Platform specs
Instagram Reels safe zone
By the KeyMo team · Updated
Meta's ad guide says to leave at least 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side of a 9:16 Reel free of text and logos. On a 1080x1920 frame that leaves a box about 950 pixels wide and 979 tall. Instagram publishes no separate figure for ordinary Reels, so treat this as the careful guide.
The margins Meta states, in pixels
Meta defines the safe zone as the area where text overlays and logos will not be cropped out or covered by the interface. The percentages below are from its Reels ad specifications, read on 11 October 2026. The pixel column is our arithmetic on a 1080x1920 frame.
| Edge | Meta's figure | On 1080x1920 |
|---|---|---|
| Top | At least 14% | About 269 px |
| Bottom | At least 35% | 672 px |
| Left and right | 6% each | About 65 px each |
| Bottom, when the ad has a disclaimer | Leave 40% clear | 768 px |
Put together, the usable box runs from about 65 to 1015 pixels across and from about 269 to 1248 pixels down. That is roughly 950 by 979 pixels, or a little over half the height of the frame.
What is official and what is not
- Official: the percentages above, and Meta's wording that the profile icon and call-to-action button can cover parts of the frame.
- Official: on screens taller than 9:16, Meta may zoom the creative to fill the screen, which crops the outer edges, or show it at 9:16 on a black background.
- Official: Ads Manager has a safe zone guardrail toggle for ads.
- Not found: any safe zone figure for ordinary organic Reels. The Instagram Help Center pages we read give none.
- Not found: a crop figure for the profile grid, and a downloadable PNG overlay from Meta.
Where captions and subtitles should go
Our recommendation: keep caption text inside the box, with its bottom edge above the 35% line at about 1248 pixels down. The bottom margin is the one people break by accident, because it is the largest.
- Export or grab a frame at 1080x1920.
- Draw the box: 65 px in from each side, 269 px down from the top, 1248 px down for the bottom edge.
- Check that captions, logos and any lower-third sit inside it, at the sizes people will see on a phone.
- If a caption crosses the bottom edge, move it up rather than shrinking it.
The safe zone checker draws this overlay for you, and the glossary entry explains the term. KeyMo has 12 caption styles. Check a frame of the style you pick against this box instead of assuming.
A worked example for a podcast clip
Take a talking-head clip with a name label near the bottom. A label placed 150 pixels from the bottom edge sits at 1770 pixels down, deep inside the 35% band that starts at 1248. Move it up above 1248 and it clears the lower buttons. A caption centred on the speaker's chest, around 1000 pixels down, is already inside the box.
The same checks apply to a clip you plan to turn into an ad. For the size and ratio rules that go with it, read the Reels aspect ratio page.
Sources: About text overlays and the safe zone for ads in Stories and Reels (Meta Business Help Center) (checked 11 October 2026); Awareness Video Ad Specs on Instagram Reels (Meta Ads Guide) (checked 11 October 2026); Awareness Image Ad Specs on Instagram Reels (Meta Ads Guide) (checked 11 October 2026); Reel size & aspect ratios on Instagram (Instagram Help Center) (checked 11 October 2026).