You open YouTube for a repair tutorial, a lecture, or one video from a creator you follow. Before you type the search, a Shorts shelf catches your eye—or the app resumes a previous Shorts session. The useful video is still unwatched, but ten minutes have disappeared.

You do not have to quit YouTube to change this pattern. The practical goal is to make Shorts less visible, limit the feed, and enter YouTube through places that lead to something you chose.

Here is the important limitation upfront: YouTube lets you request fewer Shorts on Home and set the Shorts feed limit to zero, but the limit is only a reminder that can be dismissed or ignored. Think of these settings as preference controls and friction, not an unbreakable lock.

1. Set the Shorts Feed Limit to Zero

YouTube now includes a dedicated Shorts feed limit in its mobile app. To set it:

1. Sign in to the YouTube app.
2. Tap the You tab.
3. Open Settings → Time management.
4. Tap Shorts feed limit.
5. Choose zero.

When you reach the limit, YouTube displays a reminder. According to YouTube’s help documentation, you can dismiss or ignore that reminder. So zero minutes is not the same as removing the Shorts feature or placing it behind a password.

The reminder adds another decision point before continued use, but it can be ignored and this guide does not establish that it reduces use.

If you do not see the option, it may not be available for your account or device. YouTube’s menus and feature availability can differ by account, app version, and device. Use the remaining steps even if this particular control is not available.

2. Tell YouTube to Show Fewer Shorts

The zero-minute limit acts after you enter the Shorts feed. This setting reduces some of the invitations to enter it.

In the YouTube mobile app:

1. Go to the Home feed.
2. Find a grid of Shorts.
3. Tap the More menu above the grid.
4. Choose Show fewer Shorts.

This is preference feedback, not a permanent off switch. Shorts may still appear in search results, recommendations, or other parts of YouTube.

You can also use Not interested on videos and Don’t recommend channel when a channel repeatedly pulls the feed away from what you want. These actions provide recommendation feedback; YouTube does not guarantee that repeating them has a cumulative effect.

3. Remove the Home Feed’s Power

The Home feed is designed to answer, What might keep you watching? Search and Subscriptions answer more intentional questions: What did I come to find? and Who did I choose to follow?

If you do not want video recommendations on Home, YouTube says you can delete and turn off your watch history. If little or no prior watch history remains, recommendations that depend on that history may disappear from Home; other Google Account activity can still influence recommendations elsewhere.

This is the strongest built-in change in this guide, so understand the tradeoff:

• recommendations that depend on watch history may disappear from Home
• your watch history will no longer update while it is paused
• using YouTube’s bulk DELETE control also deletes search history for the selected period
• features that depend on watch history may become less useful
• search, subscriptions, playlists, and direct links still work

If you value watch history, skip this step and change how you enter YouTube instead.

4. Stop Entering Through Home

Changing the doorway is often easier than winning a fresh decision against the same feed every time.

On Your Phone

• Open YouTube from a saved video link, notification from a chosen channel, or search result.
• Use the Subscriptions tab before looking at Home.
• Save useful videos to Watch later, then open that list with a specific choice in mind.
• Remove the YouTube icon from your first home screen so opening it requires one deliberate step.

On Desktop

• Bookmark your Subscriptions page and Watch later playlist.
• Use browser or operating-system search to find the video before opening YouTube.
• Close the tab when the chosen video ends instead of returning to Home.
• Open videos in a focused window with unrelated tabs closed.

The principle is simple: arrive with a destination. A search query, subscription, or saved link gives the session an end condition. Home gives it another recommendation.

5. Turn Off Autoplay and Unwanted Notifications

Shorts are only one continuation mechanism. A long-form video can also become an unplanned chain when the next video starts automatically.

Turn off Autoplay in the video player on the devices where you watch. Then review YouTube’s notification settings and keep only the alerts that serve a purpose. Current viewer settings include Recommended videos, product updates, and promotional content; keep or disable each according to what you actually want to receive.

