How to Remove YouTube Shorts on Android
You open YouTube to watch one video someone sent you. The Shorts shelf sits right under it, and the next thing you know you have swiped through forty clips you won’t remember. If you are trying to remove YouTube Shorts on Android, you are not trying to quit YouTube. You want the long videos and your subscriptions, without the vertical feed wedged between them.
What YouTube lets you do (and why it isn’t enough)
YouTube does not have an off switch for Shorts. What it does have:
- The menu on the Shorts shelf. It tells YouTube to show you fewer Shorts. The shelf and the Shorts tab stay. (An older option on the mobile site that hid Shorts for 30 days no longer exists.)
- “Not interested” on individual Shorts. This changes which Shorts you see, not whether you see them.
- Pausing watch history. With history off, YouTube stops filling your home page with recommendations. The Shorts tab is still in the bottom bar, one tap away.
All three are worth knowing. None of them removes Shorts.
The fix that sticks: open YouTube through CherryBrew
CherryBrew is an Android app that opens the real YouTube, signed in to your own account, inside its own in-app browser, with Shorts filtered out. Specifically it removes:
- the Shorts tab and the Shorts shelf,
- the recommended shelves that pull you from one video to the next,
- the chip row of algorithmic topics along the top.
What stays: search, your subscriptions, playlists and any video you choose to open. YouTube goes back to being a library you search, not a feed that searches you.
Setup takes a minute:
- Install CherryBrew from Google Play.
- Open it and pick YouTube.
- Sign in to your Google account once.
- Search for what you came for. No Shorts.
CherryBrew does the same for Instagram (no Reels or Explore, DMs still work), Facebook, X, Reddit and TikTok, so one app covers every short-video feed on your phone. It costs $2.99 a month or $20 for lifetime access.
The trade-off: this is YouTube’s mobile website inside CherryBrew, not the YouTube app. If you rely on something only the app does, such as downloading videos for offline viewing, keep the app for that and use CherryBrew for everyday watching.
Other options
Blocker apps (ScrollGuard, Unhook, one sec and others) watch the native YouTube app through Android’s Accessibility Service and close or pause Shorts when you open them. They keep the native app, but the Shorts tab stays visible and the block happens after you tap. See the best Reels and Shorts blockers for a side-by-side.
Older YouTube app versions without Shorts circulate online. We don’t recommend them: they come from outside Google Play, stop getting security fixes, and YouTube eventually forces an update.
Desktop browser extensions can hide Shorts on a computer. They don’t help on your phone, which is where most Shorts get watched.
Why removing beats resisting
Shorts are built for the swipe: no end, no natural stopping point, a new video every few seconds. Trying to “just not tap” the Shorts tab works until you are tired, bored or waiting in line, which is exactly when you reach for your phone. (What doomscrolling does to your brain explains the mechanics.) Removing the tab takes the decision away. There is nothing to resist when there is nothing to tap.
If Instagram Reels are the bigger problem for you, start with how to block Instagram Reels on Android.
Questions
Can you turn off YouTube Shorts in settings?
No. YouTube has no setting that removes Shorts. The options on the Shorts shelf and "Not interested" on a Short only reduce how many you see.
How do I get rid of YouTube Shorts on my phone for good?
On Android, open YouTube through CherryBrew. It removes the Shorts shelf, the Shorts tab and the recommended shelves before the page loads, while search, subscriptions and the videos you pick keep working.
Will I still see my subscriptions without Shorts?
Yes. CherryBrew only removes Shorts and the recommendation shelves. Your subscriptions, search, playlists and any video you open stay as they are.