Safe Zones
Free YouTube Safe Zones Checker
Check a Short, thumbnail, channel banner or profile picture against YouTube’s published safe areas, in your browser.
Check your safe zones
Drag & drop an image or video, or click to upload
PNG, JPG, WebP, MP4
Size and safe area
- Frame
- 1080 × 1920 px (9:16)
- Safe area
- 840 × 960 px
- Starts at
- 48 px left, 288 px top
Where these numbers come from
From the platform’s published guidance (not yet measured on a device).
From Google’s vertical safe-zone template: a 840 × 960 px area starting 288 px from the top and 48 px from the left. It is written for vertical ads, which carry an extra button, so it is a cautious guide for ordinary Shorts.
Checked . Apps change their layouts, so check your post on a phone before it goes live.
Legend
- Safe zone: keep text, faces and logos inside
- May be covered or cropped
Where the numbers come from
Shorts use Google’s vertical safe-zone template: an 840 × 960 px area starting 288 px from the top and 48 px from the left of a 1080 × 1920 frame. It is written for vertical ads, which add a button, so it’s a cautious guide for ordinary Shorts. We haven’t yet measured Shorts on a device.
For channel banners, YouTube says to keep text and logos inside 1235 × 338 px of a 2048 × 1152 px image. At the recommended 2560 × 1440 px that becomes the centre 1544 × 422 px. TVs show the whole banner, computers a wide strip and phones only the middle.
Thumbnails and profile pictures
YouTube doesn’t publish a thumbnail safe zone. The video length appears in the bottom-right corner, so the guide leaves extra room there. Profile pictures are shown as a circle, as small as 98 × 98 px, so keep the subject inside the square that fits in the circle.
Questions about this tool
Google’s vertical template keeps content inside 840 × 960 px, from 288 px down and 48 px in on a 1080 × 1920 frame. That leaves 15% at the top, 35% at the bottom and about 18% on the right for the title, channel name and buttons.
Upload at least 2048 × 1152 px (16:9), 6 MB or smaller; YouTube recommends 2560 × 1440 px. Keep text and logos in the centre 1235 × 338 px at the minimum size, which is about 1544 × 422 px at 2560 × 1440.
No. The checker opens the file in your browser and draws the guide over it there. For a video it uses a still frame from the start. Nothing is sent to Wahlu, and the download is a preview-sized PNG of what you see.
Another tool for the next step
Free Instagram Safe Zones Checker
Preview your Instagram image or video frame with approximate safe-zone guides. Check possible crops and overlays before posting.
Free TikTok Safe Zones Checker
Preview your TikTok image or video frame with approximate safe-zone guides. Check possible crops and overlays before posting.
Free Facebook Safe Zones Checker
Preview your Facebook image or video frame with approximate safe-zone guides. Check possible crops and overlays before posting.
Free Social Media Post Checker and Character Counter
Check one draft against Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, X and Bluesky: character counts, hashtag and mention limits, media format and a preview showing where each caption is cut short.
Put your next post in the calendar.
Bring your drafts into Wahlu to plan, create and schedule content for your connected accounts.