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How to Remove Shorts From YouTube: 6 Ways That Work in 2026
YouTube has no switch to turn Shorts off, but you can hide the shelf, set a Shorts time limit, pause history or block them on desktop. Here are 6 ways.
Key takeaways
- YouTube has no official setting to turn Shorts off completely.
- Hiding the Shorts shelf works for about 30 days, and the Shorts feed limit caps daily scrolling.
- Desktop browser filters give the most control but can break when YouTube updates its code.
- Creators remove their own Shorts in YouTube Studio by deleting them or setting them to Private.
- Shorts can be up to 3 minutes, and monetization needs 1,000 subscribers plus 10 million Shorts views in 90 days or 4,000 watch hours.
YouTube has no official switch that removes Shorts from the app or website. You can hide the Shorts shelf on Home for about 30 days, mark Shorts as Not interested, set a daily Shorts feed limit, pause watch history, or block Shorts in a desktop browser. If you are a creator who wants to remove your own Shorts, delete them or set them to Private in YouTube Studio.
This guide covers every method that works as of October 2026. It also answers the questions people ask alongside it: how long Shorts can be, how to save them as MP4, and how Shorts monetization works.
Can you turn off YouTube Shorts completely?
No. YouTube does not offer a setting in the app, on the website or in your Google Account that switches Shorts off for good. Shorts is one of YouTube's main formats, so it has its own tab in the mobile app's bottom bar and shows up as shelves on Home, in search results and on channel pages.
What you can do is make Shorts appear less often, cap how long you scroll, or hide them in a desktop browser. Each of the six methods below covers a different gap, and most people get the best result by combining two or three.
| Method | Where it works | What it does | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Hide the Shorts shelf | Mobile app and desktop Home | Removes the Shorts shelf from Home for a while | Returns after roughly 30 days; Shorts tab stays |
| 2. Mark Shorts as Not interested | Shorts player and Home | Steers recommendations away from topics and channels | Shorts still appear, just different ones |
| 3. Shorts feed limit | Mobile app | Daily time cap with a pause prompt | Adults can dismiss the prompt |
| 4. Pause watch history | All devices | Can empty Home recommendations, including the Shorts shelf | Loses personalised recommendations everywhere |
| 5. Browser filter or extension | Desktop browsers | Hides Shorts shelves, tab and search results | Third-party; breaks when YouTube changes its code |
| 6. Parental Shorts timer | Supervised teen accounts | Parent sets a Shorts limit, including zero | Requires Family Link supervision |
If you only want Shorts gone from your Home feed, method 1 is the fastest. If the real problem is time lost to scrolling, methods 3 and 6 target that directly.
How do you hide Shorts on the YouTube app for iPhone and Android?
On mobile, the closest you can get to removing Shorts is hiding the Home shelf, setting a feed limit and marking unwanted Shorts as Not interested. The Shorts tab itself cannot be removed from the bottom navigation bar in the official app.
1. Hide the Shorts shelf on Home
- Open the YouTube app and go to Home.
- Scroll until you reach the Shorts shelf.
- Tap the three-dot menu on a Short in the shelf, or the X next to the shelf title if your version shows one.
- Choose Not interested or Show fewer Shorts.
Hiding the shelf this way is widely reported to last around 30 days, after which it returns and you repeat the step. Menu wording changes between app versions, so pick whichever option is closest to fewer Shorts.
2. Mark individual Shorts as Not interested
While a Short is playing, tap the three-dot menu and choose Not interested or Don't recommend channel. This won't remove Shorts, but it trains recommendations away from what you keep skipping. Our explainer on how the YouTube algorithm works covers why these negative signals carry so much weight.
3. Set a Shorts feed limit
YouTube began rolling out a Shorts feed limit in late 2025, letting you set a daily time cap for scrolling the Shorts feed. Tap You, then the gear icon for Settings, and look for Shorts feed limit under General or Time management, depending on your app version.
When you reach the limit, YouTube pauses the feed with a prompt. On adult accounts the prompt can be dismissed, so treat it as a reminder rather than a lock.
4. Pause your watch history
Turning off watch history stops YouTube from using what you watch to personalise recommendations. YouTube's help pages explain that with history off and no significant prior history, Home recommendations are removed, which also takes the Shorts shelf off Home.
- Tap your profile picture, then Settings.
- Choose Manage all history, or visit myactivity.google.com on any device.
- Open Saving your YouTube history and turn it off.
- Optionally delete your existing history so the change takes effect faster.
The trade-off is real: you lose personalised recommendations everywhere, including long videos you enjoy. The Shorts tab keeps working, it just becomes less tailored to you.
What about old app versions or modded apps?
Some forum guides suggest installing a YouTube app version from before Shorts existed, or a modified third-party app. Avoid both. Old versions miss security fixes and eventually stop working, and modified apps can break YouTube's Terms of Service and put your Google account at risk.
How do you block YouTube Shorts on a computer?
Desktop gives you the most control, because browsers let you hide parts of a page. You can close the Shorts shelf, add filter rules to an ad blocker, or install an extension built to remove Shorts.
Close the Shorts shelf on youtube.com
The Shorts shelf on the desktop Home page usually has an X or three-dot menu at its top right. Click it and choose the option to see fewer Shorts; as on mobile, the shelf tends to come back after about 30 days.
5. Add a browser filter or extension
If you already use uBlock Origin, open its dashboard, go to the My filters tab and add custom rules. Two lines people commonly use to hide Shorts shelves are:
youtube.com##ytd-reel-shelf-renderer
youtube.com##ytd-rich-shelf-renderer[is-shorts]
YouTube changes its page code often, so filters can stop working after an update and need refreshing. Dedicated remove-Shorts extensions do the same job with a toggle, but check the permissions they request first, because any extension that can read youtube.com can see your activity there.
Watch a Short as a normal video
If you open a Short from a link and don't want the endless swipe feed, edit the URL. Replace /shorts/ with /watch?v= in the address bar, keep the video ID, and press Enter; the Short opens in the standard player with a seek bar.
The reverse also works if you do want to watch Shorts on a computer. Go to youtube.com/shorts and use the arrow keys or scroll wheel to move between videos.
How can parents disable YouTube Shorts for kids and teens?
Parents have the strongest tool of anyone. YouTube announced in early 2026 that parents supervising teen accounts through Family Link can set a time limit on the Shorts feed, including setting it to zero so Shorts are effectively off for that account.
Look for the Shorts timer in the Family Link app or in YouTube's parent settings for the supervised account. Availability can differ by country and account type, so check YouTube Help if the option is missing.
- Supervised experience: for pre-teens, a supervised YouTube account gives you content settings and feature controls.
- YouTube Kids: a separate app with its own content levels, usually the simpler choice for younger children.
- Device limits: iPhone Screen Time and Android Digital Wellbeing can cap the whole YouTube app. They can't target Shorts alone, but they back up the in-app timer.
- Break reminders: in YouTube Settings, Remind me to take a break and Remind me when it's bedtime add nudges on any account.
