You can hide Shorts from your YouTube feed, but you cannot disable them entirely across the platform

YouTube does not offer a master switch to turn off Shorts everywhere. However, you can remove them from your home feed, search results, and recommendations using settings within the YouTube app and website. The steps differ slightly depending on whether you use YouTube on your phone, computer, or through a browser.

What you cannot do is prevent Shorts from appearing if you search for them directly or if you visit a creator's channel that posts Shorts. You also cannot stop YouTube from recommending Shorts-related content in your subscription feed or notifications. The controls available let you reduce how often they appear in places you browse casually, but not eliminate them completely.

Key Takeaways

  • You can hide the Shorts shelf from your YouTube home feed by tapping the three-dot menu next to it and selecting "Don't recommend shelf."
  • On desktop, you can collapse or ignore the Shorts section, but the option to remove it entirely is less direct than on mobile.
  • Shorts will still appear in search results and on creator channels, and hiding them from your feed does not stop YouTube from recommending Shorts videos in other contexts.
  • YouTube's recommendation system may restore the Shorts shelf to your feed after several weeks or months, requiring you to hide it again.

Hiding Shorts from your home feed on mobile

Open the YouTube app on your phone and look at your home feed. You will see a horizontal row labeled "Shorts" with thumbnail images scrolling side to side. Tap the three vertical dots (the menu icon) in the top right corner of that Shorts shelf.

A small menu will appear with options. Select "Don't recommend shelf." YouTube will remove the Shorts section from your home feed. This action applies only to the home feed—Shorts will still appear elsewhere in the app.

If the Shorts shelf reappears after a few weeks, repeat these steps. YouTube sometimes restores shelves it thinks you might want to see based on your watch history and account activity.

Hiding Shorts on desktop and web browsers

On a computer, go to YouTube.com and log into your account. Scroll down your home feed until you see the Shorts section. Unlike the mobile app, the desktop version does not always show a three-dot menu directly on the Shorts shelf.

Your best option is to scroll past the Shorts section and avoid clicking on any Shorts videos. YouTube's algorithm will gradually show you fewer Shorts if you consistently ignore them. You can also click the three dots next to individual Shorts videos and select "Don't recommend channel" or "Not interested" to train the algorithm to show you less from that creator.

Some users report that hovering over the Shorts shelf reveals a menu similar to the mobile version, but this varies depending on your browser and YouTube's current interface design.

Why Shorts still appear even after you hide them

YouTube treats the home feed, search results, recommendations, and channel pages as separate recommendation spaces. Hiding the Shorts shelf from your home feed does not affect the other spaces. If you search for a topic, Shorts videos may still appear in the results. If you visit a creator's channel and they post Shorts, those videos will display in their Shorts tab.

Additionally, YouTube's recommendation system is designed to surface content it thinks will keep you watching. If your watch history shows you have watched Shorts before, YouTube may continue recommending them in notifications, suggested videos, or your subscription feed, even if you have hidden the home feed shelf.

Using YouTube's "Not interested" option on individual Shorts

When a Shorts video appears anywhere on YouTube—in your feed, in search, or in recommendations—you can tap the three-dot menu on that specific video and select "Not interested." This tells YouTube's algorithm that you do not want to see content from that creator or on that topic.

Doing this repeatedly for Shorts videos will gradually reduce how often Shorts appear in your recommendations, though it will not remove them entirely. The more you use this option, the more YouTube learns your preferences.

This approach takes longer than hiding the entire Shorts shelf, but it gives you more control over which types of Shorts you see less of.

What happens to your watch history and subscriptions

Hiding Shorts from your feed does not affect your watch history or subscriptions. If you have watched Shorts in the past, those videos remain in your watch history unless you delete them manually. If you are subscribed to a creator who posts Shorts, you will still see their other content in your subscription feed.

To remove individual Shorts from your watch history, go to your YouTube history page, find the video, and click the X next to it. To clear your entire watch history, go to Settings, select "Privacy," and choose "Clear all watch history." Be aware that clearing your watch history may change YouTube's recommendations for a while as the algorithm relearns your preferences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will YouTube ever add a complete Shorts disable button?

YouTube has not announced plans for a master off switch for Shorts. The company treats Shorts as a core part of its platform, similar to how it treats regular videos. However, YouTube does respond to user feedback, so if enough people request this feature, it could change.

Does hiding Shorts affect my recommendations for regular videos?

No. Hiding the Shorts shelf or marking individual Shorts as "Not interested" does not change how YouTube recommends regular videos to you. The two recommendation systems operate separately.

Can I hide Shorts on YouTube TV or other YouTube apps?

YouTube TV and the YouTube Music app have different interfaces and may not show Shorts at all, or may show them differently than the main YouTube app. If you use a third-party YouTube client or smart TV app, Shorts visibility depends on how that app is built.

Why do Shorts keep coming back to my feed after I hide them?

YouTube's system periodically restores shelves it thinks you might want based on your overall activity. If you continue to hide the Shorts shelf when it reappears, YouTube will eventually learn that you do not want to see it, though this can take several cycles.