Safe zones for Reels, TikTok and Shorts: where captions and text get covered

Why vertical text gets covered

A 9:16 video plays underneath the platform's own interface, such as profile details, the post caption and on-screen buttons. Anything you burn into that region, such as captions, a price, a URL or a lower-third name, can end up underneath it.

Meta says its safe-zone advice exists so key content is not cropped, covered by the profile icon or call-to-action, or placed too close to the edges on taller screens. [1] That is the whole problem in one sentence: the frame you export is not the frame viewers see unobstructed.

The numbers below come from advertising specifications, because that is where platforms publish them. Organic Reels, TikToks and Shorts carry similar interface elements, but none of the pages we read publish a separate organic safe zone, so treat the ad figures as a planning guide rather than a guarantee.

What each platform actually publishes

Only Meta gives percentages. TikTok gives template files. YouTube's Shorts help pages we checked give no placement guidance at all. Plan around that asymmetry rather than assuming every platform has a published pixel box.

The Meta box in pixels

Percentages are easy to misapply, so here they are converted for the two canvas sizes creators use most. We rounded to whole pixels. The clear area is what remains after removing the top, bottom and side margins.

At 1080 x 1920, 14% of the height is 268.8 px, 35% is 672 px and 6% of the width is 64.8 px. That leaves a clear box roughly 950 px wide and 979 px tall, about the middle half of the frame vertically. If your captions currently sit in the bottom fifth of the frame, they are inside the region Meta says to keep clear.

TikTok and Shorts: work from templates and previews

TikTok's in-feed ad spec says the safe zone depends on the video's orientation, the length of the ad caption and any additional formats, and it offers standard and Arabic (right-to-left) safe zone files, plus anchor versions if your video uses anchors. [3] It also warns there may be slight differences between the preview and the live version because the preview is not device-specific. [3] In practice that means downloading the template for your region and placing it as a top layer in your editor while you lay out text.

TikTok notes that captions pulled from an organic post for Spark Ads can show up to 4 lines including emojis. [3] Because TikTok ties the safe zone to caption length, a long caption and a low lower-third are a risky combination.

For Shorts, YouTube's help pages say you can upload vertical videos with a maximum resolution of 1080p and that square or vertical videos up to three minutes count as Shorts. [4][5] Neither page gives a placement box. Using the Meta margins as a conservative default and then checking the published Short on a phone is the safest approach we can recommend from published material.

Where to put captions and lower-thirds

Captions: place the caption block so its bottom edge sits at or above the 65% line (about 1248 px on a 1080 x 1920 canvas). A position just below the vertical centre keeps them clear of the bottom margin and away from faces framed in the upper part of the frame.

Lower-thirds: on a vertical video, a traditional lower-third sits exactly where the interface lives. Move the name strap up to sit just under the subject's chin, or show it as a top strap below the 14% line.

Side-aligned text: keep left-aligned text at least 65 px from the left edge and right-aligned text at least 65 px from the right edge on a 1080-wide canvas. Action buttons on the right side are a common culprit, so a centred caption is lower risk than a right-aligned one.

Logos and URLs: a URL that gets covered is worse than no URL. Put it in the clear box, or say it aloud and put it in the post description instead.

• Keep the most important words inside the clear box, not just most of them.
• Use a caption background or outline so text stays legible when it sits over busy footage in the middle of the frame.
• Limit burned-in captions to two short lines; a tall block is more likely to cross into the bottom margin.
• If you post one export to all three platforms, design to the strictest guidance you have, which is the Meta box.

Setting up a reusable template

Build the guide once and reuse it. In any editor, create a 9:16 project, add a semi-transparent rectangle over the top 269 px, another over the bottom 672 px and thin strips 65 px wide on each side (for a 1080 x 1920 canvas). Lock that layer, lay out your text, then hide or delete the guide layer before export.

Browser editors make this quick: FlexClip's Ratio menu, for example, offers 9:16 alongside 16:9, 1:1, 4:5, 21:9, 3:4 and 2:1, and its help page advises using Undo rather than switching back if a ratio change disturbs your layout. [6] If you also export a 16:9 version, build that as a separate project rather than reframing the vertical one late in the edit.

Pre-publish checklist

Run this list on every vertical video with burned-in text. It takes two minutes and catches most covered-caption problems before viewers see them.

• Canvas is 9:16 (1080 x 1920 or 1440 x 2560) and the export matches.
• No caption, price, name or URL crosses the 14% top, 35% bottom or 6% side margins.
• For TikTok, the downloaded safe zone file for your region was overlaid during layout. [3]
• Post caption length checked: TikTok says caption length changes the in-feed safe zone. [3]
• Guide layer hidden or deleted before export.
• Watched the published video on a phone with the interface showing, not only in the editor preview.
• Captions also uploaded as a caption file where the platform supports it, so viewers who need them are not relying only on burned-in text.

Sources & verification

Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.

1. Meta Ads Guide: Instagram Reels video ad specifications Accessed 30 Oct 2026
2. Meta Ads Guide: Instagram Stories video ad specifications Accessed 30 Oct 2026
3. TikTok Ads Manager Help: Auction In-Feed Ads specifications Accessed 30 Oct 2026
4. YouTube Help: Upload YouTube Shorts Accessed 30 Oct 2026
5. YouTube Help: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts Accessed 30 Oct 2026
6. FlexClip Help: Change video aspect ratio Accessed 30 Oct 2026