What happens to YouTube Home when you turn off watch history (iPhone, 2026)
If you pause watch history and have no relevant recent history left, YouTube's help says features like recommendations on the Home page are removed. YouTube's help on feeds adds that the top bar of feeds, which includes Subs, is not visible while watch history is paused or turned off. To get recommendations back, turn history on again on the same Controls tab and select "Include the YouTube videos you watch." If you want Home recommendations gone but your history kept, minulo can hide them for free.
Written by Ayumu Kitabayashi, the developer of minulo. Facts about YouTube come from YouTube Help pages listed below, checked on 2026-10-25. Menu names can change with app updates.
| What you do | What happens to Home | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Pause watch history (Settings › Manage all history › Controls) | Videos you watch from now on are not saved to your history. Home recommendations are removed once you have no relevant or significant recent history. | If you still have a lot of recent history, pausing alone may leave recommendations in place. YouTube's help pairs pausing with deleting. |
| Delete watch history | YouTube no longer bases future recommendations on the videos you deleted. | Using DELETE also deletes your search history for the time frame you choose. |
| Turn watch history back on | Home shows recommendations again as you start watching videos. | Videos you watched while history was off stay out of your history. |
| minulo (free) | Opens YouTube with Home recommendations and Shorts hidden. Your watch history can stay on. | Only inside minulo. The official YouTube app does not change. |
What YouTube's help says happens to Home
YouTube's help gives two conditions. When you have no relevant or significant recent watch history, and you have said you don't want future recommendations based on that history, YouTube features like recommendations on the Home page are removed. It gives a new user who hasn't watched any videos yet as an example.
The help page on feeds says that feeds and the top bar are not visible if your watch history is paused or turned off. That top bar is where Subs, Music, Live and custom feeds sit in the iPhone app, so they go away together with the recommendations.
Search keeps working. Your search history is a separate setting on the same Controls tab, called "Include your searches on YouTube."
How to pause watch history on iPhone
- Sign in to the YouTube app.
- Tap your profile picture.
- Tap Settings, then Manage all history.
- Tap the Controls tab.
- Unselect Include the YouTube videos you watch.
If you are signed out, go to Settings › History & privacy and tap pause watch history.
To empty Home sooner, delete your history as well: in Manage all history, tap the delete icon next to a video, or tap DELETE to remove more at once. YouTube notes that using DELETE also deletes your search history for the time frame you pick.
How to turn watch history back on
- Tap your profile picture in the YouTube app.
- Tap Settings, then Manage all history.
- Tap the Controls tab.
- Select Include the YouTube videos you watch again.
YouTube's help only writes out the steps for pausing. Turning history back on is the same option selected again. On a computer, the same setting is on the Controls tab of My Activity.
YouTube's help says that once you start watching videos, Home shows recommended videos based on your preferences and activity. Videos you watched while history was off won't show up in your history, so they won't feed back in.
What minulo does and doesn't do
minulo is an iPhone app that opens YouTube's official website inside the app. With the gear next to YouTube you can hide Home recommendations and Shorts, and Subscriptions stay. Subscriptions, Watch later and search open straight from the minulo home screen. You don't need to pause your watch history for this, so your history and the recommendations you get elsewhere keep working. Hiding is free.
The official YouTube app itself does not change. minulo can lock it with Screen Time, free for up to 2 hours per block. While it is locked, its notifications don't arrive, and minulo sends none of its own. minulo Pro adds schedules by day and time, longer blocks, Hard Mode and multiple block lists. There is no Android version. minulo is made by the author of this page.
Does turning off YouTube watch history remove Home recommendations?
It can. YouTube's help says Home recommendations are removed when you have no relevant or significant recent watch history and have said you don't want recommendations based on it. If you still have recent history, delete it as well as pausing.
Why is my YouTube Home page empty?
If your watch history is paused and there is little or no recent history, YouTube removes recommendations from Home. YouTube's help says a new user who hasn't watched any videos yet sees the same thing.
Where did the Subs feed go after I paused my history?
YouTube's help on feeds says the feeds and the top bar are not visible while watch history is paused or turned off. Subs is one of those feeds. The help page points you to turning watch history back on.
How do I turn YouTube watch history back on?
In the YouTube app, tap your profile picture, then Settings, Manage all history, and the Controls tab. Select "Include the YouTube videos you watch" again. Home shows recommendations again once you start watching videos.
Can I keep my watch history and still hide Home recommendations?
Not with a YouTube setting we could find. In minulo you can hide Home recommendations and Shorts while your history stays on, and Subscriptions, Watch later and search keep working. It's free.
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