What is the YouTube Shorts safe zone?

The area of a vertical Short not covered by the player’s title, channel name, and buttons. YouTube does not publish exact values; public measurements put the covered area at about 120 px top, 300–360 px bottom, and 96 px right on 1080×1920.

Is the Shorts safe zone smaller than TikTok’s?

The bottom band is usually shorter on Shorts than on TikTok, and the right button column is narrower. If you post the same file to both, follow the TikTok overlay.

Should I use a safe zone for Shorts thumbnails?

The cover frame is shown cropped in some surfaces, so keep the subject centred. The overlay is for the playback view.

Templates · YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts safe zone template

A transparent 1080×1920 overlay that shades where the Shorts player usually draws its interface. Use it while you place captions and graphics, then remove it before export.

Download PNG (1080×1920)Download SVG (labelled)

Approximate margins, last checked 2026-09-28. Free to use; no sign-up.

YouTube Shorts safe zone overlay: shaded areas show where the app interface covers a 1080×1920 video — Red = usually covered by the app UI

What each shaded area covers

Area	Interface elements	Approx. on 1080×1920
Top	Search, camera, and menu icons	≈120 px
Bottom	Channel name, subscribe button, title, sound label	≈300–360 px
Right	Like, dislike, comment, share, remix buttons	≈96 px
Left	Edge padding	≈48 px

Clear area in this template: 936×1440 px.

How to use it

1.Download the PNG and put it on the top track of a 1080×1920 timeline in your editor.
2.Stretch it across the whole clip so every caption line is checked.
3.Keep text, faces, and product shots inside the clear rectangle.
4.Disable the overlay track before export.

Limits

YouTube does not publish organic Shorts safe-zone pixels. These margins are approximate.
The bottom band grows when a title wraps to two lines or the description is expanded; the template uses 360 px to allow for that.
Shorts ads follow Google Ads templates, which mark a safe area without pixel values.

Captions placed for you, reviewed by you

HypeNest cuts vertical clips from a long video with burned-in captions. Check placement against this overlay during review, then publish to YouTube or TikTok from HypeNest.

Start free

YouTube Shorts video specs TikTok safe zone template What is a safe zone?Vertical video converter

FAQ

What is the YouTube Shorts safe zone?: The area of a vertical Short not covered by the player’s title, channel name, and buttons. YouTube does not publish exact values; public measurements put the covered area at about 120 px top, 300–360 px bottom, and 96 px right on 1080×1920.
Is the Shorts safe zone smaller than TikTok’s?: The bottom band is usually shorter on Shorts than on TikTok, and the right button column is narrower. If you post the same file to both, follow the TikTok overlay.
Should I use a safe zone for Shorts thumbnails?: The cover frame is shown cropped in some surfaces, so keep the subject centred. The overlay is for the playback view.

Sources

1.Google Ads Help — video ad safe area templates
2.PostPlanify — YouTube Shorts safe zone checker (120 / 300–360 / 48 / 96 px)third-party measurement
3.ImageVideoFit — YouTube Shorts safe zone guidethird-party measurement

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