How to Block YouTube Shorts on Chrome (Keep Regular YouTube)
Shorts are the most endless part of YouTube: one swipe, then another, then twenty minutes are gone. Most people want long videos for learning but not the short feed. Redirect can block just the /shorts path, and because YouTube changes pages without reloading, it checks every in-app navigation so a Short opened from the home page is caught too.
Block YouTube Shorts in under a minute
- 1
Install Redirect
Add Redirect to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store. Blocking one site is free and needs no account.
- 2
Add a rule
Open the dashboard, choose specific path and enter
youtube.com/shorts - 3
Choose how pauses work
Pick pause lengths and a task to finish first. Wait it out. A 60 second countdown is longer than most Shorts and breaks the swipe habit.
Make it stick
- Keep regular YouTube open and block only youtube.com/shorts, so tutorials and lectures still work.
- Turn off pausing for this rule entirely if Shorts never help you. Turning the rule off will still need a typing task.
- Add a second rule for the whole site during deep work hours if you want both, each with its own schedule.
Redirectyoutube.com/shortsBlockingWait it out. A 60 second countdown is longer than most Shorts and breaks the swipe habit.
Questions about blocking YouTube Shorts
Does it catch Shorts opened from the YouTube home page?
Yes. YouTube switches pages without a reload, and Redirect watches those in-app changes, so tapping a Short from the home feed redirects right away.
Will regular YouTube videos still work?
Yes. A path rule for youtube.com/shorts only matches Shorts pages. Watch pages, channels and search are untouched.
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