YouTube's New Option Lets Users Effectively Turn Off Shorts From Their Feed

YouTube has introduced a new feature that allows users to effectively turn off Shorts on the mobile app. The update adds a zero-minute option to the Shorts feed timer. As per the video-sharing platform, this allows users to hide the short-form video feed entirely from the interface. The feature is currently rolling out globally. With this move, YouTube is providing users with more control over how much time they spend on the platform.

YouTube Shorts Timer Now Lets Users Disable Feed

The platform previously introduced a YouTube Shorts timer as part of parental controls, allowing users to limit viewing between 15 minutes and two hours. After this period, the app would display a reminder to stop scrolling. With the latest update, users can now set the limit to "0 minutes", effectively disabling the Shorts feed on the home screen.

According to YouTube, users can set a daily limit for how long they scroll on Shorts, after which a prompt notifies them that scrolling is paused for the day. When set to zero, this pause is triggered immediately, meaning Shorts will no longer appear in the feed.

Instead, users will see a message indicating they have “reached [their] Shorts feed limit.”

Previously, users could only set a minimum limit of 15 minutes, making this the first time YouTube has allowed users to completely disable the Shorts feed through built-in controls. While this setting removes the infinite scroll experience from the homepage, YouTube said that Shorts may still appear in other parts of the app, such as the Subscriptions feed or search results.

As per the video-sharing platform, the feature is part of a broader effort to help users “manage how they spend their time” and customise their viewing experience. The Shorts feed limit builds on existing tools such as Take a Break and Bedtime reminders, which were introduced earlier.

The feature, notably, was first introduced for parental controls, a move that allowed guardians to restrict or block Shorts viewing for children and teens. It is now being extended to all users, including standard adult accounts.

To disable Shorts on the YouTube app, navigate to Settings > Time Management. Scroll to Daily limits and enable Shorts Feed Limit. Set the timer to 0 minutes. Once set, the Shorts feed will be hidden from the app experience.

The feature is still in the rollout phase and not yet widely available to all users. While Gadgets 360 staff was able to verify its presence, it was only seen on select devices, and not all accounts.