A quiet update to YouTube’s Time Management dashboard gives users and parents a genuine hard stop on the infinite Shorts feed.
In a surprising move, YouTube is rolling out an update that gives users a rare and powerful capability: the ability to disable the infinite feed of YouTube Shorts.
The change comes as part of the platform’s “Shorts feed limit” setting that initially came out in October 2025. When it was first launched, the setting allowed users to cap their short-form viewing, but the minimum time limit was strictly locked at 15 mins. Now, Google has updated the platform’s Time Management dashboard, which allows users to dial that limit all the way down to zero.
The setting is available for both regular adult profiles and teen accounts managed through Google Family Link. It’s a handy tool for parents who want to stop their child from doomscrolling on Shorts on their device.
It is worth noting that the feature doesn’t block individual Shorts from appearing on the platform; it just disables the infinite scrolling action that keeps users looping through content on the platform.
To enable it, users simply need to navigate to the ‘You” tab in the bottom right corner of the YouTube app, tap the Settings gear, open the “Time Management” dashboard, and select “Shorts feed limit.” From there, you can select zero minutes to cut off the infinite feed.
Platforms have long offered “Take a Break” reminders or gentle nudges to let users think that they were in control of their viewing experience. However, the ability to turn off the infinite scrolling on Shorts is a welcome feature in this direction, as it is a firm wall, not just a mere suggestion.
The move also says a lot about what YouTube’s core identity is. The company isn’t afraid of letting users opt out of scrolling through Shorts, whereas for TikTok, the infinite short-form feed is the entire product, while for Meta, Reels is the critical growth engine that keeps users hooked onto Instagram and Facebook.
While Shorts do generate massive engagement numbers for Google, YouTube remains the undisputed king when it comes to long-form video content. We’ve seen the platform actively working to segment its different types of media for years, notably rolling out separate tabs for long-form content, live streams, and Shorts back in late 2022 to appease users frustrated by cluttered channel pages.
via The Verge
