YouTube is rolling out a new update that lets users effectively turn off Shorts on the mobile app by setting the Shorts Feed Timer to ‘zero’ minutes. This option is part of the app’s Time Management settings, where users can control how much Shorts content they see each day. Once set to zero, the Shorts feed stops showing videos, and the Shorts tab becomes inactive. The change is being rolled out gradually on Android and iOS. Clearly, it gives users a simple way to reduce or avoid Shorts without leaving the YouTube app.
The update builds on YouTube’s existing screen-time management tools, which were originally introduced to help users monitor and limit their overall viewing habits. Until now, the Shorts timer only allowed minimum usage limits like 15 minutes or higher, which acted more like a reminder system than a true restriction. But now, the addition of a zero-minute setting shows a shift from ‘monitoring’ usage to actually allowing users to block an entire content category within the app interface.
When activated, the Shorts experience is effectively suspended. Instead of the usual endless vertical video feed, users who open the Shorts tab are shown a simple notice stating that they have ‘reached their Shorts feed limit’, with no videos available to scroll through. In many cases, Shorts recommendations also stop appearing in the Home feed, which is significant because YouTube’s recommendation system heavily integrates Shorts into regular browsing.
To enable this feature, users need to open the YouTube mobile app and go to Settings, then navigate to Time Management and select Shorts Feed Limit. From there, the app allows setting a daily viewing cap specifically for Shorts content. When the limit is set to zero minutes, YouTube treats it as no allowed Shorts viewing time and applies the restriction immediately, stopping Shorts from being accessible in the feed. However, users also have the flexibility to change or remove this limit at any time.
The rollout is happening gradually across Android and iOS devices, which suggests the Google-owned platform is testing broader user response and system stability before making it widely available. As with many YouTube feature updates, availability may vary depending on region, account type, and app version. The development comes at a time when estimates suggest that Shorts now receives over 200 billion daily views and serves more than 2 billion monthly users worldwide, making it one of the largest short-form video ecosystems on the internet.