How to block or limit YouTube Shorts for kids
Learn which YouTube experiences expose Shorts, which controls only reduce them and which setups remove the Shorts feed entirely.
Written by the team that makes LittleLoop, one of the options discussed in these guides. Instructions and comparisons use the sources below; provider descriptions are not independent product testing.
For an eligible supervised YouTube account, use the parent's Family Center to set the daily Shorts feed limit. Current YouTube controls allow a zero-minute limit, which stops the child scrolling the Shorts feed for the day. Treat that as a feed restriction, not a guarantee that every short video or direct video link is blocked. YouTube Kids is a different experience and does not support sharing Shorts into a child's profile.
Set the Shorts feed limit
Sign into the linked parent's YouTube account and open Family Center. Select the child's supervised account, then Time management. Locate the Shorts feed limit and choose zero if your rule is no scrolling through Shorts.
Open the child's account on their usual device to verify the result. A limit applied to one supervised account does not establish the same rule on an adult account or signed-out session.
If the option is absent, check account eligibility, app version and Google's current instructions. Do not invent a birth date to obtain a different set of controls.
Know what zero means
The documented feature concerns scrolling in the Shorts feed. A short video may also be encountered through another route. If the requirement is "this child must never open any Short," test those normal routes and avoid describing the feed timer as broader than the provider documents.
A video being brief is not itself the concern for every family. Some parents want to remove continuous swiping while still allowing a short tutorial they selected. State the rule in terms of the behavior you want to change.
YouTube Kids and selected-video libraries
YouTube Kids does not offer the regular Shorts feed, and its sharing feature excludes Shorts. It may therefore fit a younger child whose viewing needs are covered by that catalog.
A dedicated selected-video player can remove the feed from the surrounding interface while still permitting certain video links. Check whether that app accepts Shorts links and how those items play. "No Shorts feed" and "no Shorts videos" are different claims.
The apps comparison helps distinguish content selection from interface restrictions.
What a browser extension cannot promise
An extension that hides Shorts in a desktop browser usually affects only that browser. It does not automatically change the YouTube mobile app, television or another browser profile.
A family relying on an extension should review those ordinary alternatives. You do not need to look for every hypothetical bypass, but the app already installed beside the browser is an obvious second route.
Choose the least complicated fit
For a child already using supervised YouTube, try the current feed limit first. For younger children, compare YouTube Kids with a supervised account before choosing the broader experience.
If you want occasional selected viewing without either app's browsing experience, the guide to YouTube without YouTube Kids covers parent-led watching and smaller players. Removing an unwanted feed can be a useful change even when the family continues using individual YouTube videos.
Sources checked
- Parental controls for supervised YouTube accountsYouTube Help
- Block and share content on YouTube KidsYouTube Help
- Understand YouTube and YouTube Kids options for your childGoogle for Families