The Instagram Reels safe zone keeps 14% of a 1080 × 1920 video free at the top (269 px), 35% at the bottom (672 px) and 6% at each side (65 px), plus a corner 227 px wide at the bottom right where the buttons sit. Drop your Reel or a frame, mark your text, and download a free transparent template.
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Meta Ads Guide: Instagram Reels video · Meta Business Help Center: safe zones for 9:16 ads · Checked October 17, 2026
These are the platforms' own safe zones for ads. None of them publishes numbers for regular posts, so the ad zones are the safest guide for both.
Choose or drop a vertical video or image
Or use the overlay as it is. Nothing is uploaded.
Drag on the frame to mark text, a logo or a face. On a phone, tap Add a caption box.
Drag on the frame to mark a caption, a logo or a face, and see if each one is safe on every platform.
Transparent PNG, no watermark. Put it on the top track in CapCut, Premiere or DaVinci, or as the top layer in Canva, and hide it before you export.
Drop a Reel, mark your text, download a template. No account, no upload.
Pick an MP4, MOV, PNG or JPG from your computer or phone, or paste a screenshot of your design. A video plays under the overlay, so you can stop on the frame with the most text.
Outline the hook, the subtitles, a sticker or your face. You get a verdict for Reels, Stories, TikTok and Shorts side by side, and the pixel move that fixes each problem.
Get the Reels or Stories overlay as a transparent PNG at 1080 × 1920 or 2160 × 3840, or a ZIP with every app. The checked frame can be saved too, ready to send for approval.
Meta writes the zone down in percentages. The checker draws exactly that, and tells you where each line comes from.
Meta's Ads Guide asks you to leave at least 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side free of text, logos and other key elements. On a 1080 × 1920 Reel that is 269, 672 and 65 px, and the checker draws exactly those lines.
| Top | Bottom | Sides | Buttons | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reels | 269 | 672 | 65 | 227 @ y 1152 |
| Stories | 269 | 672 | 65 | 227 @ y 1152 |
| TikTok | 240 | 660 | 120 | 300 @ y 840 |
| Shorts | 288 | 672 | 48 / 192 | · |
| All platforms | 288 | 672 | 120 / 192 | 300 @ y 840 |
Meta's safe zone diagram also cuts out the bottom right corner, 21% wide and 40% tall, where the like, comment and share buttons sit. Many Reels overlays leave it out; this one draws it, so a logo in that corner shows up as covered.
Meta now uses one safe zone for Reels and Stories on Instagram and Facebook. Reels ads with disclaimers need the bottom 40% free; switch it on and the bottom margin becomes 768 px.
Box a caption, a logo or a face and see whether it is safe, which part of Instagram covers it, and the shortest move to fix it. One click moves the box into the safe area.
The all platforms view combines Meta's zone with TikTok's and YouTube Shorts', so one master video can go everywhere without a caption under a button.
Transparent PNG overlays for Reels and Stories with nothing in the safe area: no tint, no logo, no watermark. Shaded or lines only, in 1080 × 1920 or 2160 × 3840.
Put one on the top layer of your editor or your Canva design. Each file is 1080 × 1920, transparent where your content is safe and tinted where Instagram covers it.
Instagram ReelsT 269 · B 672 · L 65 · R 65 · shadedDownload PNGInstagram ReelsT 269 · B 672 · L 65 · R 65 · linesDownload PNGReels ad with disclaimerT 269 · B 768 · L 65 · R 65 · shadedDownload PNGTikTok feedT 240 · B 660 · L 120 · R 120 · shadedDownload PNGTikTok feedT 240 · B 660 · L 120 · R 120 · linesDownload PNGTikTok, 4 line captionT 252 · B 860 · L 120 · R 120 · shadedDownload PNG
TikTok TopViewT 240 · B 240 · L 120 · R 120 · shadedDownload PNGInstagram StoriesT 269 · B 672 · L 65 · R 65 · shadedDownload PNG
YouTube ShortsT 288 · B 672 · L 48 · R 192 · shadedDownload PNGAll platformsT 288 · B 672 · L 120 · R 192 · shadedDownload PNGUnder each file, T, B, L and R give the margins at the top, bottom, left and right in px. For 2160 × 3840, the lines only style or every platform in one ZIP, use the checker above.
