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PlaylistTime / Creator tools / Shorts safe zone

YouTube Shorts safe zone: see what the buttons and title cover

Load an image or a frame from your video and see the parts of the screen YouTube's Shorts player covers. Turn each area on or off and save it as a PNG.

The YouTube Shorts safe zone is the part of a vertical video that the Shorts player leaves clear. Over the rest sit the search bar at the top, the like, dislike, comment and share buttons on the right, and the channel name, title, description and sound at the bottom. Text, faces, logos or captions placed there can be hidden. This Shorts safe zone checker puts those areas over your own picture: load an image or a video, pick a frame, and see what would be covered. Each area can be turned on or off, and you can save the result as a PNG to share with an editor or use as a Shorts safe zone template. The sizes come from Google's own guidance for Shorts. They are approximate, because the buttons move a little between phones, and they run entirely in your browser.

What is the YouTube Shorts safe zone?

A Short plays full screen, and the player draws its controls on top of the video. Google's guidance for Shorts names three areas to keep critical elements out of: the top 10% of the frame, the bottom 25%, and the right-hand 10%. What is left is the clear area, where text and faces stay visible. Google gives no left margin.

Top bar: 192 pxChannel, title, description: 480 pxButtons: 108 pxClear area 972 x 1248

The Shorts frame at 1080 x 1920 pixels, drawn at a quarter size. Red: covered by the player. Green dashes: the clear area of 972 x 1248 pixels.

How big is the Shorts safe zone in pixels?

On the recommended 1080 x 1920 frame those shares work out as follows:

AreaShare of the framePixels on 1080 x 1920What sits there
Top10% of the height192 pxSearch, menu and other top controls
Bottom25% of the height480 pxChannel name, subscribe, title, description, sound
Right10% of the width108 pxLike, dislike, comment, share
Clear area90% x 65%972 x 1248 px, from 192 px downYour text, faces and logos

Worked example: a caption you want on screen at 1080 x 1920 should start below 192 px from the top, end above 1440 px (1920 minus 480), and stay left of 972 px. On a 720 x 1280 export the same shares give 128 px at the top, 320 px at the bottom and 72 px on the right.

How to check the Shorts safe zone

Step 1: Choose a file

Pick an image (JPG, PNG, WebP) or a video. For a video, drag the slider to the frame you want to check.

Step 2: Look at the red areas

Red marks the top bar, the buttons on the right, and the channel name, title and description at the bottom. Anything important inside them may be hidden.

Step 3: Turn areas on or off

Use the check boxes to show one area at a time, the clear area outline or the labels. More options sets how pictures that are not 9:16 are fitted and how strong the overlay is.

Step 4: Save the PNG

Save PNG downloads a 1080 x 1920 image with the overlay, to share with an editor or keep as a template.

Where to put text and captions in a Short

Is there an official Shorts safe zone template?

Google publishes transparent PNG safe zone templates for vertical video ads on its Google Ads video ad specs page. Those are made for ads, which can show extra elements such as a call-to-action button, so their margins can differ from the percentages this tool uses. For ordinary Shorts, the percentages from Google's Shorts guidance are the closest thing to an official number we found; YouTube does not publish separate pixel sizes for organic Shorts. If you make Shorts ads, check against Google's ad template too.

Does the safe zone change on different phones?

A little. Phones with taller screens than 9:16 show the video with bars or crop it slightly, long titles take up more lines, and the buttons are laid out by each app version. On a computer the Shorts player puts the buttons beside the video rather than on it. Treat the overlay as a guide with some margin, not as an exact map.

Does my Short need to be 9:16?

No. YouTube counts any square or vertical video up to 3 minutes as a Short, but 9:16 at 1080 x 1920 is the recommended size and the one the overlay is drawn for. If your picture has another shape, the tool places it inside a 9:16 frame, either whole with bars or cropped to fill (under More options). To check a file's exact size and length, use the Shorts checker.

How accurate is the overlay?

The areas follow Google's published shares exactly: 10% at the top, 25% at the bottom and 10% on the right of a 9:16 frame. Those shares are guidance, not a pixel-perfect drawing of every phone, so the overlay is approximate. Keep important elements well inside the clear area rather than right on its edge.

Sources

Why we built this Shorts safe zone checker

Most safe zone templates are a PNG you download and line up by hand in an editor, and many come without a source for their numbers. Nitin Raja, who builds PlaylistTime, tested a lot of these pages before building this one: after testing out a lot of websites, he found what people need and what they do not, and built around that. People need to see their own frame with the covered areas on top, know where the numbers come from, and get a picture to send to whoever edits the video.

What this checker does

Why it is different

This checkerA typical safe zone template
Your own frameImage or any video frame, in the browserA PNG to line up in an editor
Where the numbers come fromGoogle's Shorts guidance, linked and datedOften no source
AreasEach one on or off, with labelsAll baked into one image
ExportPNG at 1080 x 1920None

Built by Nitin Raja. Last updated 26 October 2026.

Questions

What is the YouTube Shorts safe zone?

The part of a vertical Short that the player leaves clear. Google's Shorts guidance says to keep critical elements out of the top 10%, the bottom 25% and the right-hand 10% of the frame.

What are the Shorts safe zone dimensions in pixels?

On a 1080 x 1920 frame: 192 px at the top, 480 px at the bottom and 108 px on the right are covered, leaving a clear area of 972 x 1248 px.

Where should I put captions on YouTube Shorts?

In the middle of the frame, above the bottom 25% where the channel name and title sit, and away from the buttons on the right.

Is my image uploaded?

No. Your browser draws the image or video frame on your device, and the PNG is made there too.

Is the overlay exact?

It is approximate. It follows Google's published shares, but the buttons and text move a little between phones, app versions and languages.

Is there an official template?

Google offers safe zone PNG templates for vertical video ads on its Google Ads video ad specs page. They are made for ads, so their margins can differ from the Shorts guidance used here.

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