TikTok, Reels & Shorts Safe Zones 2026: Pixel Sizes for Every Platform

Quick answer

On a 1080×1920 vertical video, keep text, faces and logos away from the top and bottom of the screen and the right-hand button column. TikTok's official In-Feed template covers the top 240 px, the bottom 660 px and 120 px on each side; Meta asks for 14% top, 35% bottom and 6% sides on Reels and Stories; Google's YouTube template covers 288 px top, 672 px bottom, 48 px left and 192 px right.

Direct answer: The area that is safe on every major app is roughly x 120–885 and y 288–1248 on a 1080×1920 frame, avoiding the lower-right corner where TikTok's buttons sit. Check your own video frame by frame with the free Safe Zone Checker — it runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.

Safe zone sizes by platform (1080×1920)

These are the covered margins to keep clear, taken from each platform's own documentation or official template files (checked September 2026). Meta publishes percentages, so its pixel values are conversions.

Sources: TikTok — TikTok Auction In-Feed Ads (In-Feed Standard LTR safe zone file, 720×1280, scaled ×1.5). Meta — Meta Business Help: safe zones for Reels and Stories. Google — Universal safe zones for video ads on YouTube. Snapchat — Snap Ads creative best practices. Pinterest — Pinterest product specs.

TikTok safe zone

TikTok doesn't publish a single number. Its Ads Manager help page says the safe zone depends on the video's shape, the caption length and any add-ons, and it links downloadable overlay files instead. Measuring the current In-Feed file at 1080×1920 gives a clear area from x 120 to 960 and y 240 to 1260, minus the button column on the right (x 780–960 from y 840 down), where the profile picture, like, comment, save and share buttons sit.

The bottom 660 px hold the username, caption, music line and, for ads, the call-to-action button. A longer caption pushes that block higher, so keep hooks and subtitles in the middle third of the screen. Organic videos have the same caption and button layout, so the same zone is a good guide for regular posts.

Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels and Stories safe zone

Meta uses one rule across Reels and Stories on Instagram and Facebook: leave about 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side free of text, logos and key elements. That is roughly 269 px, 672 px and 65 px on a 1080×1920 video. If a Reels ad includes a disclaimer, Meta says to keep the bottom 40% (768 px) clear. In Ads Manager you can switch on the Safe Zone guardrail to see the same area on your creative.

YouTube Shorts safe zone

Google's video ad specs page offers transparent safe zone templates. The vertical one keeps a clear box from x 48 to 888 and y 288 to 1248 on a 1080×1920 frame — 288 px top, 672 px bottom, 48 px left and 192 px right. It's a universal zone for YouTube ads, so it is stricter than the Shorts screen alone, but it keeps the channel name, title, Subscribe button and the like/comment/share column clear.

Snapchat and Pinterest safe zones

• Snapchat: keep the top 150 px and the bottom 330 px clear for Single Image or Video ads in Stories and Spotlight. Collection ads need 450 px at the bottom. Snap publishes no side margin, but avoid the very edges.
• Pinterest: for full-screen 9:16 Idea ads, keep text and key elements 270 px from the top, 440 px from the bottom, 65 px from the left and 195 px from the right.

One safe area for every platform

If one edit goes to TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Snapchat and Pinterest, combine the strictest margins: 288 px from the top (YouTube), 672 px from the bottom (Meta and YouTube), 120 px from the left (TikTok) and 195 px from the right (Pinterest). That leaves a box from x 120 to 885 and y 288 to 1248. Also keep the lower-right part of that box (x 780+ below y 840) free, because TikTok's buttons reach into it. With a Meta disclaimer, end the box at y 1152.

The Safe Zone Checker's Compare all view shows one frame under every platform at once, with a clear or warning badge for each.

How to check your video and use the templates

• Open the Safe Zone Checker and drop in your video or image. It plays in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
• Pick a platform, scrub to your hook, subtitles and end card, and read the auto-check. It flags dense text, logos or faces under the app UI (an estimate, not OCR), and can scan the whole video for problem timestamps.
• Download the transparent 1080×1920 template for each platform, or all seven as a ZIP.
• In CapCut, add the PNG as an overlay on top of your clip; in Premiere Pro or Final Cut, put it on the top video track; in Canva or Figma, place it as the top layer. Design inside the green box, then hide the overlay before exporting.

More tools for short-form creators

Planning an Instagram grid or carousel? The Instagram Grid Maker splits photos for the 3:4 profile grid. For captions, the TikTok Hashtag Generator builds relevant tag sets, and for YouTube the YouTube Optimizer scores titles and descriptions.

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