How overlay text stays readable

The 20 per cent rule is gone#

The old overlay checker that graded images into text bands is retired, and no automatic penalty applies for text volume any more. Meta confirms delivery is not reduced purely because an image carries words. Treat any tool or post that still cites the rule as out of date. Start at the Meta Ads hub for the family view, and check Meta own text overlay background for the current position.

Retirement is not permission to clutter: crowded images still lose thumbs to cleaner rivals in the same auction. Image craft sets the control format, and hooks show what belongs in the opening frame instead.

What replaced the rule#

What replaced the rule is auction preference for clarity: readable creative earns stops, clicks and completions, which feed the predictions that decide delivery. Text heavy images do not get flagged, they get skipped, which amounts to the same budget outcome by a different mechanism. Judge overlay by behaviour, not by compliance badges.

Keep the offer in native fields where Meta renders them cleanly: primary text, headline and description carry the detail. Reserve in image words for the three words that must survive every crop. Captions handle speech, overlay handles the promise.

The two second legibility test#

Shrink the creative to phone feed size, read it in two seconds, then look away and state the offer. If you cannot, the feed cannot either. Check headline, price or promise, brand mark and action direction in that order. Run the test muted for video openers, because the overlay frame must work before sound arrives. Meta own image specs give the export baseline.

Test across light and dark interfaces and on mid range screens, not only flagship phones. Thin weights and low contrast pastels fail first. Safe areas decide where overlay can live without interface collisions.

Overlay rules that still win#

Five rules survive the rule change: one promise per visual, six words or fewer where possible, heavy high contrast type, generous margins around text, and photography that stays quiet behind words. Badges, bursts and disclaimers shrink to supporting roles, never the headline. Catalogue price overlays from catalogue setup follow the same restraint.

Localise overlay with the same care as captions: short source lines translate cleanly, dense paragraphs do not. Archive textless masters so each market gets native overlay rather than patched exports. Diversification rewards distinct promises, not distinct fonts.

Overlay on video openers#

Video openers need overlay discipline most, because the first frame doubles as a thumbnail across placements. Burn the promise line into frame one in large type, hold it through second three, then let the story take over. Do not stack captions, overlay and interface in one corner; separate them by zone so each stays readable.

Review Advantage+ creative previews with overlay on, because automated reframes can crowd text the master kept clear. Advantage+ creative lists the previews to check, and A/B discipline shows how to test overlay variants cleanly.

When overlay loses the test#

Kill overlay that repeats the headline verbatim, shrinks to fit disclaimers, or covers faces and products. Each wastes pixels that proof or product should own. Move detail into primary text, move proof into the visual, and leave overlay with the single line that earns the stop.

Refresh overlay with concepts on the schedule in our fatigue guide, and ask our team for an overlay audit when CTR trails the account median despite healthy hooks.

Frequently asked questions#