You can disable YouTube Shorts, but the method depends on your device and what "disable" means to you
YouTube does not offer a single setting that removes Shorts from your account entirely. However, you have several options: you can hide the Shorts shelf from your home feed, avoid the Shorts tab altogether, use browser extensions to block them on desktop, or switch to YouTube's desktop site instead of the app. The most effective approach depends on whether you want to stop seeing Shorts recommendations, prevent yourself from accidentally clicking into them, or remove them from view completely.
On mobile, the easiest step is to simply ignore the Shorts tab at the bottom of the YouTube app — you do not have to tap it. On desktop, you can use your browser's settings or third-party extensions to hide Shorts content. If you use YouTube through a web browser rather than the app, you have more control over what appears on your screen.
Key Takeaways
- YouTube's mobile app shows a Shorts tab at the bottom, but you can avoid it by using only the Home, Subscriptions, and Library tabs instead.
- On desktop, you can hide the Shorts shelf from your home feed by clicking the three-dot menu next to it and selecting "Don't recommend this type of content."
- Browser extensions like "Return YouTube Dislike" and "Shorts Blocker" can hide Shorts from your feed and search results on desktop.
- Using YouTube through a web browser instead of the mobile app gives you more control over what content appears, though Shorts may still show in search results.
- YouTube does not offer a built-in account setting to disable Shorts globally across all devices.
Hiding Shorts from your home feed on desktop
On a desktop computer, the Shorts shelf often appears on your YouTube home page below your recommended videos. To remove it, hover over the Shorts section and click the three vertical dots (the menu icon) in the top right corner of that shelf. A dropdown menu will appear with the option "Don't recommend this type of content." Click that option, and the Shorts shelf will disappear from your home feed.
This method works in any web browser on desktop — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge. The setting applies to that browser on that computer, not to your YouTube account globally. If you use YouTube on a different computer or switch browsers, you may need to repeat this step. The Shorts shelf may also reappear after several weeks or months, at which point you can hide it again using the same method.
Avoiding Shorts on the mobile app
The YouTube mobile app includes a Shorts tab at the bottom of the screen, between the Home and Subscriptions tabs. The simplest way to avoid Shorts is to never tap that tab. You can use YouTube entirely through the Home, Subscriptions, and Library tabs without ever seeing Shorts content.
However, Shorts may still appear in your Home feed mixed in with regular videos. If you see a Shorts video in your feed, you can tap the three-dot menu on that video and select "Don't recommend this type of content." Doing this repeatedly will train YouTube's algorithm to show you fewer Shorts in your recommendations, though it will not eliminate them completely.
Using browser extensions on desktop
Several free browser extensions can hide Shorts from YouTube on desktop. "Shorts Blocker" is available for Chrome and blocks all Shorts from appearing in your feed, search results, and recommendations. "Return YouTube Dislike" (available for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge) also includes an option to hide Shorts. Both extensions work by modifying what you see on the page without affecting your YouTube account.
To install an extension, go to your browser's extension store (Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons, or Edge Add-ons), search for the extension by name, and click "Add to [Browser]." Once installed, the extension runs automatically. You can usually adjust its settings by clicking the extension icon in your browser's toolbar. Keep in mind that extensions only work on the device and browser where you install them — they do not affect YouTube on your phone or on other computers.
Switching to YouTube's desktop website on mobile
If you access YouTube through a mobile web browser (Safari on iPhone, Chrome on Android) instead of the YouTube app, you see a different layout. The Shorts tab does not appear at the bottom of the mobile website the way it does in the app. You can bookmark YouTube.com on your phone and use it like an app by tapping "Add to Home Screen" in your browser menu.
The mobile website version of YouTube is less polished than the app — some features may load more slowly, and the layout is not optimized for touch the way the app is. However, if your main goal is to avoid the Shorts tab entirely, this approach works. Shorts may still appear in your feed or search results, but you will not have a dedicated Shorts tab tempting you to tap it.
What happens if you block Shorts with an ad blocker
Some people use general ad blockers like uBlock Origin or Adblock Plus and wonder whether these also block Shorts. Ad blockers primarily target advertisements, not YouTube's own content. While some ad blockers have community-maintained filter lists that can hide Shorts, this is not their main purpose, and the results are inconsistent across different blockers and filter lists.
If you want to block Shorts specifically, a dedicated extension like Shorts Blocker is more reliable than a general ad blocker. Ad blockers may also cause other parts of YouTube to malfunction or load incorrectly, so using one just to hide Shorts is usually not worth the trade-off.
Why YouTube does not offer a built-in disable option
YouTube treats Shorts as a core feature of the platform, similar to how it treats regular videos. The company does not provide an account-level setting to turn off Shorts entirely because Shorts are designed to compete with TikTok and other short-form video platforms. Hiding the Shorts shelf or using extensions is the closest you can get to disabling them without leaving YouTube altogether.
YouTube does allow you to customize what you see through the "Don't recommend this type of content" option and by adjusting your watch history and search history settings. These tools give you some control over your recommendations, but they do not remove Shorts as a category of content from the platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will hiding Shorts from my home feed remove them from search results?
No. Hiding the Shorts shelf only removes the dedicated Shorts section from your home page. Shorts videos may still appear when you search for topics, and they may still show up in your recommendations. To reduce Shorts in search results, use a browser extension like Shorts Blocker, which hides them across the entire site.
If I hide Shorts on my desktop, will they be hidden on my phone too?
No. Settings on desktop do not carry over to the mobile app. You would need to use the "Don't recommend this type of content" option on your phone as well, or switch to using YouTube through a mobile web browser instead of the app.
Can I disable Shorts for my entire YouTube account across all devices?
YouTube does not offer a global account setting to disable Shorts. You can only hide them on individual devices and browsers. If you want Shorts hidden everywhere you use YouTube, you would need to apply the same method (extension, browser preference, or "don't recommend" option) on each device separately.
Do I need to pay for an extension to block Shorts?
No. Shorts Blocker, Return YouTube Dislike, and other Shorts-blocking extensions are free. They are available in your browser's official extension store. Be cautious of extensions that claim to block Shorts but ask for payment or require unusual permissions.
What if I want to watch Shorts but just hide them from my home feed?
You can do this by ignoring the Shorts tab on mobile and hiding the Shorts shelf on desktop using the three-dot menu. This way, Shorts will not appear in your recommendations, but you can still access them by searching for specific creators or topics that produce Shorts content.