YouTube Shorts Safe Zone Checker: what it does
YouTube Shorts covers the top of the video with the search and menu bar, the bottom with the channel name, title, subscribe button and sound, and the right side with the like, comment and share buttons. Google’s video ad specs include a safe-zone overlay for vertical video; measured on 1080 × 1920 it keeps 288 px clear at the top, 672 px at the bottom, 48 px on the left and 192 px on the right. Drop your Short or its thumbnail into the frame, scrub through it and check that every subtitle and face stays inside. Download the preview, or the transparent overlay PNG for your editor.
How to use it
- Drop your video or its cover image into the frame. Long 4K videos are fine: nothing is uploaded.
- Pick TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, or all three. The red areas are where the app’s caption, buttons and profile row sit.
- Scrub through the video and check that your text, faces, logo and price stay inside the dashed safe area.
- Download the preview to share it, or the transparent overlay PNG to use as a guide layer in CapCut, Canva or Premiere.
Safe zones on a 1080 × 1920 video
| Platform | Top | Bottom | Left / right | Where the numbers come from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube Shorts | 288 px | 672 px | 48 / 192 px | Measured from Google’s vertical video safe-zone overlay (1080 × 1920) linked from the Google Ads video specs page. Google Ads Help: About video ad specs |
| TikTok | 240 px | 660 px | 120 / 120 px, plus the right-hand 300 px below 840 px (buttons) | Measured from TikTok’s In-Feed “Standard Version LTR” safe-zone template (720 × 1280, scaled to 1080 × 1920): 80 px sides, 160 px top, 440 px bottom, and the button column 720 px from the bottom. TikTok Ads Help: In-Feed ads specs |
| Instagram Reels | 269 px | 672 px | 65 / 65 px | Meta’s Reels ad guide: “leaving at least 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom, and 6% on each side of your asset free from text, logos, or other important creative elements.” Meta Ads Guide: Instagram Reels |
Checked 5 November 2026. The platforms publish these for ads; normal posts have the same caption, buttons and profile row, so the same space is covered.
Tips
- Shorts has the widest right-hand margin of the three apps (192 px): keep text away from the right edge.
- Its top bar is also the tallest (288 px), so don’t put titles at the very top.
- The title of your Short appears over the bottom of the video. Keep the lower third free of text.
- For a video you also post on TikTok and Reels, use “All three” to get one layout that works everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
What is the YouTube Shorts safe zone in pixels?
Measured from Google’s vertical safe-zone overlay (1080 × 1920): 288 px at the top, 672 px at the bottom, 48 px on the left and 192 px on the right. That leaves a safe area of 840 × 960 px.
Where is Google’s template?
On the Google Ads Help page “About video ad specs”, which links transparent PNG templates for horizontal, vertical and square videos. The link is in the table on this page.
What size should a YouTube Short be?
Vertical 9:16, 1080 × 1920. That is the size Google’s vertical template is drawn at.
Is my video uploaded?
No. The video plays in your browser on your device. Nothing is sent to our servers.