Instagram and Facebook · October 2026
Searchers looking for a Reels safe zone usually mean Meta's ads diagram: 14% clear at the top, 35% at the bottom, 6% on the sides. ClipLint draws that once and uses it for both Instagram and Facebook, with a louder caveat on Facebook because nobody has confirmed the organic player matches the ad.
The length rules are not the same. Instagram allows 20 minutes and discourages anything past 3 minutes for new viewers. Facebook organic has no cap, and the Page API stops at 90 seconds.
MP4, MOV, WebM, or a thumbnail. Duration, resolution, aspect, fps, codec, and file size are read here. Nothing is uploaded.
Reels can run 20 minutes, but anything past 3 minutes is a poor bet for new audiences. The Help Center wants at least 30 fps.
269 top / 672 bottom / 65 left / 65 right
14% top, 35% bottom, 6% each side of a 1080×1920 frame (269 / 672 / 65 / 65), from Meta's Reels ads guide. The Help Center pages cover length and frame rate; the ads-guide percentages were recorded in the 2026-10-19 research pass and are also cited by https://postminion.com/blog/instagram-reels-length-and-size-limits.
Cited · 2026-10-19 · Instagram Help — Reels
No separate measured margin is stored for this platform.
As of June 2025 Meta treats Facebook video as Reels and dropped the organic length cap. The Page API is still 3–90 seconds.
| Check | Value | If missed | Confidence | Verified | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Page API length | 90 s (API) | warn | Cited | 2026-10-19 | Facebook Reels Publishing API |
| API minimum length | 3 s | warn | Cited | 2026-10-19 | Facebook Reels Publishing API |
| Recommended aspect | 9:16 | warn | Cited | 2026-10-19 | Facebook Reels Publishing API |
| API minimum frame | 540×960 | warn | Cited | 2026-10-19 | Facebook Reels Publishing API |
| Recommended frame | 1080×1920 | warn | Cited | 2026-10-19 | Sprout Social video specs guide |
| Minimum frame rate | 24 fps | warn | Cited | 2026-10-19 | Sprout Social video specs guide |
| Maximum frame rate | 60 fps | warn | Cited | 2026-10-19 | Sprout Social video specs guide |
| Video codec | H.264, HEVC, VP9, AV1 | warn | Cited | 2026-10-19 | Sprout Social video specs guide |
| Audio codec | AAC-LC | warn | Cited | 2026-10-19 | Sprout Social video specs guide |
| Container | MP4 | warn | Cited | 2026-10-19 | Facebook Reels Publishing API |
269 top / 672 bottom / 65 left / 65 right
Assumed identical to Instagram Reels (14% / 35% / 6% / 6%) because Meta's Reels ads guidance uses one safe zone for both apps. Not confirmed for the Facebook organic player. See also https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-video-specs-guide.
Cited · 2026-10-19 · Meta newsroom — Facebook video, June 2025
No separate measured margin is stored for this platform.
269 top, 672 bottom, 65 left, 65 right, which is 14%, 35%, and 6% of 1080×1920. Verified against the October 2026 research pass. Source confidence is cited, not a freshly fetched Meta PDF.
Under 90 seconds clears the Facebook API and Instagram's reach recommendation. Under 3 minutes stays inside the Shorts cap and Instagram's recommended window. Under 140 seconds also clears free X.
No. Stories use a different UI. This page is the Reels player only.