What gets covered
- Bottom: the username, caption and audio. It's the biggest blind spot, and it grows with longer captions. On Reels, Meta recommends keeping the bottom 35% clear.
- Right side: the like, comment, share and save buttons.
- Top: the Following and For You tabs on TikTok, and the Reels header and camera icon on Instagram.
What to keep inside the safe area
Anything the viewer has to read or recognise: on-screen text, captions you've burned in, the product, the creator's face during the hook, prices and offers. Backgrounds and B-roll can run edge to edge.
It matters most in the first three seconds. A hook line hidden behind the caption is a hook nobody sees. If you need openers, try the UGC hook generator.
Briefing creators on safe zones
Put it in the constraints section of the brief: “keep text and product inside the safe area” is one of the few format rules worth giving a creator. Most experienced UGC creators already frame for it. More on what else belongs in a brief in how to brief a UGC creator.