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How to Watch YouTube on iPhone Duo Without the Shorts Rabbit Hole

By Gokhan Tosun · · 5 min read

Hands holding an iPhone over a wooden table with a cup of coffee

The iPhone Duo is a phone you might actually want to watch videos on. Apple quotes up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner display, and 44 hours on the outer, under its own test conditions. YouTube is the obvious thing to put on it. The risk is that you sit down for one 20-minute video and stand up an hour later having watched forty Shorts.

This guide is about getting the long videos without the loop.

In short: decide what you're watching before you open YouTube, use a search or a subscription instead of the home feed, switch off autoplay, and take Shorts out of reach. YouTube has no setting to remove Shorts; Stillfeed is a free iPhone in-app browser that does.

Start with a plan, not the home feed

The home feed is built to suggest the next thing. Open YouTube with a specific video, a search, or your Subscriptions in mind, and leave when it ends. It sounds obvious, and it is the single habit that works on any screen size. The same advice runs through our guide on stopping doomscrolling.

Settings worth changing

  • Autoplay off. Stops one video rolling into a recommendation.
  • Take a break reminder. In YouTube's settings you can set one. It's dismissible, so it's a nudge.
  • Pause watch history. Cuts back personalised recommendations on the home page.
  • iOS Screen Time. Settings → Screen Time → App Limits, then YouTube. It caps the whole app, long videos included. A limit of an hour is generous for a viewing session and a hard stop for a binge.

Split View, with care

Apple says iOS 27 on iPhone Duo brings Split View to iPhone for the first time, with two apps side by side. A video next to a notes app is a good use. A video next to another feed is a reliable way to watch neither. Whether YouTube supports it in a particular way is for YouTube to say; Apple's announcement doesn't mention YouTube.

Taking Shorts out of reach

Hiding the Shorts shelf on the home feed is temporary, and the Shorts tab stays. For something firmer, Stillfeed loads the real youtube.com in an in-app browser and removes the Shorts tab and shelf before they show. That is free and needs no Stillfeed account. Stillfeed Pro adds optional extras including a daily time limit.

It never touches your subscriptions or history, and your login goes straight to YouTube. See the privacy policy.

The one tip that makes it stick: put Stillfeed where YouTube used to be on your home screen and remove the official app from it. Full instructions: how to turn off YouTube Shorts, and every option compared.

A viewing session that ends

The trouble with open-ended viewing is that nothing ever tells you to stop. Give the session a shape before it starts:

  1. Pick the video first. Search for it or tap it from Subscriptions. Don't browse to find something.
  2. Decide the stopping point. One video, or a time. Say it out loud if you have to.
  3. Set a timer. The Clock app's timer is free and doesn't depend on YouTube.
  4. Close the app, not just the video. Swipe it away so you're not one thumb-tap from the home feed.

None of this is specific to a foldable, but a large display makes it easier to stay put, which is why it is worth being deliberate.

Use Watch Later as your plan

YouTube lets you save videos to Watch Later. The useful habit is to add videos when you find them, from search or a friend's link, and only watch from that list when you sit down. It turns "what's on?" into "what did I already decide to watch?", which is the opposite question from the one the home feed asks. It also means a long evening session has a built-in end: the list.

Which display for what

Apple's announcement lists a 7.6-inch inner display and a 5.4-inch outer display. A simple split is to treat the inner display as the one for planned viewing and the outer as the one for quick looks. Apple states up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner display and up to 44 on the outer, under its own test conditions, so the outer display is also the one that will last longer if you watch there. We aren't claiming that YouTube behaves differently on either; Apple's page names Netflix, Zoom and Slack as launch apps, not YouTube.

Common questions

How do I watch YouTube on iPhone Duo without Shorts?

Browse YouTube through Stillfeed, which removes Shorts, or avoid the Shorts tab and shelf with discipline and the native settings above.

Can I permanently disable YouTube Shorts?

Not in YouTube's own app. Stillfeed removes them every time you open YouTube inside it.

Does the bigger display change Shorts?

Shorts play one after another on any iPhone, and a bigger screen doesn’t change that loop.

Does Stillfeed work on iPhone Duo?

Yes. It's an iPhone app, so it runs on the Duo like any other iPhone app.

Is there a Shorts blocker on the App Store?

Stillfeed is ours, and it's free for removing Shorts. Judge it on whether it fits how you watch.

How do I stop a YouTube session from running on?

Choose the video before you open the app, set a timer, and close the app when you're done. The home feed is the part that makes it run on.

Does Watch Later remove Shorts?

No. It just gives you a list of things you already decided to watch, so you have less reason to open the feed.

Can I use Split View for a video and notes?

Apple says iOS 27 on iPhone Duo supports two apps side by side. Whether a given app, YouTube included, supports it in a given way is for that app to say.

More iPhone Duo guides

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