Question 1

What is a safe zone?

Accepted Answer

It is the part of a vertical video that the app leaves uncovered. Likes, comments, captions and navigation sit on top of your video, so text or faces placed under them get hidden.

Question 2

Where do the numbers come from?

Accepted Answer

From the guides each platform publishes for advertisers: TikTok’s In-Feed safe zone file, Meta’s Ads Guide for Reels and Stories, and Google’s YouTube overlay. Organic posts use the same app screens, though their captions can be longer or shorter.

Question 3

Is my video uploaded?

Accepted Answer

No. The preview and the PNG downloads run in your browser. If you use the text check, the browser downloads the OCR engine and reads your frames locally. Your file is never sent anywhere.

Question 4

Why does the phone view differ from the flat overlay?

Accepted Answer

Phones are taller than 9:16, so the apps place the video and their buttons differently depending on the screen. A flat overlay shows one fixed answer. The phone view shows how it lands on the device you pick.

Question 5

How accurate is the app UI?

Accepted Answer

It is drawn to match the current apps, but they change often and vary by device, account and language. Use it to spot collisions, and trust the official safe zone when you need a hard margin.

Instagram Stories Safe Zone Checker

Published safe zones at 1080×1920

Questions