minulo is an iPhone app that opens YouTube with the Shorts shelf and the Shorts tab hidden and sends Shorts links to the normal player, while Subscriptions and search keep working. Hiding is free; Pro is paid. minulo has no iPad version, so on an iPad you are left with YouTube's own settings, Show fewer Shorts and the Shorts feed limit, which can reduce Shorts but don't remove them. If you watch YouTube on both devices, each one needs a different fix. (I'm the developer of minulo.)
The YouTube and iPad facts below come from YouTube Help and Apple's iPad guide, as summarized on minulo.app and checked on October 25, 2026. Menu names can change with app updates.
What YouTube and the iPad offer, and where they stop
As far as YouTube's help shows in October 2026, there is no setting that turns Shorts off, in the app or on youtube.com. The help pages talk about seeing fewer Shorts and limiting the Shorts feed. Here is what that means on an iPad.
Show fewer Shorts (YouTube app on iPad)
- Open the YouTube app and go to Home.
- Scroll to a grid of Shorts.
- Tap More at the top of the grid.
- Tap Show fewer Shorts.
This tells YouTube to recommend fewer Shorts on pages like Home. Fewer is the key word: it doesn't promise none. To undo it, go to My Activity, choose Other activity in the left menu, and select Delete under Show fewer Shorts.
Shorts feed limit (YouTube app on iPad)
- Sign in to the YouTube app.
- Tap the You tab, then Settings.
- Tap Time management, then Shorts feed limit.
- Pick a time. Zero is one of the options.
When you reach the limit in the Shorts feed, YouTube shows a reminder and lets you dismiss or ignore it. So even at zero, it is a reminder, not a lock. YouTube's help describes this setting for the app only, and I couldn't confirm whether it applies on youtube.com in a browser.
Turn off watch history (any device)
This is a Google Account setting, so it reaches your iPad and your iPhone at once. In My Activity, open the Controls tab and select Turn off. YouTube's help says that if you have no relevant recent watch history and have chosen not to get recommendations based on it, features like homepage recommendations are removed. The catch: videos you watch while it is off aren't saved to your history, and the help page does not say that Shorts disappear from search results or channel pages.
Screen Time website blocking (Safari on iPad)
Apple says you can block specific websites by URL: Settings, Screen Time, Content & Privacy Restrictions, then App Store, Media, Web, & Games, Web Content, Limit Adult Websites, and Add Website under Never Allow. I have not tested whether entering the Shorts address of youtube.com blocks only Shorts pages, so check it on your own iPad before you rely on it.
To sum up the iPad side: you can turn Shorts down, but every option either reduces them, reminds you, or blocks more than you want.
On iPhone: hiding Shorts with minulo
A note before the steps: I'm Ayumu Kitabayashi, and I build minulo, so this part is the developer describing his own app.
minulo opens YouTube's official website inside an iPhone app, and you choose what to hide.
- Install minulo, tap Add a service on the home screen and choose YouTube.
- Tap the gear next to YouTube and turn on Hide the Shorts shelf, Hide the Shorts tab and Send Shorts links to the normal player. This is free.
- If you want Home quiet as well, turn on Home recommendations. Subscriptions stay.
- Open Subscriptions, Watch later or search straight from the minulo home screen.
- Optional: in the Block tab, lock the official YouTube app with Screen Time. Tapping its icon then shows a block screen with an Open in minulo button.
Hiding is a setting, so it stays on until you change it, and there is no reminder to tap past. On the iPad, keep using the YouTube settings above.
Five limits of minulo
- The official apps don't change. Shorts are hidden only when you open YouTube inside minulo. The YouTube app on your iPhone and iPad stays as it is.
- Free locks last up to 2 hours. Locking the official YouTube app is free for up to 2 hours per block, and you can start another one when it ends.
- Sleep mode is Pro. Sleep mode locks the apps by itself every night from your bedtime to your wake time (the same times every day). It is part of minulo Pro, along with longer blocks, Hard Mode and a Daily limit.
- No notifications while an app is locked. While minulo locks the official YouTube app, its notifications don't arrive, and minulo sends none of its own.
- It's an iPhone app, with a Mac version too. The Mac version works in Safari and Chrome. There is no iPad version and no Android version yet.
minulo is new, with few ratings so far.
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