If you are irritated by the YT shorts and want to learn how to turn off YouTube shorts, then keep reading. Shorts are the new short-form videos on YT. They are a rip-off version of TikTok, and they are equally annoying, if not more. As with any new feature, YouTube encourages creators and viewers to engage with the short video form of content.
The more YT tries to push viewers, the harder it is to get rid of YouTube shorts. There is no direct setting to disable YT shorts on the YouTube app yet. But as usual, we have found a solution on how to turn off YouTube shorts and help you avoid the torture.
How To Turn Off Shorts In YouTube?
There are two ways you can encounter YouTube shorts on the YT app. First is the small shorts icon at the bottom of the screen. It takes you to the YT shorts feed. You cannot get rid of the shorts feed. But this section isn’t the one stirring trouble.
The shorts start to play only when you click on the shorts icon. So unless you yourself go to the section, YouTube shorts do not come your way. However, in a second way, YouTube pushes the shorts down your throats via the home feed. In between the video recommendations on your YouTube home feed, you get short recommendations. These are the worst. They are subtly placed in between the feed with the clever agenda to pull you in. But you can know how to turn off YouTube shorts on pc and mobile from the home page.
- Open the YouTube app on your phone.
- Scroll down to the shorts section in your YT home feed
- Tap on the three dots on the shorts video
- Select “Not interested.”
- Continue the same with all the other shorts videos in the horizontal list till the screen goes blank.
- Refresh the page and scroll down
- The YouTube shorts would have disappeared from your YouTube home feed.
Step 1: Find the shorts section in your YT home feed
To disable YouTube shorts from home feed, you need to go to the section where they are shown in the feed. This section is in between the different video recommendations on your home page.
Shorts can be directly viewed from the separate section that YouTube has recently launched. Just like Instagram reels, YouTube shorts have an individual feed. But we can’t turn off that page entirely. It’s inbuilt into the app. However, we can remove YT shorts from appearing on your home feed.
You need to open the YouTube app on your Android/iPhone and scroll down the home feed to find the Shorts section embedded in the feed.
Step 2: Select “Not interested” on all shorts recommendations
The next thing you need to do to turn off YT shorts is tap on the three dots on the shorts video and select “Not interested.” Continue this for every YouTube video recommendation till there is no video left on the list anymore.
Selecting “Not interested” on all the YouTube shorts in the section notifies the YT algorithm that you don’t want to see the reel-type video. The algorithm is trained to curate your home feed based on your likes and preferences so that you spend as much time on YouTube as possible.
So when you tap on “not interested” for all the YT shorts videos, the algorithm instantly picks up on it, disabling shorts for some time.
Step 3: Refresh the YouTube Home Feed
You have completed the steps to turn off YT shorts on the mobile app. Now it’s time for the moment of truth. You need to go to the top of your page and pull the screen down to refresh the feed.
Scroll down and check if the YT shorts section you found earlier is still there.
For some users, the YT shorts would have disappeared in just one try. But not everyone will succeed in disabling YT shorts in just one go. So don’t worry if you scroll down and find the shorts videos again.
Repeat the process once again. Refresh the page after you are done. Scroll down, and voila! No more YouTube shorts.
Other Ways To Disable YouTube Shorts
The “Not interested” method can temporarily disable YouTube shorts and remove them from your home feed. But if you want to get rid of the shorts videos permanently, you should try the following hacks. They are tried and tested ways to shut down the shorts feature from your YouTube app.
- Downgrade YT Version: If you want to get rid of YT shorts, you can use the older version of the app. The version before the shorts update is version 14.12.56.
- Use YouTube Vanced: YouTube Vanced is a modded version of YouTube where you can enjoy all the features and content without ads and other restrictions. Once you have the YT Vanced app, go to the settings and disable the shorts themselves. This will turn off the shorts section from your YouTube app. YT Vanced is available for Android users only. iPhone users can’t use this technique. Also, YouTube Advanced is now unavailable for downloads. It has been discontinued from March 13, 2022, So you cannot use this option anymore. But if you already have YT Vanced downloaded on your phone, then you can enjoy watching videos without seeing shorts.
- Open YouTube on a Browser: Go to the browser on your phone/PC and open YouTube.com. The browser version does not have shorts yet. So you can enjoy streaming your favorite content without looking at the annoying YT shorts.
- Adjust your YouTube settings: To remove Shorts, try modifying your YT settings. Here are the steps:
- Open YouTube App.
- Tap on your profile icon on the top and choose Settings.
- From the Settings menu, select the General option.
- Turn off YouTube shorts.
- Restart the YouTube application.
From this page, select Ad settings and turn on the option “Shorts shelf.” This option completely removes the Shorts featuring sections from your home feed
Note: This setting is not available in all YouTube accounts yet. If you find this setting disable YouTube shorts using this technique. However, if you don’t see this setting on your YT account, try the other mentioned techniques.
You can also use this above trick to learn how to turn off YouTube shorts on PC.
Use the “Not interested” method to turn off YouTube shorts from your home page. This trick will help you avoid watching the shorts recommendations in between your streaming. If, after a few days, the shorts reappear, simply repeat the steps. With the help of the “Not interested” option, you are re-training the algorithm on your preferences. Once the algorithm picks up on your distaste for YT shorts, it will stop showing you these short videos.
You can try other options, like using an older version of the app, but that would mean you will lose out on all the new features and curated content along with the shorts. A small price to pay for getting rid of the YouTube shorts for good. Opening YT on a browser can be a great alternative to disabling shorts. Whatever way you choose, just make sure you understand the consequences and risks involved. You can always choose the option to ignore YT shorts instead of finding ways to shut it down permanently.