How to block YouTube Shorts: what works in the app, on iPhone and in a browser

Set YouTube's Shorts feed limit

YouTube now has its own setting for Shorts. It is the only way to cut Shorts down while keeping the rest of YouTube, so start here. These are the steps from Google's YouTube Help page for the app.

1. Open the YouTube app and make sure you are signed in
2. Tap You, then Settings
3. Tap Time management, then Shorts feed limit
4. Choose a limitGoogle's list of time limits includes zero. Pick the lowest you can live with.

See fewer Shorts everywhere else on YouTube

Shorts also show up on Home and next to videos. A few settings thin them out:

• Show fewer Shorts. On Home, scroll to a grid of Shorts, tap More, then Show fewer Shorts.
• Don't recommend channel. On a Short from a channel you never want to see, tap More and choose Don't recommend channel.
• Turn off watch history. Google says that if you don't want video recommendations on Home, you can delete and turn off your watch history. Google doesn't say what this does to the Shorts feed itself, so treat it as a Home-feed fix.
• Remind me to take a break. YouTube's break reminder pauses the video at an interval you choose. Google's help page lists it under Settings > General. It is off by default for adults.

Can you block only Shorts on iPhone?

No. Screen Time works on whole apps and whole websites, so it can't tell a Short from any other YouTube video. If the Shorts limit keeps losing, the honest options are to limit YouTube as a whole or to step away from it for a while.

How to block YouTube on iPhone (iOS 18 and 26)

1. Limit the app: Settings > Screen Time > App Limits > Add LimitTap the category that contains YouTube, select YouTube, tap Next, choose a time and tap Add.
2. Block the websiteSettings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions (turn it on) > App Store, Media, Web, & Games > Web Content > Limit Adult Websites, then add youtube.com, and m.youtube.com for good measure, under Never Allow.
3. Lock itScroll down in Screen Time and tap Lock Screen Time Settings. With a passcode, you can turn on Block at End of Limit so the limit actually blocks.

On iOS 27, Apple's guide describes Time Allowances instead of App Limits: Settings > Screen Time > Time Allowances, then set the category YouTube falls into. Apple says that when an app declares an associated website, the allowance applies to both. The full walkthrough, including deleting the app and blocking reinstalls, is in how to block apps on iPhone.

How to disable YouTube Shorts in a browser

Google documents the Shorts feed limit for the YouTube app; its help page doesn't describe the same setting on a computer. In Chrome, Safari or Firefox on a computer you have two realistic routes:

• A content-blocking extension that hides Shorts. Several exist for the major browsers. Read the permissions first; an extension that can read every page you visit sees a lot.
• A limit on youtube.com. Screen Time on a Mac can limit or block a website, but only the whole site. See how to block websites on Mac.

Keep YouTube, lose the scroll

Plenty of people want the tutorials, lectures and long videos without the feed. A setup that usually holds better than any single switch:

• Go in with a purpose. Search for the video you came for, or open your subscriptions, instead of landing on Home.
• Set the Shorts feed limit to zero and add a modest App Limit (or Time Allowance) as a backstop for the days the reminder gets dismissed.
• Move the app off your Home Screen. Touch and hold it, tap Remove App, then Remove from Home Screen; it stays in App Library, one extra step away.
• Watch long videos on a TV or computer, where there is no thumb-sized feed waiting at the end.
• Protect the hours that matter with Downtime on iOS 18 and 26, or a Screen Time Schedule on iOS 27.

Why Shorts are so hard to put down

A Short ends before you decide to stop, and the next one has already started. There is no natural end to the feed, so the decision to stop has to come from you, every time, usually when you are tired. That is why settings that add a pause tend to work better than good intentions.

It also helps to see the real number. Your iPhone shows time per app under Settings > Screen Time; if YouTube is near the top, multiply it out:

For the wider habit of endless feeds, our guide on how to stop doomscrolling covers triggers, replacements and the evening routine that usually decides whether a limit holds.