How to use YouTube without Shorts on iPad and Mac (Safari, 2026)
YouTube has no setting that turns Shorts off, on iPad or on a Mac. YouTube's help offers ways to see fewer of them instead. In the YouTube app on iPad you can tap Show fewer Shorts on a Shorts grid on Home, and set a Shorts feed limit, even to zero, though the reminder can be dismissed. On youtube.com in Safari on a Mac you can mark a section on Home as Not interested, and if you turn off watch history and have no recent history, YouTube removes recommendations from the homepage. On iPad, Screen Time can also block websites by URL. minulo, the app that hides Shorts on iPhone, has no iPad version.
Written by Ayumu Kitabayashi, the developer of minulo. Facts about YouTube and iPad settings come from the sources listed below, checked on 2026-10-25. Menu names can change with app updates.
| Method | Where | What it does | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Show fewer Shorts (More at the top of a Shorts grid) | YouTube app on iPad | Tells YouTube to recommend fewer Shorts on pages like Home. | Fewer, not none. You can undo it in My Activity. |
| Shorts feed limit (You › Settings › Time management) | YouTube app on iPad | Shows a reminder after the time you choose in the Shorts feed. Zero is one of the options. | You can dismiss or ignore the reminder. The help page gives steps only for the app. |
| Not interested (More next to a video or section on Home) | youtube.com in Safari on a Mac | Tells YouTube you are not interested in that video or section. | YouTube's help doesn't say how long a section stays away. |
| Turn off watch history (My Activity › Controls) | Your Google Account, any device | With no relevant recent history, YouTube removes features like homepage recommendations. | YouTube stops saving what you watch. The help page does not say that Shorts disappear. |
| Screen Time (Web Content › Never Allow) | Safari on iPad | Blocks specific websites by URL. | We have not tested whether a Shorts address blocks only Shorts. |
Is there a setting to turn off Shorts?
We could not find one in YouTube's help as of October 2026, for the app or for youtube.com. The help pages talk about seeing fewer Shorts and limiting the Shorts feed, not removing Shorts. The steps below are what YouTube itself offers, split by device.
On iPad: Show fewer Shorts
- Open the YouTube app and go to Home.
- Scroll to a grid of Shorts.
- Tap More at the top of the grid.
- Tap Show fewer Shorts.
To undo it, go to My Activity, choose Other activity in the left menu, and select Delete under Show fewer Shorts.
On iPad: set a Shorts feed limit
- Sign in to the YouTube app.
- Tap the You tab, then Settings.
- Tap Time management, then Shorts feed limit.
- Pick a time. Zero is one of the options.
When you reach the limit in the Shorts feed, YouTube shows a reminder and gives you an option to dismiss or ignore it. YouTube's help page describes this setting for the YouTube app only and says nothing about youtube.com.
On a Mac (Safari): Not interested and Don't recommend channel
- On youtube.com, find the video, playlist, post or section on Home that you don't want.
- Click More next to its title.
- Click Not interested.
For a channel that keeps showing up, click More next to one of its videos or Shorts and select Don't recommend channel. Both kinds of feedback can be cleared later in My Activity under YouTube 'Not interested' feedback.
On a Mac (Safari): turn off watch history
- Go to My Activity (myactivity.google.com) and sign in.
- Click the Controls tab in the left sidebar.
- Select Turn off.
YouTube's help says that if you have no relevant or significant recent watch history and have chosen not to get recommendations based on it, features like recommendations on the YouTube homepage are removed. This is a Google Account setting, so it is not limited to the Mac. Videos you watch while it is off are not saved to your history. The help page does not say whether Shorts also go away in search results or on channel pages.
On iPad: block a website with Screen Time
Apple says you can block specific websites by URL. Go to Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn it on, then tap App Store, Media, Web, & Games › Web Content. Select Limit Adult Websites, tap Add Website below Never Allow, and enter the address. We have not tested whether entering the Shorts address of youtube.com blocks only Shorts pages, so check it on your own iPad before relying on it.
What minulo does and doesn't do
minulo is an iPhone app. It opens YouTube's official website inside the app, and you choose what to hide with the gear next to YouTube: Hide the Shorts shelf, Hide the Shorts tab, Send Shorts links to the normal player, and Home recommendations (subscriptions stay). 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, and 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.
minulo has no iPad version, so on iPad the YouTube settings above are what you have. Our limitations page lists Mac, Chrome and Safari among the places minulo runs; this page does not cover those versions. There is no Android version.
Can you turn off YouTube Shorts on iPad?
Not with a YouTube setting, as far as YouTube's help shows in October 2026. In the YouTube app you can tap More on a Shorts grid on Home and choose Show fewer Shorts, and you can set a Shorts feed limit under You, Settings, Time management. The limit can be zero, but YouTube lets you dismiss or ignore the reminder.
Can you hide Shorts on youtube.com in Safari on a Mac?
YouTube has no switch for it. On youtube.com you can click More next to a video or a section on Home and choose Not interested. If you turn off watch history in My Activity and have no relevant recent history, YouTube removes recommendations from the homepage.
Does the Shorts feed limit work on youtube.com?
YouTube's help page gives steps for the YouTube app only and does not describe the setting for youtube.com in a browser, so we could not confirm it there.
How do I undo Show fewer Shorts?
Go to My Activity, choose Other activity in the left menu, and select Delete under Show fewer Shorts.
Does minulo work on iPad?
No. minulo is an iPhone app and has no iPad version. On iPhone it opens YouTube's website with the Shorts shelf, the Shorts tab and Home recommendations hidden, for free.
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