A new YouTube control now allows Shorts viewing to be limited to zero minutes per day, effectively turning the feature off. The short-form feed, designed for continuous vertical scrolling, can be shut down at the account level through the app’s usage settings.

The control sits alongside existing screen time and break reminders and applies specifically to Shorts, not to standard videos or live streams. Once the daily limit is set to zero, the Shorts carousel no longer serves new clips, cutting off the swipe-based queue that normally refreshes in real time.

The move targets users who want short-form content removed without deleting their accounts or using third-party tools. It also offers parents and educators a more granular setting than broad device-level restrictions, narrowing control to the vertical feed that drives the highest interaction density.

For YouTube, the switch introduces a formal opt-out from its short-form format while keeping long-form viewing and subscriptions intact. It adds an explicit boundary to a product that was originally built for frictionless, potentially unlimited consumption.