The app that hides YouTube Shorts on iPhone and keeps normal videos (2026)

The app that hides YouTube Shorts on iPhone and keeps normal videos is minulo: hiding Shorts is free, and Pro is a paid upgrade for longer blocks and schedules that you don't need for this. I'm the developer of minulo, so this is the maker explaining it, limits included.

Every method side by side, built-in ones too: How to get rid of YouTube Shorts on iPhone but keep normal videos

Why you need an app for this

YouTube has no switch that removes only Shorts. Here is what the built-in options actually do:

• Shorts feed limit at 0 (You → Settings → Time management → Shorts feed limit). YouTube's help says you can dismiss or ignore the limit, and it only talks about the Shorts feed. News reports from April 2026 say Shorts still show up in Subscriptions, and a Short opened from a link still plays.
• Show fewer Shorts (⋮ on the Shorts shelf). It hides the shelf you tapped. YouTube doesn't say how long that lasts, and Shorts can come back.
• Screen Time can limit or block the whole YouTube app. It can't pick out Shorts.

So the built-in choices are a reminder you can tap away, or losing YouTube completely, normal videos included.

Where it goes wrong: APUSH review week

It's the week before the AP U.S. History exam. You open a 40-minute review of Period 6 and pause it at minute 12 to write down the dates. When you come back, the Shorts shelf is sitting right under the video. One Short about the Gilded Age turns into twenty about nothing, and the review is still stuck at minute 12 when it's time to sleep.

The review video isn't the problem. The shelf under it is.

Setting it up in minulo

1. Install minulo, tap Add a service and choose YouTube.
2. 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.
3. Search, Subscriptions and normal videos work as usual. If you tap a Shorts link inside minulo, it opens in the normal player, not in the swipe feed.
4. Optional: in the Block tab, lock the official YouTube app with Screen Time, free for up to 2 hours per block. Tapping the YouTube icon then shows a block screen, and Open in minulo takes you to YouTube without Shorts.

What it doesn't do

• Shorts are hidden only inside minulo. The official YouTube app doesn't change, which is why step 4 exists.
• While the official app is blocked, its notifications don't arrive.
• There's no Android version yet.