How to turn off YouTube Shorts on iPhone

Can you turn off YouTube Shorts?

Not in the YouTube app. YouTube treats Shorts as a core part of the app: they have their own tab in the bottom bar, a shelf on the home feed, and they show up in search results and on channel pages. There's no switch in YouTube's settings that removes them, on iPhone or anywhere else.

That's why "how to disable YouTube Shorts" is such a common search. The answers you'll find mostly make Shorts less visible for a while. Below is what each one really does, and the one way to remove them for good on iPhone.

What YouTube lets you do

• Hide the Shorts shelf for a while. On the home feed, tap the menu on the Shorts shelf and choose that you're not interested. The shelf disappears for a time, then comes back. The Shorts tab stays where it is.
• Pause your watch history. With watch history off, YouTube shows far fewer personalised recommendations on your home page. It makes the home feed less sticky, but Shorts are still a tap away.
• Set "Take a break" reminders. YouTube can remind you to take a break after a set time. It's a nudge you can dismiss, not a block.

None of these removes the Shorts tab, and none stops a Short from autoplaying into the next one once you've opened it.

How to turn off Shorts on iPhone

We built Stillfeed for exactly this. It's an in-app browser for iPhone that opens the real YouTube website, signed into your own account, and removes Shorts before they reach your screen. As of October 2026, on YouTube it:

• removes the Shorts tab from the bottom bar;
• removes Shorts shelves from the home feed and elsewhere;
• hides individual Shorts in lists such as search results;
• stops Shorts links from opening, so a shared Short can't start the swipe.

Everything else stays: search, your subscriptions, regular videos and your account. It's free from the first launch, with no trial and no Stillfeed account.

Set it up

1. Download Stillfeed from the App Store and open it.
2. Pick YouTube.
3. Sign in as you normally would. Your details go straight to YouTube, never to Stillfeed.
4. Watch what you came for. Shorts are already gone.

Stillfeed never changes your YouTube account, subscriptions or history, and it doesn't record what you watch or search. Our privacy policy has the details.

A Shorts time limit, or no Shorts at all?

Many people search for a YouTube Shorts time limit. Neither YouTube nor iPhone Screen Time can set one: Screen Time only limits the whole YouTube app, so when the limit hits you lose the long video you were watching too, which is usually the moment you tap "Ignore Limit".

Removing Shorts works better than timing them. A limit has to interrupt you mid-swipe; with no Shorts, there's no swipe to interrupt. If you also want a cap on your total YouTube time, Stillfeed Pro adds an optional daily time limit, and you can still use Screen Time alongside Stillfeed.

Trade-offs to be honest about

• It's the YouTube website, not the app. Stillfeed shows YouTube's own mobile site, which looks and works much like the app but isn't identical.
• It only works inside Stillfeed. The official YouTube app is unchanged. Put Stillfeed on your home screen where YouTube used to be, and remove or limit the app so muscle memory doesn't take you back.
• iPhone only. There's no Android version.

More on other platforms

Stillfeed removes Reels and Explore from Instagram too, and works with TikTok, X, Reddit, Snapchat and LinkedIn. For every option side by side, including Screen Time and Safari, see how to block Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts on iPhone.

Common questions

Is there a way to disable YouTube Shorts?

Not inside the YouTube app. As of October 2026, YouTube has no setting that turns Shorts off; hiding the Shorts shelf only lasts a while, and the Shorts tab stays. On iPhone, Stillfeed opens YouTube with the Shorts tab, Shorts shelves and Shorts videos removed, for free.

How do I block YouTube Shorts on iPhone?

Screen Time can only limit or block the whole YouTube app. To block just Shorts, open YouTube in Stillfeed, a free in-app browser for iPhone. It removes the Shorts tab and Shorts shelves, and Shorts links don't open.

Can I set a time limit on YouTube Shorts only?

Not with YouTube or Screen Time, which only limit the whole app. Removing Shorts tends to work better than timing them anyway: with no Shorts to swipe, there's nothing for a limit to interrupt.

Will I still see my subscriptions and regular videos?

Yes. Stillfeed only removes Shorts. Search, your subscriptions and regular videos work as normal, signed into your own YouTube account.

Is it free?

Yes. Removing Shorts from YouTube is free from your first launch, with no trial and no account. Stillfeed Pro is optional and adds extras like a daily time limit.