TikTok, Reels and Shorts safe zones, explained

You polished your video, you post it, and the key number is hidden behind the Like button while your subtitles disappear under the caption. It’s the most common problem with vertical video: the platform’s interface sits on top of your picture. The fix is called the safe zone: the area where you know nothing will be covered.

The base format: 1080 × 1920

TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts all use the vertical 9:16 format, which in practice means 1080 × 1920 pixels. Always export at this resolution: anything else gets cropped or letterboxed.

What covers your video

• At the top: the phone’s clock and battery, then the platform tabs (“For You”, “Following”, a search or camera icon).
• On the right: the action column (profile picture, like, comments, share, sound).
• At the bottom: the account name, the caption, the sound title, sometimes a button or a link, then the app’s navigation bar.

The margins to respect (approximate values)

In a 1080 × 1920 frame, here are the margins we recommend to cover all three platforms at once. These are guidelines: interfaces change regularly across app versions, countries and screen sizes. Leave yourself some breathing room rather than aiming for pixel perfection.

• Top: keep important text out of the first 220 to 250 pixels.
• Bottom: avoid the last 350 to 450 pixels. It’s the riskiest area: captions can expand over several lines.
• Right: stay 120 to 160 pixels away from the right edge, especially in the lower half where the buttons are.
• Left: a 60 to 80 pixel margin is enough, for looks and for rounded screens.

The result: the truly safe area is a rectangle of roughly 860 × 1250 pixels, shifted slightly up and to the left of center. Everything that absolutely must be read (titles, numbers, captions, logo) goes in there.

How the platforms differ

TikTok

The bottom area is the busiest: account name, a caption that can expand, the sound title, and sometimes links or tags. The right-hand column is tall and reaches fairly low. Be especially careful with the bottom of the screen.

Instagram Reels

Close to TikTok, with a slightly more compact caption. Watch out for the profile grid: Reels are often shown cropped to the center in a squarer format there. Keep your video’s title centered if you want it readable in the grid.

YouTube Shorts

Similar buttons on the right, and the bottom holds the title, the channel and the subscribe button. The bottom area is a bit shorter than on TikTok, but the margins above still apply.

Where to put each element

1. Hook and title: in the top third of the safe zone, just below the first 250 pixels. That’s where the eye lands first.
2. Main visual (diagram, number, illustration): in the center, where nothing covers it.
3. Captions: between 60 and 70% of the height, centered, away from the right edge.
4. Logo or signature: small, top left inside the safe zone, or at the end of the video rather than on screen the whole time.
5. On-screen call to action: in the center, never in the bottom strip where it would blend into the caption.

What can go in the margins

Risky areas don’t have to stay empty: they’re perfect for backgrounds, textures, gradients, decorative elements or a diagram that bleeds off the frame. What matters is that nothing essential to understanding lives there.

Check before you post

• Export a frame from your video and overlay a screenshot of the target platform’s interface.
• Post privately or as a draft, and watch it on your own phone.
• Test on a small screen: that’s where interface elements take up the most space.

The frame is 1920 pixels tall, but your message only gets about 1250 of them. Design for those.

Good news: videos generated by Motiongist automatically keep titles, diagrams and captions inside these safe zones. Watch our examples or try the motion design generator.