Can you turn off YouTube Shorts? What works on iPhone (2026)

There's no switch that turns YouTube Shorts off, but minulo hides them for free while normal videos, search and subscriptions keep working. Inside YouTube you can only limit or lower Shorts: set the Shorts feed limit to 0 (adults can dismiss it), choose Show fewer Shorts, tap the X on the Shorts shelf on Home where it appears (news reports say it comes back after 30 days), or turn off watch history to empty Home recommendations. iPhone Screen Time blocks the whole YouTube app, not just Shorts. On a supervised teen account, a parent can set the Shorts timer to zero.

Updated 2026-10-26

Written by Ayumu Kitabayashi, the developer of minulo. Facts about YouTube come from YouTube Help, checked on 2026-10-26. The X on the Shorts shelf and the April 2026 zero-minute option come from the articles under Sources, and we say which one says what. Menu names can change with app updates.

Option	What happens to Shorts	Catch	Normal videos
Shorts feed limit set to 0 (YouTube app)	A limit screen appears in the Shorts feed	Adults can dismiss it. YouTube's help covers the Shorts feed and gives app steps only	Stay
Show fewer Shorts (YouTube app)	Fewer Shorts on Home and Watch Next	Feedback, not a switch. No period given. Undo in My Activity	Stay
X on the Shorts shelf (reported)	The shelf leaves Home	30 days, per SlashGear and GeekChamp. Not in YouTube Help, and not on every account	Stay
Turn off watch history	Home recommendations are removed once you have no relevant recent history	Your history stops being saved. The help doesn't say the Shorts tab goes	Stay
Supervised teen account	A parent can set the Shorts timer, zero included	Only for supervised teen accounts	Stay
iPhone Screen Time	Blocked with the whole app	Can't target Shorts only	Blocked too
minulo	Shorts shelf and Shorts tab hidden; Shorts links open in the normal player	Free. Only inside minulo; the official app doesn't change	Stay, with subscriptions, Watch later and search

Is there a switch that turns Shorts off?

No. We found no setting in YouTube Help that turns Shorts off on an adult account. YouTube's help lists where viewers find Shorts: the Shorts tab at the bottom of the app, search results, the YouTube homepage, channel pages, Subscriptions and notifications. Each built-in option below covers only part of that list, and most of them lower Shorts rather than remove them.

Set the Shorts feed limit to 0

Sign in to the YouTube app.
Tap the You tab, then Settings.
Tap Time management.
Tap Shorts feed limit and choose 0 from the list.

When you reach the limit, YouTube shows a reminder, and its help says you are "prompted with an option to dismiss or ignore your set limit." So on an adult account it is a reminder, not a lock. The help only talks about the Shorts feed: it doesn't say whether the limit also applies to Shorts on Home, in search results or on channel pages, and it gives steps for the YouTube app only. See the Shorts feed limit explained.

Show fewer Shorts and the X on the Shorts shelf

On Home, scroll to a grid of Shorts, tap More at the top of the grid and choose Show fewer Shorts. YouTube's help describes it as feedback that shows fewer Shorts on pages such as Home and Watch Next. It gives no period, and you can undo it in My Activity under Other activity.

Some people also see an X on the Shorts shelf on Home. YouTube's help doesn't describe it, but SlashGear and GeekChamp quote the message as "Shelf will be hidden for 30 days". tbreak (April 2026) found it only on the mobile website, and GeekChamp (May 2026) says it depends on account, region and app version. On a computer, YouTube's help describes Not interested on a section of Home, again as feedback with no period. See how long the X hides the Shorts shelf.

Turn off watch history

Tap your profile picture in the YouTube app.
Tap Settings, then Manage all history.
Tap the Controls tab.
Unselect Include the YouTube videos you watch.

YouTube's help says that when you have no relevant or significant recent watch history and have chosen not to get recommendations based on it, recommendations on the Home page are removed. If you still have a lot of recent history, delete it as well. The trade-offs: your history stops being saved, YouTube's help on feeds says the top bar with Subs is not visible while history is paused, and the help doesn't say the Shorts tab or Shorts in search go away. See what happens to Home when history is off.

Screen Time and supervised teen accounts

iPhone Screen Time can limit or block the whole YouTube app, but it can't target Shorts only, so the videos you wanted to watch are blocked too. Apple doesn't document blocking just the /shorts address in Safari.

On a supervised teen account, a parent can set how long the teen spends scrolling Shorts. In January 2026 YouTube said an option to set the timer to zero was coming soon, and in April 2026 YouTube said the zero option is now live for all parents. This applies only to supervised teen accounts.

Turn off Shorts in minulo and keep normal videos

Install minulo, tap Add a service on the home screen and choose YouTube.
Tap the gear next to YouTube and turn on Hide the Shorts shelf, Hide the Shorts tab and Send Shorts links to the normal player. Home recommendations is there too, if you only want subscriptions.
Subscriptions, Watch later and search open straight from the minulo home screen.
Optional: in the Block tab, lock the official YouTube app with Screen Time, free for up to 2 hours per block. Its Open in minulo button takes you to YouTube without Shorts.

Hiding is a setting, so it stays on until you change it, and there is no limit screen to tap past. minulo Pro adds schedules by day and time, longer blocks, Hard Mode and multiple block lists. minulo has no iPad version.

Limits, so you can decide honestly: minulo can't change the official apps, so Reels and Shorts are hidden only inside minulo. While minulo blocks an official app, that app's notifications don't arrive, and minulo sends none of its own. Posting Stories, voice messages and calls aren't available, because the web versions of these networks don't have them. minulo runs on iPhone and Mac (plus Chrome and Safari extensions), not Android, and it is new, with few ratings. See what minulo can't do.

Can you turn off YouTube Shorts?

There's no switch in YouTube, but minulo hides Shorts for free while normal videos, search and subscriptions keep working, though only inside minulo. In the YouTube app, the closest options are the Shorts feed limit at 0, which adults can dismiss, and Show fewer Shorts, which lowers Shorts rather than removing them.

Does setting the Shorts feed limit to 0 turn Shorts off?

No. At 0 minutes a reminder appears in the Shorts feed, and YouTube's help says you can dismiss or ignore it. It doesn't say Shorts leave Home, search or channel pages.

Can I turn off Shorts but keep normal YouTube videos?

Not in the YouTube app itself. Open YouTube in minulo with Hide the Shorts shelf and Hide the Shorts tab turned on; normal videos, subscriptions, Watch later and search keep working. Hiding is free.

Does turning off watch history turn off Shorts?

Not as far as YouTube's help says. It removes Home recommendations when you have no relevant recent history, but it doesn't say the Shorts tab or Shorts in search go away, and your history stops being saved.

Can any app turn off Shorts in the official YouTube app?

No. On iPhone no app can change what another app shows. minulo can lock the official YouTube app with Screen Time and send you to its Shorts-free view instead. While it is locked, YouTube notifications don't arrive.

Can parents turn off Shorts for a teen?

On a supervised teen account, a parent can set the Shorts timer to zero. YouTube announced the Shorts timer for teens in January 2026 and said in April 2026 that the zero option is now live for all parents.

Sources

How to block YouTube Shorts →Free YouTube Shorts Blocker for iPhone (2026) →YouTube's Shorts feed limit explained →How long the X hides the Shorts shelf →What happens to Home when you turn off watch history →Remove the Shorts shelf on youtube.com →What minulo can't do →