To turn off YouTube Shorts, set the new Shorts feed limit to zero minutes, which pauses the Shorts feed but can be dismissed, or remove the Shorts tab and shelf with a tool built for it. YouTube's controls keep changing, so most advice you find is outdated. This guide covers what is in the app right now, what each control does and doesn't do, and what removes Shorts for good.
Quick answer: YouTube has added a Shorts feed limit that goes all the way down to zero minutes — the closest thing to an official off switch so far. It's still a limit you can dismiss when you hit it, though, and the Shorts tab and shelf stay visible either way. To remove the Shorts tab and shelf from YouTube on iPhone, while keeping search, subscriptions and your regular videos working as normal, use an in-app browser like Stillfeed, free from your first launch.
By device: on iPhone, use Stillfeed to remove the Shorts tab and shelf. On Android, use YouTube's own Shorts and time-management settings in the Android app, where available. On a computer, use a free browser extension (on the Chrome Web Store and Firefox Add-ons).
What's new: the Shorts feed limit
YouTube added a dedicated Shorts feed limit under its Time management settings — the first control built specifically for Shorts rather than the app as a whole:
- Open the YouTube app and tap the You tab, then Settings.
- Tap Time management.
- Tap Shorts feed limit.
- Choose a time from the list, which includes the option to set the limit to zero minutes.
Once you hit the limit, a reminder appears in the Shorts feed — but it comes with the option to dismiss or ignore it and keep scrolling. Zero minutes is the strongest version of this control YouTube has shipped, but it's still a limit with a snooze button, and it only touches the Shorts feed, not the tab or shelf sitting next to it. The setting has its own guide: the YouTube Shorts time limit guide.
What the Shorts feed limit does not do
YouTube's own help page for the limit is short, and it is worth reading for what it leaves out. It describes a reminder: when your time is up, a message appears in the Shorts feed, and you are offered a way to dismiss or ignore it. It does not say the feed stops playing, and it does not say anything about the Shorts tab or the Shorts shelf on Home. So even at zero minutes, expect three things:
- The tab is still there. The limit counts time spent in the Shorts feed. It does not take Shorts out of the bottom bar or the Home page.
- You can talk yourself past it. The reminder has a dismiss option, so the limit holds only as long as you decide to let it.
- It is a setting inside the YouTube app. The help page walks through the app's menus and says nothing about the website, so a limit set there is not a promise about Safari or a desktop browser.
If you only want a nudge, the limit is a fine place to start. If you want Shorts to stop being an option, it needs something that removes the surface rather than reminds you about it. The steps above are the whole of the limit; the sections below cover what removes the surface instead.
Not interested and Show fewer Shorts
Two older, lighter-touch controls, both from the Shorts grid itself:
- Show fewer Shorts. Tap More at the top of the Shorts grid on Home and choose Show fewer Shorts. It can be undone later from My Activity → Other activity.
- Not interested / Don't recommend channel. Tunes which Shorts you're shown, not whether Shorts appear at all.
Both change the mix, not the presence. Neither touches the Shorts shelf or tab.
Turning off watch history
Pausing or deleting your watch history (Settings → History & privacy → Watch history) makes YouTube's Home recommendations far less personalized, which in practice means fewer Shorts pulled from what you've already watched. Shorts can still surface in search and on channel pages, and the tab stays put. For the Home page side of it, see how to turn off YouTube recommendations.
iPhone Screen Time
Screen Time works at the level of the whole app: Settings → Screen Time → App Limits → Add Limit → YouTube, with a passcode someone else holds so you can't tap past it. That caps your total time in YouTube — videos and Shorts together — but inside the limit, Shorts are exactly as available as before, and hitting the limit blocks the video you actually wanted too.
Removing Shorts for good
None of YouTube's own settings remove the Shorts tab or shelf; they limit time, tune recommendations, or cap the whole app. Stillfeed is an in-app browser for iPhone, with Shorts removal free, that opens the real youtube.com, signed into your own account, with the Shorts tab, shelf and individual Shorts removed before they reach your screen. Search, subscriptions and regular videos work exactly as normal.
For the full walkthrough — setup steps, what stays and what's removed, and the honest trade-offs — see our YouTube guide. If you also want Instagram's Reels and Explore gone, and a side-by-side look at Screen Time and Safari as alternatives, see how to block Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts on iPhone.
Turn off YouTube Shorts on iPhone, Android or a computer
The right fix depends on where you watch.
- iPhone (YouTube app or Safari): YouTube's settings can limit or tune Shorts but not remove the tab. Stillfeed removes the Shorts tab, shelf and individual Shorts. Setup steps are on the YouTube guide.
- Android: Stillfeed is an iPhone app, so it does not apply. Use YouTube's own Shorts and time-management settings in the Android app, where available.
- Computer (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Firefox): YouTube has no desktop setting that removes Shorts. The free Stillfeed browser extension hides the Shorts menu entry and shelves. Step by step: how to block YouTube Shorts on Chrome. To cap your total time on the site instead, see how to set a YouTube time limit in Chrome.
Curious how much time Shorts and regular videos add up to for you? The YouTube watch time calculator totals both by the week, the year and a lifetime.
Common questions
How can I disable YouTube Shorts?
There's still no single setting that removes the Shorts tab. The closest official option is the Shorts feed limit (Settings → Time management → Shorts feed limit), which goes down to zero minutes but can be dismissed when you hit it. To remove the Shorts shelf and tab outright, browse YouTube through Stillfeed.
How do I turn off YouTube Shorts permanently?
Nothing in the YouTube app is permanent — feed limits can be changed back, and "Show fewer Shorts" can be cleared from My Activity. Stillfeed removes the Shorts tab and shelf every time you open YouTube through it, with nothing to reset.
Is there a real YouTube Shorts blocker for iPhone?
Stillfeed works as one: an in-app browser, with Shorts removal free, that loads the real YouTube site and removes the Shorts tab and shelf before they appear, rather than limiting time on a feed that's still there.
Can you disable YouTube Shorts on a child's account?
The Shorts feed limit and Screen Time app limits both work on managed accounts through Family Link or Apple's Family Sharing. Check Google's current Family Link documentation for the exact steps on a supervised account, since parental controls change independently of the regular settings covered here.
How do I turn off YouTube Shorts on iPhone?
The YouTube app has no switch that removes the Shorts tab. You can set a Shorts feed limit (Settings → Time management) or tap Show fewer Shorts, and both leave Shorts in place. Stillfeed, an in-app browser for iPhone where Shorts removal is free, removes the Shorts tab and shelf. See the YouTube guide for setup.
How do I turn off YouTube Shorts on Android?
Use YouTube's own Shorts and time-management settings in the Android app, where available. None of them remove the Shorts tab. Stillfeed is an iPhone app, so it is not an Android option.
How do I turn off YouTube Shorts on a computer or in Chrome?
YouTube has no desktop setting for it. A free browser extension hides the Shorts menu entry and shelves in Chrome, Edge, Brave and Firefox. The full steps are in how to block YouTube Shorts on Chrome.
Can I limit time on YouTube instead of removing Shorts?
Yes. iPhone Screen Time caps the whole app, and on a computer a time limit can be set per site. See how to set a YouTube time limit in Chrome.
Does this also work for Instagram Reels?
Yes — Stillfeed removes Reels and Explore from Instagram the same way it removes Shorts from YouTube. See blocking both at once for one guide covering both apps.
Sources
- Google, Set a Shorts feed limit, YouTube Help.
- Google, Manage your recommendations & search results, YouTube Help.
