How to reset your YouTube recommendations on iPhone (2026)
We could not find a single reset button for recommendations in YouTube's help as of October 2026. What the help does say is that you can start fresh by deleting your watch and search history, and that deleted videos and searches no longer influence your recommendations. Not interested, Don't recommend channel and Show fewer Shorts are stored separately, and you clear them in My Activity. Recommendations build up again as you watch. If you want Home recommendations and Shorts gone instead, minulo hides 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 clear | Where | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Watch history | YouTube app: profile picture › Settings › Manage all history | Deleted videos no longer shape future recommendations. DELETE also removes search history for the same time frame. |
| Search history | Same screen, or pause it on the Controls tab | Deleted searches no longer influence recommendations or show as suggestions in the search box. |
| Not interested and Don't recommend channel | My Activity › Other Google activity | Your earlier feedback stops tuning your recommendations. |
| Show fewer Shorts | My Activity › Other activity | Undoes your choice to see fewer Shorts. |
| minulo (free) | The gear next to YouTube | Hides Home recommendations and Shorts without deleting anything. Subscriptions stay. |
Step 1: delete your watch and search history
- Sign in to the YouTube app and tap your profile picture.
- Tap Settings, then Manage all history.
- Tap the delete icon next to a video or search, or tap DELETE to remove more at once and pick a time frame.
YouTube's help says that if you delete some or all of your watch history, YouTube won't base future recommendations on that content, and that search entries you delete no longer influence your recommendations. Using DELETE on either list removes both watch and search history for the time frame you choose.
On a computer, My Activity also has Auto-delete under YouTube History › Manage history, where you pick a time range for older history to be deleted automatically.
Step 2: clear Not interested and Don't recommend channel
Every time you tap More (⋮) and choose Not interested or Don't recommend channel, YouTube keeps that feedback. To clear all of it:
- Go to My Activity and sign in.
- Find Other Google activity in the left menu or under the My Activity banner.
- Find YouTube 'Not interested' feedback and select Delete.
Step 3: clear Show fewer Shorts
If you once tapped Show fewer Shorts at the top of a Shorts grid on Home, that choice is also kept in My Activity. Go to My Activity, open Other activity, and under Show fewer Shorts select Delete.
Only do this if you want more Shorts back. If you want fewer, leave it as it is.
What a fresh start does not do
It does not switch recommendations off. YouTube's help says Home shows recommended videos based on your preferences and activity once you start watching again, so the feed fills up again from what you watch next. Liked videos and your Google Account activity can also influence recommendations, according to the same help page.
If you want no recommendations on Home at all, YouTube's help says to delete and turn off your watch history. See what happens to Home when watch history is off.
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. Nothing is deleted from your account, and you can turn it off again whenever you like. 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.
Can you reset YouTube recommendations?
There is no single reset button that we could find in YouTube's help as of October 2026. The help says you can start fresh by deleting your watch and search history. Feedback such as Not interested and Show fewer Shorts is cleared separately in My Activity.
Does deleting watch history reset my recommendations?
It removes what those videos told YouTube. The help says YouTube won't base future recommendations on deleted content. Recommendations build up again from what you watch next.
How do I undo Not interested on YouTube?
Go to My Activity, open Other Google activity, find YouTube 'Not interested' feedback and select Delete. This also clears Don't recommend channel feedback.
How do I get Shorts back after choosing Show fewer Shorts?
Go to My Activity, open Other activity, and under Show fewer Shorts select Delete.
How do I stop YouTube recommendations completely?
YouTube's help says that if you don't want video recommendations on Home, you can delete and turn off your watch history. If you'd rather keep your history, minulo hides Home recommendations and Shorts for free.
Sources
- YouTube Help: Manage your recommendations & search results
- YouTube Help: View, delete, or turn on or off watch history (iPhone & iPad)
- YouTube Help: View, delete, or turn on or off watch history (computer, auto-delete)
- YouTube Help: View or delete your YouTube search history (iPhone & iPad)
- YouTube Help: Find your way around YouTube (iPhone & iPad)
- App Store (US): minulo
