Shorts Check
Check a Short before you post it
Drop a vertical video: see whether it posts as a YouTube Short, a TikTok or a Reel, and what the caption and buttons will cover.
Free. Works in any browser, on a phone or a computer. What you put here stays on your device.
About Shorts Check
What it checks
- YouTube: a Short is up to 3 minutes long, square or vertical. A wider or longer video posts as a regular one.
- YouTube: a Short over one minute with an active Content ID claim is blocked worldwide.
- TikTok: uploads in the app up to 60 minutes; TikTok Studio on the web takes 30 minutes and under 10 GB, at least 720 × 1280.
- Instagram: Reels up to 20 minutes, from 1.91:1 to 9:16, at least 720 pixels. Over 3 minutes, Instagram does not recommend them to new audiences.
- The shape: 9:16 fills a phone screen. No app sets a size for ordinary posts; 1080 × 1920 is what Google recommends for vertical YouTube ads.
Keep it clear of the caption and buttons
No app publishes a safe zone for ordinary posts, but each publishes one for ads, where the same caption and buttons sit. YouTube's keeps the top 15%, the bottom 35%, 4.4% on the left and 17.8% on the right clear; TikTok's the top 12.5%, the bottom 34.4% and 11.1% on each side, with more on the right where its buttons are; Meta's the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% on each side of a Reel. Shorts Check shades the one you choose on your frame.
How to use it
- Drop your video, or a still frame, on the page. It is read on this device; nothing is uploaded.
- Move through the video and check the frames with text or faces against the shaded areas, app by app.
- Fix what is flagged in your editor, then check again.
Rules as read on October 3, 2026 from YouTube Help: Upload YouTube Shorts, YouTube Help: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts, TikTok Support: Camera tools, TikTok Support: Creator tools on TikTok, Instagram Help: Record a reel on Instagram, Instagram Help: Reel size & aspect ratios on Instagram, Google Ads Help: Universal safe zones for video ads on YouTube, TikTok Ads Help: Auction In-Feed Ads, Meta Ads Guide: Instagram Reels.
Questions
- Why is my video not a Short?
- A Short has to be square or vertical, and 3 minutes or shorter. A wide video, or a longer one, posts as a regular video. Shorts Check says which it is.
- What size is a YouTube Short?
- YouTube sets the shape, not a size: square or vertical. 9:16 fills the screen, and 1080 × 1920 is what Google recommends for vertical YouTube ads.
- Where should text go in a Short?
- In the middle of the frame: away from the top, from the bottom third where the caption sits, and from the right side where the buttons are. Shorts Check shades those areas for each app.
- Is my video uploaded anywhere?
- No. Your browser reads the length and size from the file on your device.