How to Block YouTube Shorts on Android: What Works in 2026

What's possible and what isn't

On Android, as on iPhone, a DNS or network filter can't remove Shorts from the YouTube app while leaving long videos. They come from the same YouTube and Google video servers, so a filter sees the same domains whichever you watch. That's true for NoorI, Private DNS, router filters and every other DNS-based tool.

Android does have one advantage over iPhone: browser extensions. Firefox for Android supports add-ons, so you can watch YouTube in Firefox with Shorts hidden. The setups below use that, alongside YouTube's own Shorts limit and, if you need it, a full block.

Step 1: Use YouTube's Shorts feed limit

1. In the YouTube app, tap your profile picture, then Settings.
2. Open Time management (on some accounts, General).
3. Set Shorts feed limit as low as it goes. The range is 15 minutes to 2 hours, and recent versions allow 0, which empties the feed.

This limit is per account and you can change it back yourself, so treat it as a first layer rather than the whole solution.

Step 2 (optional): Keep long videos with the Firefox route

1. Install Firefox from the Play Store and add an extension from Firefox's add-on catalogue that hides YouTube Shorts. Several are available, and uBlock Origin can also do it with a custom filter.
2. In Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls → Dashboard → YouTube → App timer, set the YouTube app's timer to the minimum so you watch in Firefox instead.
3. Set a timer on Chrome as well, or you'll drift back to Shorts there.

This is the best "long videos, no Shorts" setup available on Android. Its weakness is that every part of it lives on the phone: you can remove the timer, the extension or Firefox in a few taps.

Step 3: When Shorts keeps winning, block YouTube with NoorI

If you keep undoing the Step 2 setup, the firm option is a network block on YouTube itself, either all the time or outside a set viewing window.

1. Enroll your phone with Cloudflare One using the Android setup guide, with battery usage set to Unrestricted.
2. In Content Policy, create a rule and add YouTube from the Apps tab. It covers youtube.com, youtu.be, googlevideo.com, ytimg.com and yt3.ggpht.com.
3. Add a schedule if you want YouTube available at certain times, for example weekends only, or 20:00–21:30 on weekdays.
4. Save, force-stop the YouTube app, and check.

You can also add NoorI's YouTube Restricted Mode rule during the hours YouTube is allowed. It filters mature videos across the app and browsers but doesn't remove Shorts. App blocking and schedules need Pro ($9.99/month, 7-day free trial).

A note on blocking "youtube.com/shorts"

Blocking one path on a site requires inspecting encrypted traffic. NoorI's URL-path rules are in a limited pilot and aren't generally available. Even when they are, they'll work in browsers on devices with the NoorI certificate installed, not inside the YouTube app, which pins its certificates. On Android, the Firefox extension route above is the practical way to hide Shorts in a browser today.

Make it stick: Always-on VPN and Guardian Mode

Enable Always-on VPN and Block connections without VPN for Cloudflare One (Settings → Network & internet → VPN) so the block can't be switched off in a moment of weakness.

Guardian Mode (Pro) adds a second person to the loop. You invite someone you trust, such as a partner, friend, sponsor or accountability buddy, from Settings → Guardian Mode. Once they accept and you switch it on, these changes need their approval: editing or deleting a rule, pausing protection, unlocking your profile, and disconnecting NoorI. Adding a new block never needs approval, because it only makes you safer.

When you ask to unlock, your guardian gets an email. Even if they approve, nothing opens right away. There is a mandatory delay of at least 4 hours (24 hours by default), then a 30-minute window to make changes, then everything locks again by itself. A request your guardian never answers expires after 48 hours. A guardian also can't be removed for the first 2 days after they accept, so you can't invite a second email address you own and quietly delete it.

Blocking Shorts for a child?

Blocking this for a child instead? The same steps work, but a managed child profile with its own rules is a better fit than sharing your account. See setting different rules for different children.

Frequently asked questions

Can Digital Wellbeing block YouTube Shorts?

No. Digital Wellbeing limits whole apps, not sections within an app. YouTube's own Shorts feed limit is the only built-in control specific to Shorts.

Does blocking YouTube also block YouTube Music?

Yes. YouTube Music runs on music.youtube.com and Google's video servers, so a YouTube block covers it too.

What about modified YouTube apps that hide Shorts?

Modified YouTube apps exist, but they break YouTube's terms, can carry security risks, and you can remove them as easily as any other app. We don't recommend them as a recovery tool.