Written By Deepti Ratnam
Edited By: Deepti Ratnam | Published By: Deepti Ratnam | Published: Apr 16, 2026, 10:06 AM (IST)
YouTube
Shot videos on YouTube or Instagram are easy to watch and scroll, but hard to stop. Many users open their YouTube accounts, thinking they will only watch short videos for a few minutes, but end up scrolling endlessly for much longer. To solve this issue, YouTube has introduced a new feature that gives users more control over watching Shorts. YouTube’s latest update focuses on reducing screen time and helping people manage their viewing habits better. Also Read: Google Veo 3.1 Gets Vertical Video And High-Resolution Output: How To Try
YouTube quietly launched its Shorts Limit feature by updating its time under Management settings. You can now set a daily limit for watching Shorts. To recall, earlier this feature was only limited to 15 minutes. But now, you can set it to zero minutes. This means Shorts can be completely removed from the app experience if needed. Also Read: YouTube Adds New Timer Feature To Help You Stop Scrolling Shorts All Day: How It Works
To understand this, if the limit is reached, the Shorts section will stop showing you videos. A message will appear saying the limit has been reached. In many cases, Shorts will also disappear from the home screen. This makes it easier to avoid distractions. Also Read: YouTube Shorts Adds Product Stickers for Shopping: Everything You Need to Know
YouTube’s Shorts limit feature is useful for people who want to reduce their screen time. Short videos are designed to keep users engaged on the platform. By setting a limit to it, you can now avoid spending too much time on the app and stop yourself from doom scrolling.
The update is useful for kids as well as for their parents too. There are other tools too such as Google Family Link that allow parents to set limits for their children. If the account is supervised, then the restriction cannot be ignored. With this feature parents have assurance that kids will follow the screen time rules set by parents.
Nevertheless, for regular users, this update and limitation works as a stark reminder. The notifications can be dismissed, but ti still helps you to stay aware of the usage.
Step 1: Open the YouTube application in your phone.
Step 2: Tap on your profile, and open your settings.
Step 3: Click on the Time management option.
Step 4: Find and tap on “Shorts feed limit”
Step 5: Enter time limit of 0 minutes.
Step 6: Saving the setting to implement changes.
Step 7: When you enable Shorts, it will no longer be shown in your feed.
Step 8: If you try to open Shorts, you will see a limit reached notification instead of videos
With this update, short-form content will have a limitation as it often leads to long screen time. YouTube is giving users a simple way to take control of their screen time and doom scrolling.
This update is being rolled out gradually, so some users may not see it yet.