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Guide

How to Block YouTube Shorts (3 Methods, 2026)

March 2026 · 8 min read

You can block YouTube Shorts on Chrome in three ways: use YouTube's new search filter to exclude Shorts from results, install a dedicated extension like Unhook or ShortsBlocker to hide the Shorts shelf and tab across the site, or use a website blocker like Bouncer to block the youtube.com/shorts path entirely. YouTube still does not have a built-in setting to disable Shorts globally. The "Not interested" button is temporary and resets. If you want Shorts gone for real, you need one of the methods below.

Key Takeaways

  • YouTube has no kill switch for Shorts. The "Not interested" option is per-video and temporary.
  • New in January 2026: YouTube added a search filter to exclude Shorts from search results, but it only works per search and does not affect the homepage.
  • Unhook (free, 1M+ users) hides the Shorts shelf, tab, and player across YouTube.
  • Bouncer ($25 one-time) blocks youtube.com/shorts at the URL level and can block other distracting sites on a schedule.
  • None of these methods require rooting your phone or editing system files.

How Do the Methods Compare?

Here is a quick breakdown of what each method actually does, what it misses, and what it costs.

Method Blocks Shorts Feed Blocks Shorts in Search Blocks Shorts Recommendations Works Across Sites Cost
YouTube Built-in No Yes (per search) Partial No Free
Unhook Extension Yes Yes Yes No Free
ShortsBlocker Yes Yes Yes No Free (premium tier available)
Bouncer Yes Yes Yes Yes Free / $25 Pro

Can You Block Shorts Using YouTube's Own Settings?

Sort of. YouTube added a search filter in January 2026 that lets you exclude Shorts from search results. Select "Videos" or "Long-form" from the filter bar at the top of your search results and Shorts disappear from that specific search. This is a real improvement, but it only applies to search. Your homepage, subscription feed, and sidebar recommendations still show Shorts.

Steps to filter Shorts from YouTube search

  1. Go to youtube.com and search for any topic.
  2. Click the filter bar at the top of the results page.
  3. Under Type, select "Videos" (or "Long-form" if available in your region).
  4. Results reload with only standard-length videos. Shorts are excluded.

You need to do this every time you search. There is no way to make it the default.

The "Not Interested" button

On the homepage Shorts shelf, you can click the three-dot menu on individual Shorts and select "Not interested" or "Don't recommend channel." YouTube also sometimes shows a small "X" that hides the Shorts shelf for up to 30 days. After that, it comes back. This is not a real solution. It is an algorithm hint that YouTube partially ignores.

Bottom line: YouTube's built-in options reduce Shorts in search but do nothing about the homepage feed, the Shorts tab, or sidebar recommendations.

How Do You Hide YouTube Shorts with a Chrome Extension?

Dedicated YouTube extensions strip Shorts from every part of the interface: homepage, search, sidebar, subscriptions, and the Shorts tab itself. The two most reliable options right now are Unhook and ShortsBlocker.

Option A: Unhook (free, 1M+ users)

Unhook is built for removing YouTube distractions broadly, not just Shorts. It can also hide the recommended sidebar, end screens, comments, trending tab, and autoplay.

  1. Open the Unhook listing on the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Click Add to Chrome → Add extension.
  3. Click the Unhook icon in your toolbar.
  4. Toggle "Hide Shorts" to on.
  5. Reload YouTube. The Shorts shelf, Shorts tab, and Shorts player are gone.

Unhook is also available on Firefox (including Firefox for Android, where it works on m.youtube.com) and Microsoft Edge.

Option B: ShortsBlocker (free, premium available)

ShortsBlocker is a focused extension that does one thing: remove Shorts from YouTube. If you do not need Unhook's broader feature set, ShortsBlocker is lighter.

  1. Install ShortsBlocker from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Click Add to Chrome → Add extension.
  3. Shorts are removed automatically. No configuration needed.

Other extensions worth knowing about

The limitation with all of these: they only work on YouTube. If you also waste time on TikTok, Reddit, Twitter, or Instagram, you need a separate solution for each one.

How Does Bouncer Block YouTube Shorts Differently?

Bouncer is a Chrome extension website blocker that works at the URL level. Instead of injecting CSS to hide Shorts elements on the page, Bouncer blocks navigation to youtube.com/shorts entirely. You hit a block page instead of the Shorts feed. The rest of YouTube stays fully accessible.

