YouTube is difficult to block because it is both useful and addictive. The same app can teach you a repair, play a lecture, entertain you for five minutes, and then steal the next hour through Shorts.
The right approach depends on whether YouTube is a tool for you or mostly a slot machine.
Decide Whether You Need YouTube at All
If YouTube is mostly entertainment, block the whole app and website. That is cleaner than trying to surgically remove one feature.
If you need YouTube for work, school, church, repairs, or learning, use stricter windows: available during planned times, blocked during mornings, nights, and work blocks.
Block the Habit Loop
Shorts addiction is usually not about a specific video. It is the variable reward loop: swipe, maybe something good appears, swipe again. Blocking only the Shorts URL helps on desktop, but phone apps and in-app surfaces are harder to separate cleanly.
When feature-level blocking is unreliable, block the app during vulnerable windows and use a browser or desktop for intentional video.
- Remove YouTube from the phone home screen.
- Turn off YouTube notifications.
- Block the app during work, morning, and bedtime windows.
- Use desktop YouTube for planned searches instead of phone browsing.
Need the block to hold?
SHIFT moves control off the phone, so the same device that creates the temptation cannot casually undo the restriction.
Get SHIFTUse SHIFT for Windows Where Shorts Cannot Be an Option
SHIFT lets you preserve the phone while removing the apps that cause the loop. For many people, the winning setup is not no YouTube forever. It is no YouTube on the phone during the hours where it reliably becomes compulsive.
That is the core distinction: useful access by design, compulsive access removed by default.
FAQ
Can I block only YouTube Shorts on iPhone?
Feature-level blocking inside the YouTube app is limited. In practice, most strict setups block the YouTube app during risky windows and use desktop or browser access intentionally.
Should I delete YouTube?
If YouTube is mostly recreational for you, deletion is clean. If it is useful, use scheduled blocking and move intentional use to a less compulsive device.
Does SHIFT block YouTube?
SHIFT can block distracting apps as part of a shifted phone state, including video apps when you choose to include them.