Can YouTube remove Shorts by itself?
YouTube may offer time-limit or feed controls on some mobile accounts, but availability and coverage can vary. On desktop, there is no dependable account-wide switch that permanently removes every Shorts shelf, search card, recommendation, and Shorts URL.
Remove Shorts with a Chrome extension
- Install Unshort in Chrome and keep both default switches enabled.
- Reload any YouTube tabs that were already open.
- Use YouTube normally: Home, Search, Subscriptions, and regular watch pages stay available.
- Open a Shorts link; Unshort changes it to the standard watch page instead of the vertical feed.
What Unshort changes
- Hides Shorts links and shelves on the homepage and sidebar.
- Removes Shorts cards from search and recommendation areas.
- Redirects /shorts/ links to the normal YouTube player.
- Keeps regular videos, channels, playlists, comments, and subscriptions available.
Desktop and mobile are different
Unshort is a Chrome desktop extension. It does not alter the YouTube mobile app. Mobile controls can still help, but they may reduce Shorts rather than remove every entry point. For a consistent desktop setup, an extension can apply the rule each time YouTube renders new content.
YouTube controls and a desktop blocker solve different problems
YouTube documents a Shorts feed limit and recommendation feedback such as Not interested and Don't recommend channel. Those controls can reduce exposure or change future recommendations. They are not the same as hiding every Shorts shelf, link, and search card that appears in the current desktop interface.
Use YouTube's controls when you want to tune recommendations across your account. Use a desktop extension when the success criterion is narrower: keep regular YouTube available while removing the visible entry points into Shorts on desktop Chrome.
How this guidance is tested
Unshort's automated tests verify Shorts URL detection, conversion to the regular watch route, default settings, recognized Shorts links and labels, localization coverage, and the extension's declared permissions. Release checks also cover the current desktop YouTube interface because YouTube can change markup without notice. See the testing method and known limitations for the scope of these claims.
FAQ
Does this block all of YouTube?
No. Unshort targets Shorts surfaces and URLs while leaving standard YouTube pages available.
Can I turn the behavior off?
Yes. The popup has separate switches for hiding Shorts surfaces and opening Shorts as normal videos.