Why this approach matters

YouTube changes its frontend constantly. CSS-based extensions break when YouTube updates its class names or layout structure. URL-level blocking does not care about YouTube's frontend code. If the URL contains /shorts, it is blocked. Period.

Steps to block YouTube Shorts with Bouncer

  1. Install Bouncer from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Click the Bouncer icon and open the dashboard.
  3. Add youtube.com/shorts to your block list.
  4. Set a schedule if you want (e.g., block Shorts during work hours, allow on weekends).
  5. Done. Any URL matching youtube.com/shorts/* shows a block page. Regular YouTube videos, channels, and playlists work normally.

What else Bouncer does that single-purpose extensions don't

If YouTube Shorts is your only problem, Unhook is free and works great. If Shorts is one of several sites eating your focus, Bouncer handles all of them in one place.

Why Is It So Hard to Remove YouTube Shorts from Your Feed?

YouTube integrated Shorts into the main feed, search results, and subscription page because Shorts generate over 200 billion daily views. That number makes Shorts too valuable for YouTube to let users easily opt out. In January 2026, YouTube also started mixing image carousel posts into the Shorts feed, blurring the line between content types even further.

The platform's algorithm treats Shorts and long-form videos as separate recommendation systems (YouTube fully decoupled the Shorts algorithm from long-form in late 2025), but the UI still mixes them together. A creator's Shorts show up alongside their long-form videos on their channel page, in your subscriptions, and in search results. There is no account-level setting to separate them.

This is why extensions exist. YouTube is not going to add a "disable Shorts" toggle because the feature drives engagement metrics they report to advertisers. The only way to remove Shorts is to do it yourself, client-side.

When You Should NOT Block YouTube Shorts

  • You are a content creator who publishes Shorts. Blocking them on your own browser means you cannot preview how your content looks in the Shorts player.
  • You use Shorts for learning. Plenty of coding tutorials, language lessons, and cooking demos live on Shorts. If those are genuinely useful, blocking the entire format is overkill. Consider blocking only during work hours with a scheduled block.
  • You work in social media marketing and need to monitor Shorts trends, competitor content, or ad placements.
  • The problem is not Shorts specifically. If you spend just as much time on long-form YouTube videos, blocking Shorts alone will not fix your screen time issue. You might need to block youtube.com entirely during certain hours.

How Do You Block YouTube Shorts on Mobile?

This is harder than desktop because the YouTube mobile app does not support extensions. Your options depend on your platform.

Android

iOS

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you permanently disable YouTube Shorts?

YouTube does not offer a permanent toggle. The "Not interested" button is temporary. To permanently remove Shorts, you need a browser extension (Unhook, ShortsBlocker) or a URL-level blocker (Bouncer). These stay active until you turn them off.

Does blocking YouTube Shorts affect regular videos?

No. Extensions like Unhook target the Shorts shelf, Shorts tab, and Shorts player specifically. Regular videos, channels, playlists, and livestreams are unaffected. Bouncer blocks only the /shorts URL path, so the rest of youtube.com works normally.

Why did YouTube put Shorts in the main feed?

Competition with TikTok and Instagram Reels. Shorts now generate 200+ billion daily views globally and YouTube is expanding the format to include image carousel posts. The platform makes more money when users stay on-site longer, and Shorts are designed for infinite scrolling. YouTube added a search filter to exclude Shorts from results in January 2026, but the homepage integration is staying.

What is the best Chrome extension to block YouTube Shorts?

For Shorts-only blocking, Unhook is the most popular and actively maintained option (1M+ users, works on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge). For blocking Shorts alongside other distracting sites, Bouncer handles YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Reddit, and anything else in a single block list with scheduling.

Do these methods work on other Chromium browsers?

Yes. Unhook, ShortsBlocker, and Bouncer all work on Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Opera, and Vivaldi. Any browser that supports Chrome Web Store extensions will work. Firefox has its own versions of Unhook and ShortsBlocker on addons.mozilla.org.

Block YouTube Shorts + Every Other Distraction

Bouncer blocks Shorts, TikTok, Reddit, Twitter, and any other site killing your focus. One extension. One block list. No subscription.

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