What is the safe zone in vertical video?
In short: The middle area of a vertical video that isn't covered by the app's buttons, captions and username.
On Shorts, TikTok and Reels, the like, comment and share buttons sit on the right, and your username and caption sit along the bottom. Anything you place under them is hard to see.
Keep faces, on-screen text and captions in the center of the frame, away from the right edge and the bottom fifth or so. Many editors offer safe-zone guides you can turn on while you edit.
Example
On a 1080 × 1920 export, the right 15% is a strip about 162 pixels wide, where the like, comment and share buttons sit. The bottom 20% is about 384 pixels tall, where the username, caption and audio line go. A caption placed 150 pixels above the bottom edge lands under that text. Move it up so its lower edge sits above roughly 1,530 pixels from the top, and keep it left of about 918 pixels across. Areas are approximate, so confirm in each app's preview.
Tips for creators
- Check a test export in each app's upload preview on a real phone. Layouts change by device, language and app update, so a desktop preview isn't enough.
- Design for all three apps at once if you cross-post. YouTube Shorts adds a title, channel name and subscribe button at the bottom, and its button column starts a little lower than TikTok's.
- If a platform also shows its own auto captions, turn one set off. Two caption layers overlap and make both hard to read.
Common questions
Do I need to avoid the top of the frame too?
A little. Apps place some controls in a thin strip at the top of the screen, so keep key text away from the very top edge. The bigger risks are the right edge, where the buttons sit, and roughly the bottom fifth, where the caption and username go.
How can I check my video's safe zone for free?
Upload a frame or clip to ShortStack's safe zone checker. It overlays the TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels interfaces on your video, and you can drag a box over your caption or face to see which app covers it. The file stays on your device.
Go deeper
Caption checklist (guide)Read →Best auto caption appsRead →Related terms
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All 29 glossary terms · Reviewed on 2026-11-05.