How to disable, turn off or block YouTube Shorts on iPhone and Android

Open YouTube inside Reelmute and Shorts are already gone: off the home feed, out of search results, and still gone next month. Search, subscriptions, playlists and the video you actually came to watch all keep working. It runs on iPhone and Android.

YouTube without the feed that never ends.

Reels, Shorts and For You are off for free. Premium takes the rest: 3 days free, then $19.99 a year or $2.99 a month.

Start 3 days free

Reading on a computer? Point your phone's camera at the code, or open reelmute.app/get on your phone.

What YouTube's own controls do

YouTube's controls for Shorts have moved around a lot, and the pattern has held throughout: they are temporary. The long-running one hid the Shorts shelf and expired after 30 days, which is why people who solved this last month are searching for it again today. Reelmute takes Shorts out on the way in, so there is no expiry date to diary and no shelf that quietly returns.

What Reelmute removes from YouTube

Shorts — already gone the moment YouTube opens in Reelmute. Home recommendations and ads go too, whenever you want them gone. DMs, profiles, posts and search keep working.

Reelmute opens each network in its own space and strips the feed out before the page draws, so there is nothing to switch on again tomorrow. Shield the native app with Screen Time and this becomes the way in.

Is there a way to disable YouTube Shorts permanently?

Yes, but not inside YouTube. YouTube has no permanent off switch for Shorts, only the hide-the-shelf option that lapses. Reelmute opens YouTube in its own space and strips Shorts out before the page draws, every time, so the disabling is permanent because it never happened inside YouTube in the first place.

How to block YouTube Shorts on iPhone

Install Reelmute, tap YouTube, sign in once. Shorts are gone from that moment. Then shield the YouTube app itself with Screen Time, so the route into YouTube is the one where Shorts do not exist. If you want to go further, the search-only switch turns YouTube into a search box and your subscriptions, with the home feed gone too.

How do I get rid of Shorts on Android?

The same app, from Google Play. YouTube opens inside Reelmute with Shorts removed from the home feed and from search, and the app lock keeps the native YouTube app closed while you are meant to be somewhere else. Nothing to renew, nothing that comes back after 30 days.

Can you disable YouTube Shorts?

In Reelmute, yes. YouTube opens with Shorts already removed from the home feed and from search, every session, with nothing to renew. YouTube itself offers only a temporary hide.

Can you turn off Shorts inside the YouTube app?

No. The YouTube app has no setting that removes Shorts, only a hide that lapses. Reelmute shields the YouTube app and gives you YouTube without Shorts in its place, so the app you open is the one where Shorts do not exist.

How do I remove or get rid of Shorts on YouTube?

Open YouTube in Reelmute instead of the YouTube app. Shorts are gone the moment it loads, from the home feed, from search and from the tab bar. Shield the YouTube app and that becomes the only way in.

Why did YouTube Shorts come back after I turned them off?

YouTube's own Shorts controls have historically expired: the hide-the-shelf option lapsed after 30 days. Reelmute removes Shorts on the way in, so nothing lapses.

Do I still get my subscriptions and search?

Yes. Subscriptions, search, playlists and the videos you choose all work. Home recommendations and ads are switches you flip whenever you want those gone too.

Take the feed out today.