diff --git a/src/shell-integration/zsh/ghostty-integration b/src/shell-integration/zsh/ghostty-integration
index febf3e59c..3fb3ec19b 100644
--- a/src/shell-integration/zsh/ghostty-integration
+++ b/src/shell-integration/zsh/ghostty-integration
@@ -201,11 +201,11 @@ _ghostty_deferred_init() {
     _ghostty_report_pwd
 
     if [[ "$GHOSTTY_SHELL_FEATURES" == *"title"* ]]; then
-      # Enable terminal title changes.
+      # Enable terminal title changes, formatted for user-friendly display.
       functions[_ghostty_precmd]+="
           builtin print -rnu $_ghostty_fd \$'\\e]2;'\"\${(%):-%(4~|…/%3~|%~)}\"\$'\\a'"
       functions[_ghostty_preexec]+="
-          builtin print -rnu $_ghostty_fd \$'\\e]2;'\"\${(V)1}\"\$'\\a'"
+          builtin print -rnu $_ghostty_fd \$'\\e]2;'\"\${1//[[:cntrl:]]}\"\$'\\a'"
     fi
 
     if [[ "$GHOSTTY_SHELL_FEATURES" == *"cursor"* ]]; then