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How to disable YouTube Shorts on PC, iOS and Android

 

How to disable YouTube Shorts on PC, iOS and Android

YouTube Shorts is a feature for creating short videos on the world's most popular video hosting site. If for some reason you do not like to watch certain content or are not interested in this feature at all, you can turn it off. In this guide, we will describe several effective ways.


Roll back the app to an earlier version

The first and most effective way to completely get rid of YouTube Shorts is to uninstall updates and roll back the application to a previous version that does not yet have this feature. Of course, you will have to download the old version from third-party sites, where often, in addition to the application itself, you can also get a virus. Therefore, use this method at your own risk. Don't forget that Google launched YouTube Shorts in beta testing at the end of 2020, so look for an app that came out earlier than that. In order to remove YouTube updates, you will need to do the following:


  • Go to your device settings ;
  • Go to the "Applications" tab and find "YouTube" there ;
  • Click the Uninstall Updates button and completely remove the latest YouTube updates from your smartphone or tablet.

Use the "Not interested" feature

Consider the second easy way to disable unwanted videos in the YouTube app. Scrolling through the recommendations feed, you will come across various videos, including blocks with short videos. The easiest way is to click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the "shorts" (or in the lower right corner on PC) and select "Not Interested". You can repeat this action until short videos are completely gone and YouTube's algorithms no longer display this block in your favorites feed. It is worth noting that this is a rather lengthy process - you will have to “reject” more than a dozen videos before this happens.

Watch videos in the browser

Another reliable way to get rid of the shorts block is to watch YouTube videos in the browser. It doesn’t matter on which device you visit the platform, because, unlike the application, here you can refuse to watch short videos with just one click - in the upper right corner of the block there is a cross that completely hides the block until the page is refreshed (if you are not logged into your account). For registered users, the section will be hidden for 30 days.

Use YouTube Vanced or Alternative Apps

It was previously possible to get rid of the block of short videos using the YouTube Vanced application. It was almost completely free of ads, and there was also an option to turn off the Shorts feature. However, the program stopped working due to legal threats from Google - the media giant could not turn a blind eye to the loss of ad views, and the enthusiasts who created YouTube Vanced did not have the proper legal support and funding to protect their interests. At the moment, there are many alternatives on the web that work great, and Google has not had time to get to their creators yet. You can try to find a program that is convenient for you and use it to block ads and YouTube Shorts.

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