TikTok Cover Translator for Localized Short-Video Covers

TikTok defines the cover as the thumbnail that previews your video in places like your profile or search results. TikTok Support (opens in a new tab) describes choosing it before posting: on the post screen, tap Select cover, drag to any frame, then tap Save.

The Content Posting API (opens in a new tab) works the same way. Its video_cover_timestamp_ms field picks the frame used as the cover, the first frame is used when it's missing or invalid, and there's no field for a separate cover image.

So the text on a TikTok cover is text inside the video. To localize it, you change the frame itself, usually an opening title card, in each language version you post.

TikTok's official documentation doesn't give a cover dimension for regular posts. Figures such as 1080 x 1920 are common conventions, not a published TikTok spec.

The closest official number is for ads: TikTok Ads Manager (opens in a new tab) recommends vertical 9:16 in-feed ad video at 540 x 960 px or larger. That describes the ad video, not a cover, so the practical rule is to design the cover frame at the same resolution as the video it sits in.

Instagram's developer docs give different guidance from the help center. The Graph API (opens in a new tab) recommends 9:16 JPEG covers up to 8 MB, crops other ratios to the middle 9:16 area, and uses the middle 1:1 square when a Reel is shared to the feed.

Per-language thumbnails in YouTube Studio are documented for long-form videos only (opens in a new tab), not Shorts. For short-form video, plan one post per language, each with its own localized cover.

1. Export a still of the cover frame or title card from your video editor, or use the cover artwork you designed.
2. Upload it to StoreLocale and choose target languages, for example French, German and Korean for a fitness clip titled "30-DAY PLANK CHALLENGE".
3. Review each translation and edit lines that sound unnatural. Text detection and translation cost 0 credits.
4. Run the repaint (1, 2 or 4 credits per image by quality tier), compare each version with the original, and export the PNG files. Crop or resize each export back to your video's frame size, since StoreLocale renders from a portrait 1320 x 2868 base.
5. Put each localized still back where the cover comes from: the title-card frame in that language's video for TikTok, or the cover upload for Reels and Shorts.

When you post on TikTok, select the localized title-card frame on the Select cover screen. If you publish through the API, set video_cover_timestamp_ms to that frame's position.

• Safe area: keep the headline in the center of the frame, since Instagram uses the middle square as the feed cover.
• Format: StoreLocale exports PNG. Convert to JPEG if you set Reels covers through the Graph API, which expects JPEG.
• Legibility: covers show at small sizes on profiles and in search, so keep translated headlines short.
• Continuity: the title card sits inside the video, so check that the background around the repainted text still matches the frames before and after it.