See where your text sits in a 9:16 frame

An Instagram reels safe zone checker shows which parts of a 9:16 frame sit inside the margins Meta recommends keeping clear of text and logos, and this free one draws them over an image or video from your device. Meta's ads guide gives 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side. Nothing is uploaded.

What is the Meta Reels safe zone?

Meta's safe zone is the area of an ad where text, logos and key elements will not be cropped out or covered by the interface, such as the profile icon or the call to action (Meta Business Help Center, read 15 October 2026). For Instagram Reels ads, Meta's ads guide says to consider leaving at least 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side free of text, logos and other important elements. The image ad spec words it as roughly the same three figures.

Together the margins leave 51% of the frame's height and 88% of its width for what matters most.

Does Instagram publish a safe zone for reels I post myself?

Not on any page we read. Instagram's Help Center page on reel size and aspect ratios lists the accepted ratio, from 1.91:1 to 9:16, a minimum of 720 pixels, a minimum of 30 frames a second and a recommended cover size of 420 by 654 pixels (read 15 October 2026). It gives no margins.

So the overlay follows Meta's published ads guidance, the nearest rule there is, and we cannot confirm that it matches where Instagram places its buttons and captions on a reel you post yourself. Treat the dashed box as a cautious guide, and look at your next reel on your own phone once it is up.

Where is the Reels safe zone on a phone screen?

The margins sit along the edges of the frame, and the edges move with your viewer's screen. Meta's Help Center says that on devices with screens taller than 9:16, an ad may be zoomed to fill the screen, which crops areas outside the safe zone, or shown at 9:16 on a black background (read 15 October 2026). Meta's advice is to keep critical text and visuals comfortably inside the safe zone.

Meta has its own tools for ads as well. In Meta Ads Manager a Safe Zone guardrail shows a yellow overlay on your creative, and the safe zone is the area inside it. Meta's Reels ads page also offers a Reels safe zone checker as PowerPoint, Photoshop and Keynote files.

Is there an Instagram Reels safe zone template?

Yes, and you can download one on this page. The button saves a transparent PNG with the margins shaded and the safe area outlined, at 1080 x 1920 pixels or at 1440 x 2560, the size Meta's Reels ads spec lists. Place it as the top layer in any video editor while you position text, then hide it before you export.

At 1080 x 1920 the margins come to 269 pixels at the top, 672 at the bottom and 65 on each side. At 1440 x 2560 they are 358, 896 and 86. Those pixel figures are our arithmetic on Meta's percentages, since Meta's pages give percentages only.

How do I check my reel with this tool?

Choose an image or a video and the tool shows it at 9:16 with the margins over it. Fill crops your file to the frame, and Fit shows all of it with bars. For a video, play or scrub to a shot that carries text and read it against the dashed box.

The button that saves your image with the margins exports a PNG, which suits a cover or a still frame from your edit. Nothing is uploaded, and the page lets go of the file when you choose another or clear it.

What else does Instagram say about text and logos on reels?

Instagram's Help Center says it aims to show people fewer reels that contain borders, logos or watermarks, and fewer that have the majority of the image covered by text. It also says it recommends reels filmed vertically (read 15 October 2026). So the margins are one reason to keep on-screen words short, and the way Instagram chooses what to show is another.

A hook written on screen is text, so it belongs inside the dashed box. The post on reel hooks covers how to write one, and the guide to making Instagram reels walks through the rest of the edit.

Where this stops working

• The margins are for ads. Meta publishes these figures for Reels ads. Instagram's Help Center publishes none for reels you post yourself, and the overlay is Meta's ads guidance used as the nearest rule.
• Screens differ. The overlay shows percentages of a 9:16 frame, not any one phone. Meta says taller screens may crop an ad.
• Layouts change. The figures here are as read on 15 October 2026.
• It shows one frame at a time. For a video, scrub to each shot that carries text and check it.
• It cannot judge the content. It will not tell you whether your text is large enough or has enough contrast to read.
• Some files will not open. Browsers differ in the formats they support. If a file fails, export a JPG or an MP4 and try again.

The words that ask for a comment belong inside the dashed box, where nothing covers them. When someone types your keyword, a comment-to-DM automation can send the link, and the inDM setup guide shows how, in a few minutes. It works on reels too, as this page explains.