How to Block or Disable YouTube Shorts on Android (and Keep YouTube)
You can't fully disable or turn off YouTube Shorts with one switch, but you can get close. The quickest free option is YouTube's own Shorts feed limit set to zero (profile picture, Settings, Time management). It pauses the Shorts feed for the day, but the reminder can be dismissed and Shorts still turn up in places like Subscriptions.
If you want the endless swipe gone while long videos, search and subscriptions keep working, use an app that blocks the swipe inside the Shorts feed.
The four ways, side by side
| Method | Stops the endless swipe | Long videos still work | Easy to get around | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shorts limit set to zero | Yes, until you dismiss it | Yes | Yes, one tap | Free |
| Swipe blocker app | Yes | Yes | Only by pausing it on purpose | Free or paid, depending on the app |
| Android app timer | Only by locking all of YouTube | No | Yes, you can extend it | Free |
| Not interested | No | Yes | Not applicable | Free |
Method 1: Set YouTube's Shorts limit to zero
YouTube added a daily timer for the Shorts feed in October 2025. In April 2026 a zero-minute option appeared, which is the closest thing YouTube offers to an off switch.
- Open your profile. Open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture.
- Go to Time management. Tap Settings, then Time management. On some versions it sits under General.
- Set the Shorts feed limit. Choose the Shorts feed limit and select zero minutes, or a small daily budget such as 15 minutes.
- Check it worked. Open the Shorts tab. Once the limit is reached, YouTube shows a notice that Shorts scrolling is paused for the day.
What it doesn't do: the notice can be dismissed, so it works as a firm reminder rather than a lock. Reports on the zero-minute option also note that Shorts can still appear in other parts of the app, such as the Subscriptions feed. If you know you tap through reminders late at night, the next method is the one that holds.
Tapping through the limit every evening? Dam It! removes the swipe itself, so there is nothing to dismiss. Hold the dashboard button when you really do want to scroll.
Method 2: Block the Shorts swipe with an app
A swipe blocker leaves YouTube installed and working and intercepts only the gesture that loads the next Short. The Short you are on keeps playing; the next one never arrives. Because it works inside the real app, everything else stays: long videos, comments, search, subscriptions, and Shorts you open on purpose from a link or a thumbnail.
Setting up Dam It! takes about a minute:
- Install Dam It!. Install it from Google Play. There is no account and no sign-up form.
- Enable the Accessibility Service. Grant the one permission it asks for, Android's Accessibility Service. That is how it can tell when you are in the Shorts feed and stop the swipe. It reads no screen content and sends nothing off your phone.
- Open Shorts and swipe. Swipe up in the Shorts feed. The current video keeps playing and the next one doesn't load. Everything outside the feed is unchanged.
- Pause when you choose to. Hold the button on the Dam It! dashboard to pause protection, for the evenings you actually want to scroll.
Other apps work in a similar way; ScrollGuard, for example, also removes short-form feeds and has a free tier. Dam It! is a paid app with a 7-day free trial and covers YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok and TikTok Lite.
Method 3: Put an app timer on YouTube
Android's Digital Wellbeing, built into most phones, can give any app a daily timer. When the time runs out, the app's icon greys out and it pauses until midnight.
- Open Digital Wellbeing. Open Settings, then Digital Wellbeing and parental controls.
- Find YouTube. Open the dashboard and tap YouTube in the list of apps.
- Set the timer. Tap App timer and choose a daily limit.
The catch: a timer can't tell a Short from a 40-minute lecture. If you also use YouTube for tutorials, music or work, the timer cuts those off too, which makes it tempting to switch off after a few days.
Method 4: Tell YouTube you're not interested
Every Short has a menu with a "Not interested" option. Using it shifts what the feed recommends, which helps if the problem is one kind of content. It doesn't remove the feed or the swipe, and it needs repeating, because new topics keep arriving.
What none of these methods do
- They don't hide every Short. A clip a friend sends you still opens, and that's on purpose for a swipe blocker: the goal is to stop the endless chain, not the videos you choose.
- They don't change YouTube's recommendations, except Not interested.
- They don't work on iPhone in the same way. Swipe blocking relies on Android's Accessibility Service, which has no equivalent on iOS.
Which one should you use?
- You rarely watch Shorts and want a nudge: the zero-minute limit, it's free and built in.
- You keep dismissing the limit: a swipe blocker, because the problem is the swipe, not the information.
- You want less YouTube overall: an app timer, accepting that it locks long videos too.
If you'd like to see what your current habit adds up to first, the time wasting calculator turns daily minutes into days per year.
Questions people ask
Can you disable or turn off YouTube Shorts permanently?
Not with a single switch. The closest built-in option is the Shorts feed limit set to zero minutes, which pauses the feed each day but can be dismissed. A swipe blocker app stops the Shorts swipe until you pause it yourself.
How do I get rid of YouTube Shorts and use YouTube without them?
YouTube has no setting that removes Shorts from the app. Setting the Shorts feed limit to zero gets you closest for free; a swipe blocker such as Dam It! stops the swipe to the next Short on Android. Both leave long videos, search and subscriptions working.
Is there a YouTube Shorts blocker for Android?
Yes. Apps such as Dam It! and ScrollGuard block the Shorts feed inside the real YouTube app instead of locking all of YouTube. Dam It! uses Android's Accessibility Service and covers Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok and TikTok Lite.
Does blocking Shorts also block normal YouTube videos?
Not with the Shorts limit or a swipe blocker. Both leave long videos, search and subscriptions alone. An Android app timer is different: it locks all of YouTube once the time is up.
Will the zero-minute limit hide Shorts in my Subscriptions?
Reports on the feature say it mainly stops the Shorts feed, and Shorts can still appear elsewhere, such as Subscriptions. Expect fewer Shorts, not none.
Can I still watch a Short someone sends me?
Yes. Opening a Short from a link or a thumbnail still works with every method here. A swipe blocker only stops the swipe to the next one.
Is there a way to block YouTube Shorts on iPhone?
Not in the same way. Swipe blockers like Dam It! use Android's Accessibility Service, which iOS doesn't offer. On iPhone, the built-in Shorts limit and Screen Time are the main options.
Is it safe to give an app Accessibility access?
It is a powerful permission, which is why Android makes you enable it by hand. Check what each app says it does with it. Dam It! says its service reads no screen content and sends nothing off the device, and it has no account and no advertising ID.