- YouTube now lets users completely disable Shorts by setting a zero-minute timer in the app’s time management settings.
- The feature extends a parental control tool originally announced in October 2025, and is now available to all teen and adult accounts.
- Shorts averages 200 billion daily views—making this the first time YouTube has offered a true opt-out for its most addictive format.
YouTube has quietly added the nuclear option for Shorts haters: a zero-minute feed limit that effectively erases the short-form video tab from your app. The feature, reported by NewsBytes on April 16, extends an existing time management setting that previously capped out at a 15-minute minimum. Now you can set it to zero—and Shorts just disappears.
The path to disable Shorts is straightforward. Open YouTube, tap the “You” tab, hit Settings, navigate to Time Management, and select “Shorts feed limit.” If your app has the update, you’ll see the option to drag that slider all the way down to nothing. No more algorithmically served 30-second clips of people reacting to other people reacting to things.
Why YouTube Finally Caved on Shorts
For years, Shorts was non-negotiable. YouTube jammed it into the home feed, the subscription tab, and practically every surface of the app—despite a persistent chorus of user complaints. The format now averages 200 billion daily views, according to CEO Neal Mohan’s 2026 letter, making it one of the most consumed content formats on the planet.
The zero-minute timer started life as a parental control. YouTube announced in January that parents using Google Family Link would be able to set their kids’ Shorts timer to zero—an industry first. The logic was simple: parents should decide what their children watch, not an algorithm optimized for session duration.
Extending that same power to regular adult accounts is a notable concession. It signals that YouTube recognizes the doomscrolling problem isn’t just a parenting concern—it’s a design issue. Other time management tools like “Take a Break” reminders and bedtime nudges are gentle suggestions. A zero-minute limit is a wall.
For teen accounts managed through Family Link, the feature works slightly differently. When parents set the limit to zero, their kids can’t view any Shorts at all in the YouTube app. Regular adult accounts simply stop the Shorts feed from appearing, though individual Shorts can still be accessed through direct links or search.
The broader short-form video landscape is watching. TikTok and Instagram Reels offer no equivalent kill switch. You can limit overall app time on those platforms, but you can’t surgically remove Reels or TikTok’s For You feed the way YouTube now lets you nuke Shorts. Whether this becomes a competitive advantage or a revenue headache—Shorts carries its own ad load—remains to be seen.
YouTube had 2.7 billion monthly active users as of early 2026. Even if a small percentage use the zero-minute option, the signal matters: people want control over their attention, and they’ll use it when given the chance.
