Free Instagram tool
Instagram Reels Safe Zone Checker
Drop in a Reel or a still frame and see where the interface is likely to cover it. The overlay follows Meta's guidance for Reels ads: keep the top 14 percent, the bottom 35 percent and 6 percent of each side clear.
Last updated: 2026-10-25
A Reel plays under a layer of interface. The profile row, the caption, the audio label and the buttons sit on top of your video rather than beside it, so a caption burned into the bottom of the frame or a logo tucked into a corner can end up behind them.
Meta's Ads Guide for Reels gives one rule for this: keep roughly the top 14 percent, the bottom 35 percent and 6 percent of each side free of text, logos and other key elements. This checker draws exactly those margins on your frame, at whatever size your file is. It is published guidance for Reels ads, and the app can lay a Reel out differently depending on the device and the app version, so read it as a careful margin rather than a pixel perfect map.
Everything happens in your browser. Pick a video and the tool grabs a frame from it, or pick an image, then draws the safe area and the covered bands on top. The file is never uploaded and never stored, and closing the tab is all the cleanup there is.
Drop a file above to see the zones over your own frame. Until then they are drawn on an empty 9:16 frame.
- Safe area: keep text, faces and logos inside it.
- Can be covered by the app: captions, buttons and the account name sit here.
These zones come from Meta's published guidance for vertical video ads on Instagram. The app around a regular post can differ by device and app version, so leave a little extra room.
The zones in numbers
What Meta says to keep clear on Instagram, on a 1080 x 1920 px frame.
- Top: 14% of the frame
- Bottom: 35% of the frame
- Left: 6% of the frame
- Right: 6% of the frame
These zones come from Meta's published guidance for vertical video ads on Instagram. The app around a regular post can differ by device and app version, so leave a little extra room.
SourceChecked on 2026-10-25
Tips
- Put captions, prices and calls to action in the middle of the frame. With the bottom 35 percent reserved, the safe area ends a little above the two thirds mark, which is higher than most people place their text.
- Export at 1080 x 1920, 9:16. The margins are drawn for that shape. A frame of another shape is only scaled to fit, which makes the overlay a looser guide.
- If your text appears later in the clip, export that moment as an image and check it too. A title card a few seconds in is often what runs into the caption area.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Instagram Reels safe zone?
It is the part of a vertical frame the interface is unlikely to cover. Meta's guidance for Reels ads is to keep roughly the top 14 percent, the bottom 35 percent and 6 percent on each side free of text, logos and other key creative elements, which leaves the middle of the picture for anything people need to read.
Does the safe zone apply to organic Reels as well as ads?
The numbers come from Meta's guidance for Reels ads. The interface over an ordinary Reel is similar, but it changes with the device, the app version and the features on the post, so staying inside these margins is a good habit for both rather than a guarantee for either.
Is my video uploaded?
No. The video is opened in your browser, one frame is drawn onto a canvas, and the overlay is drawn over it. Nothing reaches Postify or anyone else, which is also why a large file opens straight away.
Related free tools
Keep the rest of the checklist close: each tool works on its own, no account needed.
Comparing schedulers? See how Postify stacks up against Later, Buffer, Hootsuite and more
Clear of the buttons? Schedule it.
Postify supports nine platforms in one workflow: plan, schedule, and publish without juggling five different tools.