Tech

There's Finally a Way to Block YouTube Shorts on Both iPhones and Androids

By Alex • April 25, 2026
There's Finally a Way to Block YouTube Shorts on Both iPhones and Androids

There's Finally a Way to Block YouTube Shorts on Both iPhones and Androids

Let's be real: Short-form video content is a productivity killer. I've been there, losing entire evenings to endless scrolling. Instagram Reels became such a black hole that I nuked the app entirely, relegating myself to its clunky desktop site. The problem? My addiction just migrated to YouTube Shorts. That grid of endless videos, right there on the home screen, practically begging you to tap and get lost for hours.

It seems I'm not alone in this digital time warp. YouTube has been trying to help, first with an option to limit Shorts watch time last October, then by letting you filter Shorts out of search results in January. Helpful, yes, but not perfect. That 15-minute minimum limit? Still enough time to fall down the rabbit hole. We needed a true block, not just a gentle nudge.

Good news: YouTube is finally stepping up. They've introduced a new "0 minutes" option to their Shorts time management feature. While it's not a complete disable switch (we can dream!), it's a massive leap forward. Crucially, this setting removes Shorts from your main feed entirely, helping you avoid that initial, tempting glimpse.

Now, before you go celebrating with a productivity dance, a quick heads-up: This isn't a strict, ironclad block. You'll still see a dedicated Shorts tab, and if you really go looking for trouble by tapping a Short from a profile, you'll get an option to ignore the limit for the day. Choose that, and you're right back to square one. But for breaking that automatic scroll habit, this is a game-changer.

How to "block" Shorts from the YouTube app on iPhone and Android

Ready to reclaim your screen time? Here's how to activate this new feature:

  1. Open the YouTube app.
  2. Go to your Profile tab (usually your profile picture in the top right).
  3. Tap the Settings icon (the gear) from the top toolbar.
  4. Choose the Time Management option.
  5. Enable the Shorts feed limit feature.
  6. Pick the new 0 minutes option.

Important Note: YouTube is rolling this out gradually. Parents managing supervised accounts for teens should see it now. For the rest of us, it might take a little longer to appear. Keep checking back!

What about desktop users?

If your YouTube habit mostly lives on your laptop, you don't have to wait. Grab the UnTrap extension for YouTube. It offers a ton of customization, but its best trick by far is reliably deleting the Shorts section from your YouTube home screen.

So go on, HackYourLife. Take control of your YouTube experience and get those precious hours back!