Rules 2026.10.21 · checked on 2026-10-19
Length, aspect ratio, resolution, file size, and safe-zone margins for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Facebook Reels, and X. Rules 2026.10.21, checked on 2026-10-19.
The tables below are generated from the same rules file the checker uses. Safe-zone margins are pixels on a 1080×1920 frame. platforms.v1.json is the versioned file, free to read with no API key and no signup. Check a file on the homepage, or read the changelog.
Every platform publishes safe zones for ads, not for the organic player. Organic UI moves between app versions. Official mode uses ad-guide numbers. Measured mode is included only where the 2026-10-19 research pass recorded a conflicting community number. A safe default that fits all five: 1080×1920, 9:16, 30 fps, H.264 High + AAC, moov at the front, ≤140 s (X free) or ≤90 s (Facebook API) or ≤3 min (Shorts and Instagram reach), under 300 MB (Instagram API) or 512 MB (X free).
Web uploads through TikTok Studio run up to 30 minutes. 720×1280 is the published floor and 1080×1920 is the size creators should actually export.
| Spec | Value | If missed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web upload length | 30 min | Fail | TikTok Creator toolsOfficial · 2026-10-19 |
| Creator Rewards length | 1 min | Note | How to post videos on TikTok (TrackMedia)Cited · 2026-10-19 |
| Aspect ratio | 9:16 | Warn | TikTok auction in-feed adsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Minimum vertical frame | 720×1280 | Fail | TikTok Creator toolsOfficial · 2026-10-19 |
| Recommended frame | 1080×1920 | Warn | TikTok Creator toolsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Web file size | 10 GB | Fail | TikTok Creator toolsOfficial · 2026-10-19 |
| Official safe zone | 240 top / 660 bottom / 120 left / 120 right | — | TikTok auction in-feed adsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Action column | 300×420 at x=780, y=840 | — | TikTok auction in-feed adsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Measured safe zone | 200 top / 500 bottom / 0 left / 250 right | — | AdKit TikTok safe zoneMeasured · 2026-10-19 |
Official safe zone. Scaled ×1.5 from TikTok's 720×1280 in-feed template (top 160, bottom 440, sides 80). The right action column is an approximate cited range of about 180–300 px wide starting near y=840; this overlay draws the wide end, 300×420.
Measured safe zone. Organic write-ups disagree: top 130–200, bottom 370–500, right rail 140–250. Measured mode draws the high end of that range. A left inset is not consistently published, so it stays 0. See also https://www.socialync.io/tools/safe-zones.
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.
| Spec | Value | If missed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-app length | 20 min | Fail | Instagram Help — ReelsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Length for new audiences | 3 min | Warn | Instagram Help — Reels recommendationsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| API minimum length | 3 s | Warn | Instagram Reels length and size limits (Postminion, citing Help Center)Cited · 2026-10-19 |
| Narrowest aspect | 9:16 | Fail | Instagram Reels length and size limits (Postminion)Cited · 2026-10-19 |
| Widest aspect | 1.91:1 | Fail | Instagram Reels length and size limits (Postminion)Cited · 2026-10-19 |
| Recommended aspect | 9:16 | Warn | Instagram Help — ReelsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Minimum resolution | 720px | Fail | Instagram Reels length and size limits (Postminion)Cited · 2026-10-19 |
| Recommended frame | 1080×1920 | Warn | Instagram Help — ReelsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| API file size | 300 MB | Warn | Instagram Reels length and size limits (Postminion)Cited · 2026-10-19 |
| Official safe zone | 269 top / 672 bottom / 65 left / 65 right | — | Instagram Help — ReelsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Measured safe zone | Not in this rules file | — | — |
Official safe zone. 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.
A Short is square or vertical and at most 3 minutes. Google's ad safe zone (288 / 672 / 48 / 192) is stricter than most organic templates.
| Spec | Value | If missed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shorts length | 3 min | Fail | YouTube Help — ShortsOfficial · 2026-10-19 |
| Content ID window | 1 min | Warn | YouTube Help — ShortsOfficial · 2026-10-19 |
| Min length | Not in this rules file | — | — |
| Square or vertical | square or taller | Fail | YouTube Help — ShortsOfficial · 2026-10-19 |
| Recommended aspect | 9:16 | Warn | Google Ads — vertical video specsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Minimum vertical frame | 720×1280 | Fail | Google Ads — vertical video specsOfficial · 2026-10-19 |
| Recommended frame | 1080×1920 | Warn | YouTube Help — ShortsOfficial · 2026-10-19 |
| Upload size | 256 GB | Fail | YouTube Help — ShortsOfficial · 2026-10-19 |
| Official safe zone | 288 top / 672 bottom / 48 left / 192 right | — | Google Ads — vertical video specsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Measured safe zone | 380 top / 380 bottom / 0 left / 0 right | — | CheckSafe.ZoneMeasured · 2026-10-19 |
Official safe zone. Taken from Google's vertical ad safe-zone image, also cited by https://www.socialync.io/tools/safe-zones. These margins are for ads. The organic Shorts player is not the same picture.
Measured safe zone. CheckSafe.Zone lists Shorts top and bottom at 380 px, which disagrees with Google's 288 / 672 ad image. Side insets were not recorded from that page, so measured mode does not invent them.
As of June 2025 Meta treats Facebook video as Reels and dropped the organic length cap. The Page API is still 3–90 seconds.
| Spec | Value | If missed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page API length | 90 s (API) | Warn | Facebook Reels Publishing APICited · 2026-10-19 |
| API minimum length | 3 s | Warn | Facebook Reels Publishing APICited · 2026-10-19 |
| Recommended aspect | 9:16 | Warn | Facebook Reels Publishing APICited · 2026-10-19 |
| API minimum frame | 540×960 | Warn | Facebook Reels Publishing APICited · 2026-10-19 |
| Recommended frame | 1080×1920 | Warn | Sprout Social video specs guideCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Max file size | Not in this rules file | — | — |
| Official safe zone | 269 top / 672 bottom / 65 left / 65 right | — | Meta newsroom — Facebook video, June 2025Cited · 2026-10-19 |
| Measured safe zone | Not in this rules file | — | — |
Official safe zone. 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.
Free accounts get 2 minutes 20 seconds and 512 MB. Premium lasts longer, but the published paid caps do not agree with each other. There is no official safe zone.
| Spec | Value | If missed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free account length | 2 min 20 s | Fail | X Help — longer videos on PremiumCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Min length | Not in this rules file | — | — |
| Narrowest aspect | 1:3 | Fail | X API — media best practicesCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Widest aspect | 3:1 | Fail | X API — media best practicesCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Recommended aspects | 16:9, 1:1, or 9:16 | Warn | X API — media best practicesCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Recommended resolution | Not in this rules file | — | — |
| Free account file size | 512 MB | Fail | Clideo — X video specsCited · 2026-10-19 |
| Safe zone | X has not published a safe zone. Nothing is drawn for this platform, and it is left out of the combined overlay so we do not invent a margin. | — | — |
Edits to the rules file, from its git history. The checked date on each rule is the verified field in that file.