Story & Reels Safe Zone Checker
Keep captions and logos clear of the buttons on Stories, Reels, TikTok and Shorts.
Try before you buy.
- Free preview: your picture or video frame with every safe zone marked, at preview size (up to 640 pixels) with a MySmartCoPilot watermark, and all its checks.
- Locked until you unlock it: download.
- Unlock: Pro pass, ₹179 for 30 days or ₹79 for 1 week, a one-time payment that never renews. Unlock: Pro pass, $5.99 for 30 days or $2.99 for 1 week, a one-time payment that never renews.
Ways to unlock shows how to get the full result.
Printing this result is locked in the free preview.
App and picture or video
Blank 9:16 guide
Layers
Checks
Add a picture or video to check its shape and resolution.
Where the zones are
Download
Templates are 1080 × 1920 with every guide on a transparent background; the PNG also has the app sketch when it is shown.
Locked in the free preview. Opens the ways to unlock this result.
Locked in the free preview. Batch runs unlock with a pass.
Locked in the free preview. Query results unlock with a pass.
About the Story & Reels Safe Zone Checker
Stories, Reels, TikToks and Shorts fill the screen, and the apps draw their buttons, names and captions on top. Add your 9:16 picture or video, choose the app, and the checker shows where those parts sit: the safe zone for text and logos, the covered parts hatched, and a sketch of the app’s buttons. For a video, scrub to any moment, step through it a thirtieth of a second at a time, or play it with the guides on.
Instagram Stories and Reels use the margins Meta publishes for them — about 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side — and Facebook Stories Meta’s own margins for that app: about 14% at the top and 20% at the bottom. TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Snapchat publish no margins in numbers, so their zones are clearly marked as approximate. It also checks the shape and resolution, and the length of a reel. With a Pro pass, or after unlocking this result, download the frame with its guides, or a blank 1080 × 1920 guide template as PNG or SVG. Your picture or video never leaves your device.
How to use it
- Choose the app: Instagram Stories & Reels, Facebook Stories or Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat, or your own margins.
- Drop your picture or video on the box, or choose it. Without one, the blank 9:16 guide shows.
- Read the view: everything outside the safe zone is shaded, hatched boxes are covered by the app, and the white shapes sketch its buttons. Dashed lines are approximate.
- For a video, drag the Frame at slider, step with the step buttons, or press Play; move a picture that is not 9:16 to choose what stays, or fit it with bars.
- Move any caption, logo or face that sits in a shaded or hatched part, then download the frame with its guides or a guide template — with a pass, or after unlocking this result.
Examples
Safe zone 950 × 979 px, from 65 px in and 269 px down: keep text out of the top 269 px, the bottom 672 px and 65 px on each side.
Filling the screen cuts about 68% of the width: slide it to keep the subject in view, or fit it with bars above and below.
Filling the screen cuts about 30% of the width; fitted whole, it gets bars above and below.
Length passes: within 3 minutes, so Instagram can recommend it to new audiences.
Common uses
- Checking that a story’s headline is not under the profile picture or the reply bar.
- Placing captions and stickers on a Reel or TikTok where buttons do not cover them.
- Checking a promo video frame by frame before it runs as a Story ad.
- Giving a designer a 1080 × 1920 guide template for each app.
Where the margins come from
- Instagram Stories and Instagram Reels: Meta asks to keep about 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side clear of text, logos and other key elements, so the profile picture and buttons do not cover them, and recommends 9:16 at 1440 × 2560 px (Instagram Stories and Instagram Reels in the Meta Ads Guide).
- Facebook Stories: Meta asks to keep roughly 14% of the top and 20% of the bottom clear of text and logos, so the call-to-action does not cover them, gives no side margins, and recommends 9:16 at 1440 × 2560 px (Facebook Stories in the Meta Ads Guide). A story posted to both apps should keep to the Instagram margins.
- Facebook Reels: the Instagram Reels margins, as the nearest published guide (marked approximate).
- TikTok: TikTok publishes downloadable safe-zone templates for its In-Feed ads and says the safe zone depends on the video’s shape and the caption’s length, but gives no margins in numbers (TikTok Ads Manager Help). The zones here are estimates.
- YouTube Shorts and Snapchat: no published safe zones; the zones here are estimates of where the apps draw their buttons and captions.
- Reel length: up to 20 minutes; reels over 3 minutes are not recommended to new audiences (Instagram Help Centre).
Checking a video
The video plays in your browser from your own file. Drag Frame at to any moment, use the step buttons to move a thirtieth of a second at a time (one frame of a 30 fps video), or press Play to watch it with the guides. The guides and checks stay the same for every frame, so one unlock covers the whole video with the same settings.
Limitations
- TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat and Facebook Reels zones are approximate: the apps change their layouts, and a long caption or a different phone moves things.
- The white shapes are a sketch of where buttons usually are, not a screenshot of the app.
- Videos play in the browser: MP4 (H.264) and WebM work everywhere; MOV and HEVC may need Safari or converting to MP4 first.
- Saved frames keep the video’s or picture’s own resolution, up to 2560 px tall.
Privacy
On this device: nothing is sent
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, Story & Reels Safe Zone Checker shows your picture or video frame with every safe zone marked, at preview size (up to 640 pixels) with a MySmartCoPilot watermark, and all its checks. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
What is the Instagram Stories safe zone?
Meta asks to keep about 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side clear of text, logos and other key elements. On a 1080 × 1920 story that is the top 269 px, the bottom 672 px and 65 px on each side, leaving a safe zone of 950 × 979 px.
What is the TikTok safe zone?
TikTok publishes downloadable safe-zone templates for its ads but no margins in numbers, and says the zone depends on the video’s shape and the caption’s length. The TikTok guide here is approximate: the tabs at the top, the buttons down the right and the name, caption and sound along the bottom.
How long can an Instagram Reel be?
Up to 20 minutes. Reels over 3 minutes are not recommended to new audiences, so keep a reel you want discovered to 3 minutes or less.
Can I check a video, not just a picture?
Yes. Choose an MP4, MOV or WebM file, then scrub to any frame or play it with the guides on.
Why are some lines dashed?
Solid lines use margins the app’s owner publishes (Meta, for Instagram Stories and Reels and for Facebook Stories). Dashed lines are approximate: estimates for apps that publish no margins, and Facebook Reels, which use the Instagram Reels margins.
Is my picture or video uploaded?
No. It is opened and played in your browser, and nothing about it is sent anywhere.