YouTube Shorts safe zone: Google’s 840 × 960 box, explained
By Cormac Moore. Updated 26 October 2026. 2 minute read.
The short answer
Google’s guidance for vertical video ads, which run in YouTube Shorts, leaves an 840 × 960 px safe area on a 1080 × 1920 frame: 288 px from the top, 672 px from the bottom, 48 px from the left and 192 px from the right.
Organic Shorts carry the same interface (search, buttons, title, channel and Subscribe), so the same box is the safe choice for those too.
The YouTube Shorts safe zone in pixels
| Edge | Keep clear | Share of the frame | What sits there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | 288 px | 15% | Search, menu and the Shorts tab |
| Bottom | 672 px | 35% | Title, channel name, Subscribe, sound, and on ads the CTA |
| Left | 48 px | 4% | A small margin for safety |
| Right | 192 px | 18% | Like, dislike, comment, share, remix |
That leaves a box 840 px wide and 960 px tall, starting 48 px from the left and 288 px from the top. Shorts gives you a 9:16 canvas, then politely asks for half of it back.
Where do these numbers come from?
They’re from Google Ads Help’s video ad specs, which show the 1080 × 1920 vertical safe zone as a diagram and offer a downloadable overlay. Google’s Demand Gen specs point Shorts creative to the same guidance. Google doesn’t publish separate numbers for organic Shorts, but the interface covering them is the same.
Common Shorts mistakes
- The Subscribe button is very keen. It sits on whatever you put in the bottom left, usually your name.
- Titles on the bottom. Your on-screen title and YouTube’s title end up stacked like a polite traffic jam.
- Right-aligned text. The button column is 18% of the width. Right-aligned supers go behind it and stay there.
Using one video for Shorts, Reels and TikTok?
Shorts has the biggest top and right margins of the three, so if you design to Shorts you’re most of the way there. For the exact shared box, see the universal safe zone guide.
Check it before you post
AhCrop previews your video as an organic Short and a Shorts ad, under YouTube’s real buttons, title and Subscribe, alongside TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Your file never leaves your device.
Questions people ask
What size should a YouTube Short be?
1080 × 1920 pixels at 9:16. Google recommends this resolution for Shorts in its ad specs.
What is the YouTube Shorts safe area in percentages?
About 15% from the top, 35% from the bottom, 4% from the left and 18% from the right.
Is the Shorts safe zone the same for organic and ads?
Google publishes it for vertical video ads. Organic Shorts use the same interface, so the same box is a safe choice for both.
Where should captions go on a YouTube Short?
Inside the safe area, roughly between 288 px from the top and 672 px from the bottom, and away from the right-hand buttons.
Sources
- Google Ads Help: About video ad specs, vertical video safe zone diagram for 1080 × 1920
- Google Ads Help: Demand Gen asset specifications, recommends 9:16 at 1080 × 1920 for YouTube Shorts
Numbers are for a 1080 × 1920 frame and were last checked 26 October 2026. Platforms change their apps often, so check AhCrop for the current version.