Block the feed, keep the app4 min read
How to Turn Off YouTube Shorts for Real in 2026
YouTube's own way to turn off YouTube Shorts, the 0 minute Shorts feed limit added in April 2026, is a reminder rather than a block: you can ignore it for the rest of the day in one tap, and Shorts still reach you through search, channel pages and recommendations. Turning Shorts off for real takes a blocker that closes the Shorts player itself.
On this page (6 sections)
In April 2026 YouTube let you set the Shorts feed limit to 0 minutes, and a lot of headlines said you could finally turn off YouTube Shorts. Try it and you find a limit screen with a way past it: ignore the limit for today, one tap, and the Shorts feed is back until midnight. That is a speed bump, not a switch.
If you want YouTube without Shorts, you need something that stops the Shorts player itself and does not ask whether you are sure. Here is what YouTube's setting does and does not do, and how to turn off YouTube Shorts for real on Android and iPhone while keeping search, subscriptions and normal videos.
Why YouTube's 0 minute limit is not a block
The Shorts feed limit lives in Settings, under Time management. It was built as a time limit, and it still behaves like one, even at zero:
- Ignore for today. When the limit screen appears, one tap dismisses it for the rest of the day. The moment you most want Shorts is the moment that tap is easiest.
- Shorts in search. Search for almost anything and Shorts are mixed into the results, limit or not.
- Shorts on channel pages. Every channel with Shorts keeps its Shorts section.
- Shorts in recommendations and Subscriptions. They still turn up beside and after the videos you watch.
- The player. Open one Short from any of those places and you are in the full screen player, one swipe from the next, which is the part that turns a minute into an hour.
So the setting adds a pause before the Shorts feed and leaves every other door open. For some people a pause is enough. If you are reading this, it probably is not.
Turn off YouTube Shorts for real in four steps
Install Fluid Friction
Get it on Google Play or on the App Store. There is no account to make, and Shorts blocking is free on both.
Open YouTube the way your phone allows
On Android you keep using the real YouTube app. On iPhone, open YouTube inside Fluid Friction, because iOS does not let any app change another app.
Turn on Block Shorts
On Android, Fluid Friction closes the Shorts player the moment it opens, from any door: search, channels, recommendations or a link. On iPhone, one switch hides the Shorts shelf, the Shorts tab and the Shorts player.
Move the unblocked route out of reach
On iPhone, move the YouTube app off your home screen so the version without Shorts is the one you open. The 0 minute feed limit in the YouTube app can stay on as a backstop.
On Android: blocked inside the real YouTube app
Android lets an app see which screen is in front of you, with your permission, which is how a blocker can tell the Shorts player apart from a normal video. With Block Shorts on, Fluid Friction closes the Shorts player as soon as it opens. There is no ignore for today button. Search, subscriptions, playlists, comments and normal videos are untouched, in the same YouTube app you already use.
That covers exactly what the 0 minute limit leaves open: the Short in your search results, the one on a channel page, the one in your Subscriptions. The full setup, including the price comparison with other Shorts blockers, is in how to block YouTube Shorts on Android.
On iPhone: YouTube with no route into Shorts
On iPhone no app can reach inside YouTube's own app, so Fluid Friction opens YouTube's mobile site in its own browser and hides Shorts there: the shelf, the tab and the player. Search Only mode can hide the home feed as well, so YouTube becomes a search box and the video you came for.
You do not have to sign in to try it. YouTube works logged out in the browser, and signing in to your own Google account happens on Google's page, not ours. The steps and the trade offs are in how to block YouTube Shorts on iPhone.
Which method fits which problem
| What you want | Use |
|---|---|
| A pause before the Shorts feed, nothing to install | YouTube's Shorts feed limit at 0 minutes |
| Shorts gone, with no ignore button | A Shorts blocker that closes the player |
| No Shorts from search, channels or Subscriptions | A Shorts blocker that closes the player |
| Less YouTube overall | A Screen Time or Digital Wellbeing limit on the app |
| No endless next video after the one you chose | Turn off YouTube recommendations |
| To keep scrolling, just not on autopilot | Scroll friction on the feeds you keep |
The 0 minute limit is better than what YouTube offered before, a shelf you could hide for 30 days. It is still a reminder inside the app that profits from you changing your mind. Blocking the player is what actually turns Shorts off.
Common questions
Can you turn off YouTube Shorts completely in settings?
No. The Shorts feed limit at 0 minutes shows a limit screen you can ignore for the rest of the day in one tap, and it does not cover Shorts in search, on channel pages or in recommendations. A blocker that closes the Shorts player is needed for a real block.
Where is the Shorts feed limit in YouTube?
In the YouTube app, open Settings, then Time management, and turn on the Shorts feed limit in the daily limits section, then choose 0 minutes. It rolled out gradually from April 2026, so update the app if you cannot see it.
Why can I still watch Shorts after setting the limit to 0?
Because the limit screen can be ignored for the day, and because it only covers the Shorts feed. Shorts in search results, on channel pages and in recommendations are not part of that feed, and tapping one opens the full screen player.
Can I block Shorts but keep the rest of YouTube?
Yes. A Shorts blocker such as Fluid Friction closes the Shorts player and hides the Shorts tab and shelf, while search, subscriptions, playlists and normal videos keep working. On Android it works inside the real YouTube app.
Does blocking Shorts work on iPhone?
Yes, inside Fluid Friction's browser, where the Shorts shelf, tab and player are hidden. iOS does not let any app change YouTube's own app, so on iPhone the blocked version is the browser one, and the YouTube app is best moved off the home screen.
Is there a free way to turn off YouTube Shorts?
Yes. Fluid Friction's Shorts blocking is free on both stores with no account, and YouTube's feed limit is free too. The optional Pro subscription only adds cosmetic extras and unlimited cloud AI.
