RunLocalTools

TikTok & Shorts Safe-Zone Overlay — Free UI Safe Area Checker 

See exactly where TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts place their UI over your vertical video, before you post. Free, in-browser.

What it does

Upload a still image or a vertical video and overlay the actual on-screen UI chrome — icon rail, caption zone, top bar — for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, so you can see at a glance whether your key visual or text is about to get covered by a like button or someone’s caption.

How it works

  • Per-platform templates — each platform gets its own icon-rail position and caption-zone size, since they’re close but not identical.
  • Guaranteed-safe region — computes the one rectangle clear of every currently selected platform’s UI at once, the safest bet if you’re exporting a single piece to post everywhere.
  • Live video scrubbing — for video, the overlay draws over the actual playing or scrubbed frame, not just a single still.
  • Caption preview — type your real caption and it renders (at an approximate size) inside the caption zone, so overlap shows up before you post, not after.

How to use it

  1. Drop in an image or a vertical video.
  2. Toggle platforms on/off depending on where you’re posting.
  3. Type your actual caption text to preview it in place.
  4. Turn on the rule-of-thirds grid for a composition check alongside the safe zones.
  5. Export the composite (overlay baked in, handy for briefing a designer) or the safe-region-only crop.

FAQ

Are these exact pixel positions from each app? They’re close approximations of each app’s typical layout, not a guaranteed pixel-perfect spec — these apps tweak their UI without notice. Treat this as a strong starting guide and glance at the real app before a high-stakes post.

What does “guaranteed safe” mean? It’s the one rectangle that avoids every selected platform’s UI at the same time — keep your important content inside it and none of them will cover it.

Can I check a video, not just a still? Yes — load a video and either scrub to a frame or play it with the overlay live on top.

Does this work for square or landscape video? It’s built around the 9:16 vertical format all three platforms use for this UI — square or landscape content isn’t subject to the same on-screen chrome.

Is there something similar for other formats, like profile banners? If you’re checking profile banner crops for X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitch instead, the social banner safe-zone previewer covers that with the same guaranteed-safe-region approach.