showDisabled" class="form-label">Tags (show disabled)</label>
-          <select class="form-select" id="showDisabled" name="showDisabled[]" multiple data-allow-clear="true" data-show-disabled="true">
+          <label for="showDisabled" class="form-label">Tags (show disabled + allow html)</label>
+          <select class="form-select" id="showDisabled" name="showDisabled[]" multiple data-allow-clear="true" data-show-disabled="true" data-allow-html="1">
             <option disabled hidden value="">Choose a tag...</option>
             <option value="1" selected="selected">Apple</option>
             <option value="2">Banana</option>
@@ -766,7 +766,7 @@ <h1>Demo</h1>
           <div class="col-md-4">
             <label for="addOnBlur" class="form-label">Add on blur (+ keep open)</label>
             <select class="form-select" id="addOnBlur" name="addOnBlur[]" multiple data-allow-new="true" data-allow-clear="1"
-              data-add-on-blur="1" data-kee-open="1" data-suggestions-threshold="0">
+              data-add-on-blur="1" data-keep-open="1" data-suggestions-threshold="0">
               <option value="">Type a tag...</option>
               <!-- you need at least one option with the placeholder -->
               <option value="1">Apple</option>
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index c2a5e7f..8f68ae3 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ Options can be either passed to the constructor (eg: optionName) or in data-opti
 | fetchOptions         | <code>Object</code>                                      | Any other fetch options (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/fetch#syntax)                 |
 | liveServer           | <code>Boolean</code>                                     | Should the endpoint be called each time on input                                                        |
 | noCache              | <code>Boolean</code>                                     | Prevent caching by appending a timestamp                                                                |
+| allowHtml            | <code>Boolean</code>                                     | Allow html in input (can lead to script injection)                                                      |
 | debounceTime         | <code>Number</code>                                      | Debounce time for live server                                                                           |
 | notFoundMessage      | <code>String</code>                                      | Display a no suggestions found message. Leave empty to disable                                          |
 | onRenderItem         | [<code>RenderCallback</code>](#RenderCallback)           | Callback function that returns the suggestion                                                           |
diff --git a/tags.js b/tags.js
index a3dec51..f28998e 100644
--- a/tags.js
+++ b/tags.js
@@ -116,6 +116,7 @@
  * @property {Object} fetchOptions Any other fetch options (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/fetch#syntax)
  * @property {Boolean} liveServer Should the endpoint be called each time on input
  * @property {Boolean} noCache Prevent caching by appending a timestamp
+ * @property {Boolean} allowHtml Allow html in input (can lead to script injection)
  * @property {Number} debounceTime Debounce time for live server
  * @property {String} notFoundMessage Display a no suggestions found message. Leave empty to disable
  * @property {RenderCallback} onRenderItem Callback function that returns the suggestion
@@ -193,9 +194,13 @@ const DEFAULTS = {
   fetchOptions: {},
   liveServer: false,
   noCache: true,
+  allowHtml: false,
   debounceTime: 300,
   notFoundMessage: "",
   onRenderItem: (item, label, inst) => {
+    if (!inst.config("allowHtml")) {
+      return sanitize(label);
+    }
     return label;
   },
   onSelectItem: (item, inst) => {},
@@ -265,12 +270,21 @@ function calcTextWidth(text, size = null) {
   span.style.width = "auto";
   span.style.position = "absolute";
   span.style.whiteSpace = "no-wrap";
-  span.innerHTML = text;
+  span.innerHTML = sanitize(text);
   const width = Math.ceil(span.clientWidth);
   document.body.removeChild(span);
   return width;
 }
 
+/**
+ * @link https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3043775/how-to-escape-html
+ * @param {string} text
+ * @returns {string}
+ */
+function sanitize(text) {
+  return new Option(text).innerHTML;
+}
+
 /**
  * @param {String} str
  * @returns {String}
@@ -1405,7 +1419,7 @@ class Tags {
         const newChildSpan = ce("span");
         newChild.append(newChildSpan);
         newChildSpan.classList.add(...["dropdown-header", "text-truncate"]);
-        newChildSpan.innerHTML = suggestion["group"];
+        newChildSpan.innerHTML = sanitize(suggestion["group"]);
         this._dropElement.appendChild(newChild);
 
         if (suggestion["items"]) {
@@ -1471,6 +1485,7 @@ class Tags {
     });
     newChildLink.dataset.searchData = JSON.stringify(searchData);
     newChildLink.setAttribute("href", "#");
+    // sanitized if needed by onRenderItem
     newChildLink.innerHTML = textContent;
     this._dropElement.appendChild(newChild);
 
@@ -2281,7 +2296,7 @@ class Tags {
     if (!opt) {
       opt = ce("option");
       opt.value = value;
-      opt.textContent = text; // innerText is not well supported by jsdom
+      opt.innerText = text;
       // Pass along data provided
       for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(data)) {
         opt.dataset[key] = value;
@@ -2336,7 +2351,7 @@ class Tags {
     const allowClear = this._config.allowClear && !disabled;
 
     // create span
-    let html = text;
+    let html = this._config.allowHtml ? text : sanitize(text);
 
     /**
      * @type {HTMLSpanElement}