Guide
How to block or limit YouTube Shorts
YouTube now has its own Shorts limit: You › Settings › Time management › Shorts feed limit, which can be set to zero. When you hit it, scrolling the Shorts feed is paused for the day, though the prompt can be dismissed. On Android, one sec, ScreenZen and AppBlock can block Shorts and keep the rest of YouTube. On iPhone, outside apps can only block YouTube as a whole.
1. Use YouTube's own Shorts limit (iPhone and Android)
- In the YouTube app, tap You, then Settings.
- Tap Time management, then Shorts feed limit.
- Pick a daily limit; zero is an option.
YouTube started rolling this out in October 2025. When you reach the limit you get a prompt that scrolling the Shorts feed is paused for the day. It's dismissible, so it's a speed bump rather than a lock, but it's the only Shorts-only control on iPhone.
To see fewer Shorts on Home, open the menu on a row of Shorts and choose Show fewer Shorts.
2. On Android: block Shorts, keep YouTube
one sec (Play listing), ScreenZen (privacy policy) and AppBlock (help) use Android's Accessibility service to detect the Shorts screen and block it while the rest of YouTube keeps working. You'll be asked to turn on Accessibility; read what the app says it's for before allowing it.
3. On iPhone: whole app, or a price on opening it
Apple's Screen Time lets blockers cover whole apps and websites only. So beyond YouTube's own limit, the choice is a block on all of YouTube, or a price on each open: a pause, or Sorry Scroll's 30-second step (two words of a language or a quick move), after which YouTube stays open for the 15 to 60 minutes you chose.
4. On a computer
Unhook, a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox and Edge, can hide Shorts and the home feed on youtube.com.
Related: block Instagram Reels but keep messages · is there an app to stop doomscrolling?
Questions
Can you turn off YouTube Shorts?
Not with a single switch, but YouTube's Shorts feed limit can be set to zero, which pauses the Shorts feed for the day. The prompt can be dismissed. 'Show fewer Shorts' on the Home grid reduces them further.
Where is the Shorts limit in YouTube?
In the YouTube app: You, then Settings, then Time management, then Shorts feed limit. YouTube began rolling it out in October 2025.
Can I block Shorts but keep YouTube on Android?
Yes. one sec, ScreenZen and AppBlock use Android's Accessibility service to block Shorts and leave the rest of YouTube working.
And on iPhone?
Use YouTube's own Shorts feed limit. Outside apps, Sorry Scroll included, can only put a block or a step in front of the whole YouTube app.
On a computer?
Browser extensions like Unhook can hide Shorts and the home feed on YouTube's website.