Where captions get covered on vertical video
Fill a vertical frame edge to edge and the app still layers its own interface on top: username, like and comment buttons, captions, sometimes a progress bar, all sitting over the top and bottom of the screen. Put a caption right at the very top or bottom edge while filming, and it's covered once the clip goes live.
How much gets covered
All three platforms cover the top and bottom of the frame, just by different amounts. These are measured against a 1080×1920 screen.
| Platform | Top | Bottom | Left | Right |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram Reels | 220px | 420px | 60px | 140px |
| TikTok | 140px | 400px | 60px | 180px |
| YouTube Shorts | 380px | 380px | 60px | 120px |
| Safe for all three (widest margin) | 380px | 420px | 60px | 180px |
Not sure yet where the clip is going? Use the bottom row. That works out to roughly 20% of the frame height left clear at the top and 22% at the bottom. The right side gets a wider margin than the left because that's where like and comment buttons stack up vertically.
These numbers aren't official figures from any of the three platforms. Measure the exact same screen twice and one write-up lands on 320px for a margin, another on 500px for the same spot, and the real number shifts again whenever one of the apps updates its layout. What's in the table is where enough of those measurements overlap, as of September 2026.
Leaving room before recording
Settling this before opening an editor saves a pass later.
- Planning on captions or a logo? Leave the top and bottom fifth of the frame clear while filming.
- Keep people and the main subject inside the middle 60% of the frame and it stays safe no matter which of the three platforms it ends up on.
- Already have the footage? Pull captions in from the top and bottom by the margins in the table above.
None of this applies to landscape (16:9) or square (1:1) video. The app's interface doesn't sit on top of the footage there.