Free

Safe Zone Checker for TikTok, Reels and Shorts

Safe zone checker for TikTok, Instagram Reels, Instagram Stories and YouTube Shorts: drop in a vertical video or image and see what each app's buttons and captions cover.

Drop a 9:16 image or video hereor tap to choose one. It stays on your device.

Grey shapes show roughly where TikTok's buttons and text sit. The red area is outside the safe zone.

Platform

Your file

Choose image or video

Nothing is uploaded: the file opens in this tab only and is gone when you close it.

TikTok safe zone at 1080 × 1920

Top: 240 px
Bottom: 660 px
Left: 120 px
Right: 120 px, 300 px below 840

A transparent 1080 × 1920 PNG with the layers you have on. Put it on the top track in your editor and hide it before export.

What is the TikTok, Reels and Shorts safe zone?

A safe zone is the part of a vertical video that the app's own interface doesn't cover. TikTok, Instagram and YouTube all play your video full screen and then draw their buttons, captions, menus and ad buttons on top of it, so anything outside the safe zone can be hidden for some or all viewers.

Each platform publishes its own margins for ads. They differ: YouTube Shorts keeps a wide strip clear on the right, TikTok's side buttons start lower down, and Instagram's guidance is in percentages. The checker above draws each one on your own file.

What covers your video on each app

Top: the feed tabs, search and camera buttons (TikTok, Reels, Shorts), or the progress bars and profile row (Stories).
Right side: the like, comment, share and save buttons and the sound icon (TikTok, Reels, Shorts). Stories have none.
Bottom: your username, caption and sound name, a product link on TikTok Shop videos, and on ads a button such as Learn more or Shop now.
Very bottom: the app's navigation bar, or the reply bar on Stories.

TikTok, Reels and Shorts safe zone in pixels

Margins to keep clear on a 1080 × 1920 frame, in pixels
Platform	Top	Bottom	Left	Right
TikTok	240	660	120	120; 300 below 840
Instagram Reels	269	672	65	65
Instagram Stories	269	672	65	65
YouTube Shorts	288	672	48	192
Clear on all four	288	672	120	192; 300 below 840

TikTok: TikTok's In-Feed safe zone file: 240 px top, 660 px bottom, 120 px each side, and the right 300 px from 840 px down (the button column). With a product link (TikTok Shop): TikTok's In-Feed with Anchor file, one line of caption: 252 px top, 812 px bottom, 120 px each side, and the right 240 px from 360 px down. Four lines of caption push the bottom to 1014 px.

Instagram Reels: Meta: leave roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side free of text and logos.

Instagram Stories: Meta: leave roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side free of text and logos.

YouTube Shorts: Google's vertical video ad overlay: the safe box runs from 48 to 888 px across and 288 to 1248 px down.

These figures are approximate. They come from each platform's published ad specs, checked on 2026-10-13; the apps change their layouts, captions vary in length and phones differ in shape, so check a real post before you deliver. The grey shapes in the checker are a rough drawing of each app, not a published spec.

Why the safe zone matters for UGC ads and TikTok Shop videos

Burned-in captions are the most common casualty: placed in the bottom third, they land under the app's caption and the product link, so viewers watching on mute miss the message.
The hook in the first second is often a line of text near the top, right where the feed tabs sit.
On UGC ads, the platform adds its own call-to-action button over the lower part of the frame. A price, offer code or product shot there is covered for the whole ad.
Brands usually want one export for every placement. Placing text inside the shared safe zone lets the same video run on TikTok, Reels, Stories and Shorts.

Tips for placing text on every app

Export at 1080 × 1920. A file that isn't 9:16 is cropped or letterboxed, which moves everything.
For one video on every app, keep text between 120 and 888 px across and 288 and 1248 px down, and left of 780 px below 840 px down.
Keep faces and the product in the middle of the frame; the side buttons sit over the right edge on three of the four apps.
Check a private or test post on a real phone before you send a video to a brand: the apps change faster than any template.

Sources

TikTok Ads Manager: Video ads specifications (In-Feed safe zone files) (checked 2026-10-13)
Meta Ads Guide: Instagram Reels video ads (checked 2026-10-13)
Meta Ads Guide: Instagram Stories video ads (checked 2026-10-13)
Google Ads Help: About video ad specs (vertical safe zone overlay) (checked 2026-10-13)

Pixel values are for a 1080 × 1920 frame; Meta's percentages are rounded to the nearest pixel.

Safe zones for other apps

How to use Safe Zone Checker

1
Add your video or image
Drop a file on the frame or tap to choose one. It opens in this tab only; nothing is uploaded. A 1080 × 1920 export shows exactly what each app will show.
2
Check what gets covered
Turn the overlays on and off. Anything under a grey shape or in the red area can be hidden by the app: move text, faces and products inside the green line.
3
Download the template
Download the transparent PNG, put it on the top track of your editor while you place text, and hide it before you export.

FAQ

Safe Zone Checker FAQ

What is a safe zone in a vertical video?

It's the part of a 9:16 frame that no app button, caption or menu covers. TikTok, Instagram and YouTube draw their own interface over your video, so text or a product outside the safe zone can end up hidden.

Is there one safe zone that works on every app?

Yes, roughly. If you keep text between 120 and 888 px across and 288 and 1248 px down, and inside 780 px across below 840 px down, it clears the published safe zones of TikTok, Instagram Reels, Stories and YouTube Shorts at 1080 × 1920.

Are these numbers exact?

No. They come from each platform's ad specs, checked on 2026-10-13, and the apps change their layouts, caption lengths and phone sizes vary. Treat them as a careful guide and check a real post on your phone.

Do organic posts have the same safe zone as ads?

Close to it. Ads add a button (Learn more, Shop now) near the caption, so the ad safe zones are a little stricter. Designing to them keeps one video safe whether you post it or run it as an ad.

Is my video uploaded anywhere?

No. The file opens in your browser through a local link and is never sent to a server. Close the tab and it's gone.

What size should a TikTok, Reels or Shorts video be?

1080 × 1920 pixels, 9:16. Other sizes get cropped or shown with bars, and the checker flags any file that isn't 9:16.

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