This removes two cues:

• the automatic next video after the one you chose
• the prompt that brings you back when you had no plan to watch

6. Decide the Session Before You Open It

“Use less YouTube” is difficult to act on. A small session rule is clearer:

• “I am opening YouTube to watch the 12-minute repair guide.”
• “I will check my subscriptions and choose one video.”
• “I have 20 minutes, and I will stop when the timer rings.”
• “I am searching for an answer; I will leave after I find it.”

Write the rule before opening the app if YouTube is a strong habit. The sentence gives you something concrete to compare against when the feed offers a detour.

On Android or Chrome, minded can place that decision point at the door. Select YouTube as a site or app you want to use more intentionally, then choose your purpose or a short duration before continuing to its feed. On Android 10 and later, the current flow requires minded’s accessibility service to observe app and window changes and Display over other apps to show the prompt; optional Usage Access validates detection and calculates usage time. Review the complete permission and platform-storage disclosure. minded does not remove Shorts; its prompt asks what you came to do before continuing.

7. Give Short-Form Boredom a Short Replacement

Shorts fit into tiny gaps: waiting for water to boil, avoiding the first minute of work, lying in bed, or standing in a queue. A replacement has to fit the same gap.

Try one option that is available without preparation:

• read one saved article paragraph
• review five flashcards
• stretch your shoulders and neck
• send a message to one person
• add an idea to a note
• look away from the screen and let the gap stay empty

That last option matters. It gives you a chance to practice leaving ordinary quiet unfilled. Our guide to the science of boredom explains why a little unfilled time can be useful.

A Minimal Setup That Takes Five Minutes

If you only do the highest-value steps, use this sequence:

1. Set the Shorts feed limit to zero.
2. Tap Show fewer Shorts on Home.
3. Turn off Autoplay.
4. Disable recommended-video notifications.
5. Bookmark Subscriptions or Watch later and enter through that page.
6. Add a pause before YouTube if you still open it automatically.

Test the setup for a week. Measure whether you enter Shorts less often and whether a planned video still turns into an unplanned session. Total YouTube minutes alone cannot tell the difference between a useful course and an hour of swiping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Completely Disable YouTube Shorts?

YouTube provides a zero-minute Shorts feed limit and an option to show fewer Shorts, but its own documentation says the limit reminder can be dismissed or ignored. One adds a dismissible reminder and the other requests fewer Shorts; neither blocks access or removes every Short.

Will Turning Off Watch History Delete My Saved Videos?

No. Pausing watch history stops new watches from being recorded; deleting existing watch history is a separate action. Your subscriptions, playlists, and Watch later list remain available. Be aware that using YouTube’s bulk DELETE control for watch history also deletes search history for the selected period. YouTube recommends deleting and turning off watch history if your goal is to remove recommendations that depend on it from Home.

How Do I Remove Shorts From the YouTube Home Page?

Use Show fewer Shorts on the Shorts grid. To remove personalized Home recommendations more broadly, YouTube recommends deleting and turning off watch history. That changes other recommendation features too, so choose it only if the tradeoff suits you.

Can I Keep YouTube for Tutorials but Avoid Shorts?

Yes. Enter through Search, Subscriptions, Watch later, or direct links; set the Shorts limit to zero; turn off Autoplay; and close YouTube when the chosen video ends. This preserves the library while weakening the feed.

Do I Need a Third-Party Shorts Blocker?

Try the official controls and intentional entry points first. If they are too easy to override, add a reputable browser or app-level tool that creates friction before YouTube opens. Review permissions carefully before installing any extension that can read or modify website content.

Keep the Video You Chose. Skip the Feed You Did Not.

YouTube can be a remarkable library and an extremely effective distraction in the same session. You do not need to decide that the entire platform is good or bad. Decide what you came for, make Shorts harder to enter, and leave when the chosen video is over.

If the same loop appears across several apps, start with How to Stop Doomscrolling on Android or the broader guide to fighting doomscrolling.

Sources and Further Reading

• Set a Shorts feed limit - YouTube Help
• Manage your recommendations and search results - YouTube Help
• View, delete, or turn on or off watch history - YouTube Help
• Manage YouTube notifications - YouTube Help
• minded on Google Play - Google Play

Add a pause before the next scroll.

minded creates a small moment of intention before distracting tabs, feeds, and phone habits take over.

Try minded

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