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Unsafe Area Overlay

Unsafe Area Overlay is a workflow utility for Adobe After Effects that helps designers and editors avoid placing important content in areas that may be cropped or covered by UI elements on social media platforms.

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Description

Avoid placing important content in areas that may be cropped or covered by UI elements on social media platforms

Instead of guessing where text, logos, or key visuals might get cut off, this tool generates clear visual unsafe area overlays based on commonly used platform UI margins. The overlays appear directly inside the composition as non-rendering guide layers, making them easy to reference while designing.

The plugin uses aspect-locked virtual canvases, meaning the selected platform format (for example, Instagram Square 1:1 or Instagram Portrait 4:5) will always appear correctly centered — even when used inside compositions with different aspect ratios such as Reels or YouTube formats.

Key Features

  • One-click unsafe area overlay generation
    • Platform-specific presets with pixel-accurate margins
      • Aspect-ratio locked behavior (no stretching across different artboards)
        • Customizable fill color, stroke color, opacity, and stroke width
          • Non-destructive guide layer that does not render
            • Clean and simple ScriptUI panel workflow

              Supported Platforms

              • Instagram Feed (1:1)
                • Instagram Feed (4:5)
                  • Instagram Reels
                    • TikTok
                      • YouTube Shorts
                        • YouTube 16:9 (standard video)

                          Use Cases

                          • Designing social media motion graphics
                            • Preparing content for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube without cropping issues
                              • Agency workflows that require consistent safe margins
                                • Content creators who want visual clarity while designing

                                  Target Audience

                                  • Motion designers
                                    • Social media designers
                                      • Video editors
                                        • Creative agencies and content teams

                                          Notes

                                          Unsafe area values are based on commonly used platform UI margins and are intended as practical design guides to help reduce the risk of cropped or obscured content.

                                          Discussions

                                          Want to talk about it?

                                          Head over to r/aescripts to chat with fellow users about this product.

                                          Need Support?

                                          Please open a support ticket to be connected directly with the author of this product

                                          Version History

                                          1.0 -

                                          Feb 10, 2026

                                          Initial release.
                                          Includes support for social media unsafe area overlays for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

                                          Compatibility

                                          After Effects

                                          2026, 2025