Cropping & sizing
Why is TikTok cropping my video? Size, zoom, safe area and length
Short answer
TikTok's player is 9:16. Anything else is fitted into that frame: a square, 4:5 or landscape clip is either zoomed to fill it (cutting the edges) or shown with bars, and on phones taller than 9:16 the app can also trim the sides of a full 9:16 video. Text near the edges is often not cropped at all but hidden behind the caption, buttons and progress bar. Export 1080×1920 with your subject and text inside the safe area below.
Key takeaways
- TikTok's player is 9:16. A 1080 × 1920 upload has nothing to fill; square, 4:5 and landscape videos are placed with bars or scaled up, which cuts the edges.
- On phones taller than 9:16, a full-screen 9:16 video can lose a few percent of its width on each side; the table below computes it per phone.
- Most "cropped" text is not cut at all but covered by the caption, buttons and progress bar. Keep it inside the safe area: 12.5% from the top, 34.4% from the bottom.
- "TikTok is cutting my video short" is a length limit, not a crop: all creators can post 3-minute videos, and some have 5 or 10 minutes (TikTok for Developers).
- TikTok's upload limits: 360 to 4096 px on each side, 23 to 60 fps, MP4 (recommended), WebM or MOV, H.264 recommended, up to 4 GB.
Is TikTok cropping the picture or cutting the length?
People use "cropping" for two different problems. If parts of the picture are missing, it is the frame: the shape of your video does not match the screen, or the interface covers it. If the video ends early or the editor trims it, it is the duration limit for your account. The fixes have nothing in common, so check which one you have first.
What TikTok does with each video shape
TikTok shows posts in a vertical player, and your video has to be fitted into it. What gets lost depends on the shape you upload. The pixel figures below are computed for a 1080 × 1920 frame.
| Your video | Example size | Fitted into 9:16 without zoom | If scaled to fill the screen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:16 vertical | 1080 × 1920 | Fills the frame exactly | Nothing to crop (taller phones: see the table below) |
| 4:5 portrait | 1080 × 1350 | Bars of 285 px above and below | About 15% cut from each side |
| 1:1 square | 1080 × 1080 | Bars of 420 px above and below | About 22% cut from each side |
| 16:9 landscape | 1920 × 1080 | Picture only 608 px tall | About 34% cut from each side |
Whether TikTok shows bars or fills the screen depends on the app version and on how you placed the clip in the editor, so decide the framing yourself before upload: crop to the subject, or put the clip on a 9:16 canvas with a blurred background.
Free tool:Crop a video to 9:16
Find your case
| What you see | What it usually means | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| Square or 4:5 video looks zoomed in | It was scaled up to fill the 9:16 frame | Export 9:16 yourself with the framing you want (step 1) |
| Exactly 9:16, but the sides are cut on some phones | Taller screens fill the height and trim the width | Keep text away from the side edges (step 2 and the table) |
| Text at the bottom or right is unreadable | Caption, sound bar and buttons sit on top of the video | Move text into the safe area (step 3) |
| Photo post text cut off at top and bottom | Photo posts are fitted to the viewer's screen the same way | Leave margins inside a 9:16 canvas (step 3) |
| "Cropped" means the video is cut short | That is a duration limit, not a crop | Check the length (step 4) |
| Video stops before the end, or the editor trims it | Over your account's length limit | Shorten it or check your limit (step 4) |
Fix it step by step
Export 9:16 before you upload
If you give TikTok a 1080×1920 file, there is nothing for it to fill. For a square or landscape source, decide the framing yourself: crop to the subject, or place it on a 9:16 canvas with bars or a blurred background.
Allow for taller phones
Most current phones are taller than 9:16. If the app fills the full screen height, a 9:16 video loses a strip on each side; the table below shows how much. Keep text and faces out of those strips.
Keep text inside the safe area
TikTok's own ad-placement overlay files mark where the interface covers the video. Organic posts use a very similar layout, but TikTok publishes the measurements only for ads.
If the video is cut short, check its length
A clip over the limit for your account is trimmed or rejected; that is not cropping.
Safe area for a 1080×1920 video
| Edge | Keep text out of | Pixels |
|---|---|---|
| Top | 12.5% | 240 px |
| Bottom | 34.4% | 660 px |
| Left | 11.1% | 120 px |
| Right | 11.1% | 120 px |
| Button column | x 72-89%, y 44-66% | 780-960 × 840-1260 px |
Official guidance. Source: TikTok Auction In-Feed Ads: Safe zone files (TikTok Ads Help), checked 2026-10-03. Published for TikTok In-Feed ads. Organic posts can differ, and the right-hand button column (shaded) is excluded as well.
