If you've been looking for years for a way to remove YouTube Shorts from your phone — not through third-party APKs or workarounds with a browser, but officially — the moment has come. Google quietly updated the screen time settings in the mobile app for Android and iOS: now you can set the Shorts viewing limit to 0 minutes, which effectively makes the tab inaccessible.
What changed and how it works
The "Shorts feed limit" feature has existed since October of last year — but the minimum threshold was 15 minutes. Now a zero value allows you to completely block the feed. Path: "You" tab → settings icon → "Manage time" → "Shorts feed limit".
According to NewsBytesApp, the new option is already available for regular accounts and teen accounts. For teenagers whose profiles are managed through Google Family Link, parents make the decision: if they set it to zero, the child won't see any Shorts.
"Shorts feed limit is a unique feature that directly counteracts one of YouTube's most addictive elements, giving users control or even complete elimination of doomscrolling from their experience".
NewsBytesApp
Why this matters right now
Context makes this news more interesting than a technical note. Shorts aren't charity from Google. According to Wikipedia, as of November 2025, Shorts have accumulated over 9 trillion views — about 70 billion per day. This is a colossal advertising asset.
Meanwhile, according to AIR Media-Tech's analysis, monetization for creators there is meager: 25,000 Shorts views bring approximately $0.30 — while that many views of a long video previously earned $100. So Shorts are beneficial to the platform as a mechanism for reach and retention, but not as a tool for creators to earn money.
In this context, the "off" button is a concession under pressure from regulators and public discussions about addiction to short videos, especially among teenagers. Not altruism, but a controlled valve.
What this means in practice
- If you're a parent — Family Link now provides a real tool, not an illusion of control.
- If you're a channel creator — an audience that consciously disables Shorts was probably watching long videos anyway. Losses are minimal.
- If you're just a user — for the first time in years you don't need any workarounds: no ReVanced, no desktop mode in a browser, no app downgrade.
The feature is rolling out gradually, so some users still don't see the zero limit option in their settings.
The question isn't whether people will use this button — they will. The question is whether Google will extend this logic to its recommendation algorithm as a whole: if the zero limit for Shorts turns out to be popular, the next pressure will fall on autoplay and the infinite feed — and then the company will have to choose between retention metrics and the reputation of a platform that parents trust.