Meta's numbers in pixels, the corner many templates miss, Stories, ads, and why other sites quote different values.
The Instagram Reels safe zone is the part of a 9:16 video that the Reels interface does not cover. Outside it, Instagram shows the Reels title and camera at the top, your profile picture, account name, caption and audio at the bottom, and the like, comment, share and more buttons along the right.
Meta states the zone in its Ads Guide: leave at least 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side free of text, logos and other key elements. On a 1080 × 1920 Reel, that works out as:
| Top | Bottom | Sides | Buttons | Basis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reels / Stories | 269 | 672 | 65 | 227 @ y 1152 | Meta text |
| Reels, disclaimer | 269 | 768 | 65 | · | Meta text |
| TikTok, Feed | 240 | 660 | 120 | 300 @ y 840 | TikTok file, 2025 |
| Shorts | 288 | 672 | 48 / 192 | · | Google file |
The percentages are the part everyone quotes. Meta's safe zone diagram adds one more thing: a cut out in the bottom right corner, 21% of the width and 40% of the height, where the buttons column runs into the frame. Text placed just above the 35% line on the right can still end up under the share button.
The 6% side margins have a different reason. Meta says they keep elements from sitting too close to the edges of devices with screens taller than 9:16, where the video can be cropped. The checker shows them in blue, as may be cropped, and the top, bottom and corner in red, as covered.
Instagram Stories now use the same safe zone as Reels: 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% at each side. For years Meta's Stories page said something else, roughly 250 px at the top and 340 px at the bottom, and many Instagram story safe zone templates still use those numbers.
Stories put the progress bar and your account at the top and the reply bar at the bottom. Choose Stories in the checker to see that layout sketch over the same official zone.
You will find templates with 108 px at the top, 220 px at the top, 320 px or 420 px at the bottom, and no buttons corner at all. Some were measured on an older app, some look like numbers from a 540 × 960 frame used without scaling, and many never say where their numbers come from.
Meta's own wording changed too. In 2023 it said 14% at the top and 20% at the bottom; since 2024 it says 35% at the bottom. A template made before then leaves your caption under Instagram's text. When in doubt, use Meta's current numbers, which this checker shows with the date it last read them.
| Often quoted | Official (October 17, 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok feed | 252 / 704, buttons from y 360TikTok's 2021 file, still used for caption lengths | 240 / 660, buttons from y 840 |
| Instagram Stories | 250 top, 340 bottomnot in any official guide | 269 / 672 (14% / 35%) |
| Instagram Reels | 14% top, 20% bottomnot in any official guide | 14% / 35% / 6% |
| TikTok at 720 px wide | 160 / 440 / 80the same zone on a 720 px frame | 240 / 660 / 120 at 1080 |
A safe zone template is a transparent PNG that goes above your video while you edit. Keep captions, stickers and logos where the template is clear, then hide it before you export.
Meta publishes this zone in its ad guidance, and Instagram has no separate numbers for regular Reels. This checker therefore uses the ad zone for both, as the closest official guide. Reels ads with disclaimers should keep the bottom 40% free, which is 768 px.
TikTok and YouTube Shorts cover different parts of the frame. TikTok's file keeps 240 px at the top and 660 px at the bottom with a buttons column from y 840; Google's Shorts template keeps 288 px at the top and 192 px on the right. Switch platforms in the checker, or pick all platforms to see where all three are safe.
Anyone who adds text, stickers, logos or faces to a Reel or a Story.
Make a 9:16 clip with an AI video generator, add your captions, and check them against Meta's safe zone before you post.
Mark your face and your hook text and keep both clear of the account name, caption and buttons.
Use the same official zone for Instagram Stories and keep the reply bar clear.
Check Reels and Stories ads against Meta's 14% / 35% / 6% rule, and the 40% bottom when a disclaimer is shown.
Plan one cut for Reels, TikTok and Shorts and see in a single view which text has to move for which app.
Lay the Reels PNG over a client's edit and catch the caption that runs into the buttons corner before the review call.
Short answers about the Reels and Stories safe zones and the templates.
Text to Video turns a prompt into a 9:16 clip. Add your hook and captions, then bring a frame back here and test it against the Instagram Reels safe zone.
