Muze AIInstagram · 9:16 · 1080 x 1920
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- Top14% · approx. 269 pxThe same 14 percent on both placements. On Stories, the progress bar, profile picture, account name, sponsored label and close button. On Reels, the sound control, the menu and on some builds a Reels label and sponsored tag.
- Bottom35% · approx. 672 pxThe deeper of the two, taken from Reels: account name, caption, the call to action button and the audio ticker, growing taller as the caption wraps. Stories reserves roughly 20 percent here for the call to action and reply field.
- Right rail12% · approx. 130 pxThe Reels button column: like, comment, share, save and the menu, stacked vertically. Stories has no right rail, so this strip is reserved here only because the same file may be delivered as a Reel.
- Pixelson a 1080 x 1920 canvasPercentages are the figure to build against. Pixel values are derived from them and are approximate, because the interface changes and captions wrap.
In short
The Instagram safe zone is the part of a 9:16 frame that Instagram's interface does not cover. The figures here are a conservative union of Instagram Stories and Instagram Reels rather than a single published specification: keep essential text and logos out of roughly the top 14 percent, the bottom 35 percent and a strip of about the right 12 percent, which on a 1080 by 1920 file is approximately 269 pixels at the top, 672 pixels at the bottom and 130 pixels on the right. That leaves a clear centre band of about 51 percent of the height, and a creative that passes here passes as a Story and as a Reel. Stories on its own is less strict, reserving roughly the bottom 20 percent and no right rail, so use the Instagram Stories page when you are building for that placement alone.
Before you build to these numbers
Reserved interface areas move. They differ by placement, by app version, by device, and by whether the viewer has captions turned on. A longer caption makes the bottom band taller on the same day with the same file. The percentages here are deliberately conservative and are a starting point, not a final production specification. Check the platform's current official guidance before you sign off a file, and preview the ad in the real placement.
These figures are the larger of the two values already stated on our Instagram Stories and Instagram Reels pages, so a file that clears this overlay clears both. Meta's Stories guidance is commonly documented as approximately 250 pixels clear at the top and approximately 340 pixels clear at the bottom of a 1080 by 1920 file, and its Reels guidance is commonly documented as roughly the top 14 percent and the bottom 35 percent. Our percentages round outward from those rather than inward. The right-hand rail is quoted less consistently, so the 12 percent is a conservative reading rather than a published number. For the exact figure on one placement, use the Instagram Stories or Instagram Reels page.
Instagram safe zone, in numbers
| Area | Share of frame | Approx. px | What sits there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | 14% | 269 | The same 14 percent on both placements. On Stories, the progress bar, profile picture, account name, sponsored label and close button. On Reels, the sound control, the menu and on some builds a Reels label and sponsored tag. |
| Bottom | 35% | 672 | The deeper of the two, taken from Reels: account name, caption, the call to action button and the audio ticker, growing taller as the caption wraps. Stories reserves roughly 20 percent here for the call to action and reply field. |
| Right rail | 12% | 130 | The Reels button column: like, comment, share, save and the menu, stacked vertically. Stories has no right rail, so this strip is reserved here only because the same file may be delivered as a Reel. |
| Clear area | 51% h / 88% w | 950 x 979 | Your headline, price, logo and offer. Nothing else needs to be here. |
Percentages are the figure to build against. Pixel values are calculated from them against a 1080 by 1920 canvas at 9:16, and are approximate.
Keep essential text, logos and offers inside the middle 60 percent of the frame. Nothing a platform does to its interface takes that away from you.
Two placements, one master
Almost nobody runs Instagram Stories without also running Reels. The footage is the same, the offer is the same, and Meta will happily deliver one uploaded asset into both. The only thing that differs is how much of the frame the app draws on, and Reels draws on considerably more.
Because Reels is the stricter of the two on every band, building to Reels gives you a file that is correct in both. The reverse does not hold. A Story file dropped into Reels has its lower third covered by the caption block and its right edge covered by the button column.
What you give up by using the union
If a creative will only ever run as a Story, this overlay is stricter than it needs to be. Stories reserves roughly the bottom 20 percent, not 35, and has no right rail at all, so the union costs you about 15 percent of the height and a strip of width you could have used. On a placement this tight, that is worth knowing about rather than absorbing by default.
The decision is about delivery, not taste. Automatic placements or a shared master means build to this page. A file produced for one placement and locked to it means open that placement's page and use its numbers.
Where the burned-in text goes
The habit from television is to put subtitles and supers at the bottom of the frame. On Instagram that is the worst available position, because the caption block, the account row and the call to action all live there and the block grows every time the caption wraps to another line.
Move burned-in text up into the central band, roughly between 55 and 80 percent of the frame height, centred horizontally and clear of the right-hand rail. It reads perfectly well there, and it stops being a gamble on how long today's caption is.
The durable version of this advice
Build one 1080 by 1920 Instagram master to the deeper of the two sets of bands. A file that clears Reels always clears Stories. A file that clears Stories does not always clear Reels.
Verify against the platform before a production sign-off. The official specification is the only source that reflects the current build of the app:
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Instagram safe zone?
- It is the part of a 9:16 Instagram frame that the app's interface does not cover. Across Stories and Reels together, keep essential text and logos out of roughly the top 14 percent, the bottom 35 percent and the right 12 percent, which on a 1080 by 1920 file is approximately 269 pixels at the top, 672 at the bottom and 130 on the right. Those are the deeper of the two placements' bands, so a creative that clears them works as a Story and as a Reel.
- Is there an Instagram story safe zone template I can download?
- You do not need a file. On a 1080 by 1920 artboard, draw a rectangle from 269 pixels down to 1248 pixels from the top and inset the right edge by 130 pixels. That rectangle clears both Stories and Reels. If the creative is Stories only, the bottom guide can move down to 384 pixels from the bottom and the right inset is not needed. The checker on this page does the same job against your real creative, which catches the specific headline a blank template will not.
- Is there an Instagram Reels safe zone overlay for my editor?
- Build a rectangle on a 1080 by 1920 artboard running from 269 pixels below the top to 672 pixels above the bottom, inset 130 pixels from the right edge. That is the usable area for Reels, and it is the same overlay this page draws. The checker above puts it over your own frame so you can see which element is at risk rather than guessing from a blank PNG.
- Are Instagram Stories and Reels safe zones the same?
- No. The top band matches at roughly 14 percent, but Reels reserves roughly the bottom 35 percent against 20 percent for Stories, and Reels adds a column of buttons down the right edge. This page uses the Reels figures for both so one file covers the pair. The individual pages carry the exact numbers for each.
- What size should an Instagram ad be?
- For Stories and Reels, 1080 by 1920 pixels at 9:16. The aspect ratio has been stable for years and is safe to build against. It is the interface drawn on top of it that changes.
- Why is my text covered on Instagram?
- Because the interface layer is drawn over your creative after delivery, at a height that depends on the app version, the device and how long the caption is. Design files do not simulate it. Text below roughly 65 percent of the frame height is at risk on Reels, and anything below 80 percent will almost certainly be covered.
Other placements
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