SEO & Sharing
See-More Cutoff Checker
Paste your caption to see which part is read immediately and which part hides behind the link.
What this is
The 'see more' cutoff is the point where a platform stops showing your caption and replaces the rest with a link. What sits before that point is the only part most people ever read, because tapping 'more' is an extra action few take while scrolling. This tool marks that point inside your text, so you can move your most important sentence to the right side of it.
How it works
Every platform truncates by a different rule. Instagram cuts at around 125 characters, a Facebook caption at roughly 250 on a phone, a YouTube description shows about the first three lines, and TikTok around two. These are working estimates, because some platforms measure lines on screen rather than characters.
Line breaks truncate faster than expected. On platforms that count lines, a single return in your second sentence can spend the whole visible allowance before your third sentence appears — so a caption made of short lines shows fewer words than one solid paragraph.
So write a first sentence that stands alone: one that still means something if the rest is never opened. Putting hashtags, credits or a call to action first spends the most-read part of the caption on the least useful words.
How to use it
- Paste your caption The cutoff point is marked inside the text straight away.
- Switch platform The mark moves, because each platform truncates by its own rule.
- Move your important sentence forward Make sure the part read first already works on its own.
Common questions
- How many characters before Instagram cuts a caption?
- Instagram shows roughly the first 125 characters before displaying the 'more' link. The exact figure shifts with screen width and app updates, so keeping the opening line under about 120 characters is the safe guide.
- How much of a YouTube description is visible without clicking?
- YouTube shows roughly the first three lines of a description under the video title, usually around 150 characters on desktop and fewer on a phone. Important links belong in that part, not below a block of hashtags.
- Do line breaks affect the cutoff?
- Yes — on platforms that truncate by line count, every return spends a full line of the visible allowance. A caption built from short lines therefore shows fewer words than one paragraph of the same character count.
- How accurate are these limits?
- They are working estimates measured from how the apps display, not official published figures. Treat them as a safe margin and leave a little room rather than writing right up to the line.
Notes
- Cutoff points change when platforms update their apps; leave a little room.
- The text is processed in your browser and sent nowhere.