Free Thumbnail Safe-Zone Checker

Upload your YouTube thumbnail to see which areas may be covered by the duration badge, progress bar and other UI elements.

📁

Click to upload your thumbnail (1280x720 recommended)

Mobile title overlay area
Channel logo (mobile)
Progress bar
Duration badge
Title overlay risk Duration badge / channel logo Progress bar (watched videos)

💡 Example Usage

Input A thumbnail with important text in the bottom-right corner
Output The overlay reveals that text sits directly under where the duration badge appears

About This Tool

YouTube overlays several UI elements on top of your thumbnail: the video duration badge (bottom-right), a red progress bar for already-watched videos (bottom edge), and on mobile, the channel logo and title text. If your key visual or text sits in these zones, it gets covered up. This tool overlays those zones on your thumbnail so you can check before publishing.

How to Use This Tool

Step 1 — Upload your thumbnail at the recommended 1280x720 size.

Step 2 — Check the overlaid zones. Make sure your face, text, and key visual elements don't fall inside the red, blue or yellow areas.

Step 3 — Adjust your design if anything important is covered, then re-check.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Putting text in the bottom-right corner. This is exactly where the duration badge sits on every device.

Ignoring the mobile channel logo overlap. On mobile, YouTube shows the channel avatar over the bottom-left corner of the thumbnail.

Are these zones exact for every device?

They are representative approximations based on YouTube's desktop and mobile layouts — exact pixel positions can vary slightly by device and YouTube UI updates, so leave extra margin around edges.

What thumbnail size should I use?

1280x720 pixels (16:9) is YouTube's recommended thumbnail size.

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