Vertical video safe zones, explained

Why the app covers your video

A vertical video fills the phone screen. The app then draws its own controls on top: tabs at the top, a rail of buttons on the right, a caption and profile line near the bottom.

TikTok, Reels and Shorts each place these controls a little differently. A title that looks fine in an editor can sit under a like button or a username once posted. The video is not cropped. The interface simply floats over it.

Safe zones are the parts of the frame that stay clear. Keep faces, products and important text inside them, and nothing important disappears.

The centre is your stage

Skillnai’s 9:16 preview can draw a dashed guide over the frame. The main box starts 12% from the top and stops 19% from the bottom, with 8% free on each side. Treat it as the stage.

Put the subject in the middle. Keep logos, offers and subtitles inside the dashed line. If a word crosses the line, shorten it or move it.

The right edge needs extra care. TikTok, Reels and Shorts all stack like, comment and share buttons there. A vertical pillar of empty space is your friend.

Leave the bottom for captions

The bottom of a vertical video is busy. The platform puts the username, caption, music and progress bar there. Your own captions compete for the same space.

The preview marks a caption strip at the bottom: 6% from the edge and 11% tall. Use it for captions, not for logos or key claims. Keep the strip clear enough for the platform’s own text.

Burned-in captions should sit inside the safe area, above the very bottom. Test a frame with a long line. If a caption wraps into the buttons, it needs to move up or get shorter.

Check on a phone

Do not trust a desktop preview alone. Export the file, open it on a phone and watch it all the way through without pausing. Look at the top corners, the right rail and the bottom caption line.

Then watch it again with the sound off. The visual text has to carry the message on its own. If you cannot read it at arm’s length, it is too small or too close to an edge.

Before posting, upload it as a draft. Platform drafts show the real controls on the real screen. Delete the draft if you do not want it to go live.

TikTok, Reels, Shorts

The controls are similar but not identical, and each app moves them from time to time. The tabs, search and menu buttons along the top differ between the three.

A layout that clears all of them is the safest choice. Leave a little more room than you think you need. The Skillnai preview lets you switch between TikTok, Reels and Shorts to compare.

How the 9:16 preview helps

Every Skillnai skill that exports 9:16 has a vertical preview on its page, with a Safe zones button that draws the guide. It shows the vertical frame, not a crop of a landscape edit. You can see where text should sit before you render your own.

Video skills such as Launch Film, Caption Studio, Product Shorts and Beat Lyrics all export 9:16. Caption Studio uses a safe-zone-aware layout for word-by-word captions. Launch Film verifies safe zones when it renders its final masters.

Open the safe-zone guide to see the overlay. Then browse skills, pick a vertical skill and check the preview before you post.