Reels & Stories Safe Zone Checker
See exactly where captions and buttons will cover your design.
- Runs entirely in your browser
- Nothing is uploaded
- Works offline once loaded
The problem this solves
You design a vertical graphic, it looks perfect, you upload it — and the platform drops a caption over the bottom third, a row of buttons up the right side, and your username across the base. Half your text is now unreadable.
This tool overlays those interface areas on your own design so you can see the collision before you publish rather than after.
Reading the overlay
Red areas are where platform interface elements sit. Anything important placed there will be partly or entirely covered. The dashed outline marks the safe area — the region that stays visible on every device.
The readout tells you the usable pixel dimensions and what percentage of the frame you actually have to work with. On most platforms that is around 60 to 70 percent of the canvas.
What sits where
- Top — profile row, the sound or music label, and on Stories the progress bars.
- Bottom — caption text, username, and the call-to-action area. This is the largest intrusion on every platform.
- Right side — like, comment, share and save buttons, stacked vertically.
These are margins, not a specification. Platform interfaces change between app versions and differ by device and region.
Treat the guides as a sensible safety buffer. If something absolutely must be visible, keep it well inside the dashed area rather than right on the line.
Practical advice
- Put your key message in the upper-middle. It is the most reliably visible area on every platform.
- Keep logos away from the bottom right, which is the busiest corner.
- If you use subtitles, place them above the caption zone, not inside it.
- Check your design against every platform you post to — the zones differ noticeably.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate are the zones?
They are careful approximations based on common app layouts, not official specifications. Platforms do not publish exact figures and change them regularly.
They are reliable as a working margin. They are not a guarantee of pixel-exact behaviour on every device.
Can I use the output as my final post?
No — the downloaded file has the red guides burned into it. It is a proofing tool. Use it to check your layout, then upload your clean design.
What size should my design be?
A 9:16 image at 1080 × 1920 gives the most accurate preview, since that matches the actual canvas. Other sizes still work but the proportions will be less exact.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. This tool runs entirely in your browser using the File API and a canvas element. Your file is read from your own device, processed on your own hardware, and returned to you.
You can verify this: load the page, disconnect from the internet, then use the tool. It will work normally. A tool that uploaded your file could not.
Every SnapView tool runs inside your browser. Files you open here are read by your own device and are never uploaded, stored or transmitted anywhere. You can disconnect from the internet after this page loads and the tools will still work — which is the simplest way to verify that claim for yourself.