Stop watching YouTube Shorts

Take Shorts out of the places you open YouTube, and keep the videos you chose.

To stop watching YouTube Shorts, take them out of the places you open YouTube. UnLoop hides Shorts from feeds and opens Shorts links in the normal player, free on Chrome, iPhone and Mac.

For YouTube, UnLoop works in Chrome and in Safari, not inside the YouTube app. The videos you chose still play, and Shorts are hidden from your feeds.

This page is for anyone who opens YouTube for one video and looks up an hour later.

Choose where to install UnLoop

Add UnLoop to Chrome

Free, in Chrome.

Download UnLoop for iPhone

Free to hide Shorts in Safari. Pro adds focus mode and schedules.

Download UnLoop for Mac

Free to hide Shorts in Safari. One Pro subscription covers iPhone and Mac.

Why one video turns into an hour

A feed of short videos always has another one ready, and starting the next one takes no effort. You can leave the feed in place and try to resist it, or you can remove the part that keeps offering the next video. UnLoop does the second.

What to hide first

Start with the free tools.

Hide Shorts from feeds

Free on Chrome, iPhone and Mac.

Removes Shorts shelves and thumbnails from the home page, search and subscriptions, so the shelf that offers the next Short is not there.

Open Shorts links in the normal player

Free on Chrome, iPhone and Mac.

Sends a Shorts link to the regular watch page so the video plays like any other.

Hide the Shorts tab

Free on Chrome only.

Hides YouTube's sidebar Shorts entry and the Shorts tab on YouTube's mobile site. It is Chrome only and off until you turn it on in the popup, and UnLoop does not change the Shorts tab in the YouTube app.

How to hide the Shorts tab Ways to remove Shorts from YouTube

When a friend sends you a Shorts link

In Chrome, and in Safari on iPhone and Mac, UnLoop opens the link as a normal video on the regular watch page. A link opened inside the YouTube app is not changed.

Without UnLoop

With UnLoop

A Shorts link opens in the normal player instead of the vertical one. Free on Chrome, iPhone and Mac.

If hiding is not enough, here is what Pro adds

Pro is on iPhone and Mac. Choose from it only what your own habit needs.

Hide recommendations and comments (YouTube in Safari only): Clears suggested videos and the comment section so a video is just the video. Useful if the next suggested video is what pulls you along.
Schedules: Turns blocking on and off automatically at the times you choose.
Focus mode: Keeps blocking on until you turn it off.
Streaks: Counts your streak of days in a row.
Time-saved stats: Shows an estimate of the time you got back.
Block Reels on Instagram and Facebook: For when Reels are the loop you notice.
Block TikTok: For when TikTok is the loop you notice.

See how students use focus mode and schedules Read what Pro includes

What UnLoop will not do

It does not change the YouTube app. UnLoop works in Chrome and in Safari, so if most of your Shorts happen in the app, the practical step is to watch YouTube in Chrome or Safari.
It does not stop you opening an app. Focus mode keeps blocking on until you turn it off, and you can turn it off.

Start in three steps

Pick the device where the hour usually goes: Chrome, iPhone or Mac.
Install UnLoop there. On iPhone and Mac, turn on the Safari extension.
Open YouTube in Chrome or Safari and check the feed.

Details for UnLoop on Chrome Setup steps for UnLoop on iPhone Setup steps for UnLoop on Mac

Questions about hiding Shorts

Does UnLoop block Shorts inside the YouTube app?

No. For YouTube, UnLoop works in Chrome and in Safari, and it does not change the YouTube app. On iPhone, open YouTube in Safari to use it.

What is free and what is Pro?

The Chrome extension is free: hide Shorts from feeds, open Shorts links in the normal player and hide the Shorts tab. On iPhone and Mac, hide Shorts from feeds and open Shorts links in the normal player are free too. Pro, on iPhone and Mac, adds hide recommendations and comments, focus mode, schedules, block Reels on Instagram and Facebook, block TikTok, streaks and time-saved stats. See the App Store subscription screen for price and terms.

How do focus mode and schedules work?

Focus mode keeps blocking on until you turn it off. Schedules turn blocking on and off automatically at the times you choose. Both are Pro features on iPhone and Mac.

What happens when I open a Shorts link?

In Chrome, and in Safari on iPhone and Mac, UnLoop sends the Shorts link to the regular watch page, so the video plays like any other. It does not change the YouTube app.

Install UnLoop and get your feed back

Hiding Shorts is free in Chrome and in Safari on iPhone and Mac.

Pro adds more tools on iPhone and Mac, and one Apple subscription covers both.