How much a full-screen 9:16 video loses on tall phones
Computed, not published by the platform: if the app scales a 9:16 video to fill the whole screen height, this much of the width is cut from each side.
| Phone | Screen | Cut per side | Of a 1080 px frame |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 15 / 16 | 1179×2556 | 9.0% | 97 px |
| iPhone 15 Pro Max | 1290×2796 | 9.0% | 97 px |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | 1320×2868 | 9.1% | 98 px |
| iPhone SE (3rd gen) | 750×1334 | none | 0 px |
| Samsung Galaxy S24 | 1080×2340 | 9.0% | 97 px |
| Google Pixel 8 | 1080×2400 | 10.0% | 108 px |
Crop or pad a video to 9:16 with FFmpeg
If you prefer the command line, these produce a 1080 × 1920 file that TikTok has no reason to reframe.
- Crop the center of a landscape clip:
ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "crop=trunc(ih*9/32)*2:ih,scale=1080:1920" -c:a copy out.mp4 - Keep the whole picture with black bars:
ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "scale=1080:-2,pad=1080:1920:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2" -c:a copy out.mp4 - Keep the whole picture over a blurred copy:
ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -filter_complex "[0:v]scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=increase,crop=1080:1920,boxblur=20[bg];[0:v]scale=1080:-2[fg];[bg][fg]overlay=(W-w)/2:(H-h)/2" -c:a copy out.mp4
Center cropping a 16:9 clip keeps only the middle 32% of the width, so check that the subject is there before posting.
When TikTok cuts your video short
TikTok's developer documentation states that all creators can post 3-minute videos, while some have access to 5-minute or 10-minute videos. Apps that post for you can send up to 10 minutes, and TikTok may ask you to trim inside the app to fit your account's own maximum. If the editor trims your video or refuses it, the limit for your account is shorter than the clip.
Shorten the video yourself so you choose what is cut, or split it into parts. The frame size has nothing to do with this limit.
Free tools:TikTok video length checkerTrim a video for TikTok
Export settings that avoid cropping on TikTok
| Setting | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Frame | 1080 × 1920 (9:16) | Matches the player, nothing to fit |
| Text and faces | Inside the safe area | 12.5% top, 34.4% bottom, 11.1% left, 11.1% right are covered |
| Frame rate | 23 to 60 fps | TikTok's documented range |
| Container and codec | MP4, H.264, AAC | TikTok's recommended format and codec |
| Size limits | 360 to 4096 px per side, up to 4 GB | Larger files are rejected, not cropped |
Frequently asked questions
What size should a TikTok video be so it doesn't get cropped?
1080×1920 (9:16), with text and faces inside the safe area: below the top 12.5% (240 px), above the bottom 34.4% (660 px), 11.1% (120 px) from the left and 11.1% (120 px) from the right, clear of the button column.
Why does TikTok crop my picture?
Photo posts are fitted to the viewer's screen, so a photo that is not the screen's shape is trimmed or zoomed. Use a 9:16 canvas and keep text well inside the edges.
Why are some TikTok videos stretched?
A video with a wrong display aspect ratio flag, or one scaled in an editor without locking the ratio, plays stretched everywhere. Re-export with the original ratio locked.
Why is TikTok cutting my video short?
Your video is longer than your account's limit. All creators can post 3-minute videos and some have 5 or 10 minutes. Trim the clip yourself so you choose what is cut.
Why is TikTok cropping my 9:16 video?
On phones taller than 9:16 the app can scale the video to fill the screen height, which trims a little from each side, and the caption and buttons cover the bottom and right edges. Keep text inside the safe area.
Why are TikTok videos zoomed in?
A square, 4:5 or landscape clip scaled to fill the vertical screen is enlarged until there are no bars, which crops its edges. Export 9:16 with your own framing.
Can you crop a video before posting to TikTok?
Yes, and it is the reliable way to control framing: crop or pad the clip to 1080 × 1920 in your editor or a free browser tool, then upload. TikTok then has nothing left to fit.
What resolution does TikTok accept?
TikTok's developer documentation allows 360 to 4096 px for both width and height, 23 to 60 fps, MP4, WebM or MOV, up to 4 GB. Use 1080 × 1920 for a full-screen post.
Sources
- TikTok Ads Help: Auction In-Feed Ads (safe-area overlay files) (official, checked 2026-10-03)
- TikTok for Developers: Content Posting API, media transfer guide (video restrictions) (official, checked 2026-10-06)
Reviewed 2026-10-06. Steps not attributed to a source are general video practice or computed above.