• by Colin Kirkland , April 16, 2026

YouTube now allows users to cut out its most popular media format, Shorts, from their app feed. 

By accessing the platform’s time-management settings, users can set their Shorts limit to zero minutes, potentially changing the way marketers develop their promotion strategies within the TikTok-ified video feature. 

YouTube originally announced its Shorts feed limit in October 2025, offering users who wanted to cut back on their in-app scrolling habits with the option to select between a range of time breaks, with 15 minutes the lowest. 

In January, the Google-owned company launched the option to set the Shorts timer to zero minutes within its parental controls hub -- specifically targeting parents of younger users, including kids and teens who need additional safeguards against "doomscrolling," or excessive consumption of negative social media or news content.

Now, the zero-limit timer is rolling out to all accounts, providing users of any age on iOS and Android to remove Shorts from their YouTube home feed entirely. To do so, users may need to first reset the app after selecting the option. 

The general rollout of the zero-minute Shorts timer setting comes shortly after YouTube announced that it is relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to pause ads entirely when a creator’s viewers are hitting peak engagement with their livestream. 

While these video-direct changes are designed primarily to help users limit their time doomscrolling and more seamless livestream experiences, YouTube may also be offsetting advertisers’ and creators’ ability to target and reach prospective audiences via the most popular in-app content formats -- particularly with Shorts, which currently receives over 200 billion daily views from over 2 billion monthly active users.