How to turn off YouTube Shorts on iPhone and Android
YouTube's help pages describe a Shorts feed limit, not an off switch. You can set that limit to zero in the YouTube app on iPhone and Android. When you hit it, though, YouTube shows a reminder you can dismiss. If that's too easy to wave away, the next step is limiting or blocking the YouTube app itself.
Short answer
- In the YouTube app, go to Settings → Time management → Shorts feed limit and pick zero.
- On your own account, the reminder at the limit can be dismissed or ignored.
- On the Home feed, Show fewer Shorts cuts down the Shorts YouTube recommends there.
- For something harder to skip, limit the whole app with Screen Time (iPhone) or Digital Wellbeing (Android). Blocking only Shorts and keeping the rest of YouTube is possible on Android with an app like OpLoop, not on iPhone.
1. Set the Shorts feed limit to zero
This is YouTube’s own setting, and the steps are the same on iPhone and Android.
- Open the YouTube app and make sure you’re signed in.
- Tap the You tab, then Settings.
- Tap Time management.
- Tap Shorts feed limit. You’ll see a list of time limits, and zero is one of them.
- Select zero.
What it misses: once you reach the limit, a message reminds you, and you can dismiss it or ignore it. On a regular account, it’s a nudge you can tap past.
If you’re a parent with a supervised teen account, you can set the Shorts feed limit for your teen from Family Center instead.
2. Tap “Show fewer Shorts” on your Home feed
YouTube also recommends Shorts on pages like Home and Watch Next. You can ask for fewer of them:
- In the YouTube app, go to your Home feed.
- Scroll to a grid of Shorts.
- At the top of the grid, tap More.
- Tap Show fewer Shorts.
What it misses: this only asks YouTube to recommend fewer Shorts on pages like Home. It isn’t a block, and the choice can be cleared in My Activity.
3. Limit the whole YouTube app
When the zero limit isn’t enough, put a limit on YouTube itself. Long videos go with it, so if you use YouTube for tutorials, lectures or music, you’ll lose those too.
iPhone: Screen Time
On iOS 26 and earlier, App Limits can target a single app:
- Open the Settings app and tap Screen Time.
- Tap App Limits, then Add Limit.
- Tap the name of a category to see its apps, then select YouTube.
- Tap Next and set how much time you’re allowed each day.
By default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once you reach them. A Screen Time passcode means nobody can change your Screen Time settings without it. To set one on iOS 26, go to Screen Time and tap Lock Screen Time Settings. Having someone else choose the code helps if you know you’d just type it in.
On iOS 27 or later, Apple’s guide describes Time Allowances instead. You’ll find them in Settings → Screen Time → Time Allowances, and they work by category, such as Entertainment, Games or Social Media. Apps in a category can be used until they reach that category’s allowance or your daily total. The passcode is under Screen Time → Passcode & Management → Lock Screen Time Settings.
Android: Digital Wellbeing
- Open your phone’s Settings app.
- Tap Digital Wellbeing, then App timers.
- Next to YouTube, tap Set timer.
- Choose how much time you get, then tap OK.
When the time runs out, YouTube closes and its icon dims. Timers reset at midnight. Google notes that some of these steps vary by device, so the menus on your phone may look a little different.
What it misses: to use the app again before midnight, you just delete the timer. An App limits PIN stops that: in Digital Wellbeing, go to App limits → App limits PIN and turn on PIN for app time limits.
4. Block YouTube on a schedule with OpLoop
OpLoop is an app blocker for iPhone and Android. You pick the apps and when they’re blocked, and it’s free to start.
- Routines: pick the days and times once, like weekday evenings, and blocking switches on and off by itself.
- Passes: a few short passes a day for when you really do need YouTube. When they’re gone, the block holds.
- Lockdown (Pro): a Sprint you can’t end early. It holds until the timer runs out.
- Challenges: in the Circles tab, join a challenge where everyone blocks the same apps for 1 to 7 days.
If you open YouTube during a block anyway, you get a card instead of a gray wall: a calm line, a gentle poke, sometimes a joke.
iOS doesn’t give apps a way to block only Shorts, so on iPhone OpLoop blocks the whole YouTube app. On Android, Pro adds Shorts & Reels only, which blocks just the short-form feed and keeps the rest of YouTube or Instagram.
Which one should you use?
| Method | iPhone | Android | Blocks only Shorts? | How easy to get around |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shorts feed limit at zero | Yes | Yes | Yes, the Shorts feed | Reminder can be dismissed |
| Show fewer Shorts | Yes | Yes | Changes Home recommendations | Can be undone in My Activity |
| Screen Time / Digital Wellbeing | Yes | Yes | No, the whole app | Easy without a passcode or PIN |
| OpLoop | Whole YouTube app | Whole app, or Shorts only with Pro | Android with Pro | Passes run out, then the block holds |
Start with the zero limit. If you catch yourself dismissing the reminder without thinking, move to a limit or a block that a single tap won’t undo.
Questions
Can I disable YouTube Shorts completely?
The closest setting YouTube’s help pages describe is the Shorts feed limit, and you can set it to zero. On a regular account the reminder can be dismissed, so pair it with a Screen Time or Digital Wellbeing limit if you need it to stick.
How do I block YouTube Shorts?
On Android, an app like OpLoop (with Pro) can block just the short-form feed and leave the rest of YouTube alone. On iPhone, apps can only block the whole YouTube app, so the zero limit plus a whole-app limit or schedule is as close as it gets.
How do I stop watching Shorts?
Make them harder to reach. Set the Shorts feed limit to zero, tap Show fewer Shorts on Home, and add a limit or schedule for YouTube with a passcode or PIN you don’t control.