Yes, you can block YouTube Shorts without blocking all of YouTube: a social-cleaning extension hides the Shorts shelf and player while leaving normal videos available. MonkeyBlocker's Social Cleaner does this in Chrome, and pairs with a daily YouTube time limit and an impulse pause for reflexive opens.
Why YouTube Shorts are different from normal YouTube use
YouTube is genuinely useful — tutorials, lectures, how-tos. Shorts are a different product bolted onto the same site: a vertical, autoplaying, infinite feed designed to keep you swiping. That is why "block all of YouTube" is usually the wrong fix — you lose the useful part to kill the addictive part.
Block vs hide vs limit: choose the right setup
There are three honest options, and the best one depends on how you use YouTube. Most people get the best result by combining hide and limit rather than reaching straight for a full block.
- Hide Shorts and recommendations while keeping search and subscriptions — best if you rely on YouTube for work or learning.
- Limit total YouTube time per day — best if any YouTube tends to snowball.
- Block YouTube entirely during set hours — best if you do not need it while working.
Selective cleaning instead of a full block
MonkeyBlocker's angle here is selective cleaning rather than full blocking, so research and normal videos stay usable while the Shorts loop is removed. The Social Cleaner hides the Shorts shelf, homepage traps and recommendation rails so the page stops dangling new rabbit holes in front of you; you can still search for the video you came for and watch your subscriptions.
Match each pain to a feature
The pain "pulled into Shorts" maps to the Social Cleaner, which removes Shorts, Reels, homepages and recommendation rows. The pain "one video becomes an hour" maps to a per-site Daily time limit on YouTube, with the Floating timer keeping the remaining budget visible. The pain "I keep swiping without deciding to" maps to the Scroll Stopper, which breaks the infinite feed into deliberate choices, and reflexive opens map to the Impulse Check pause before YouTube loads.
Example setups
Research mode: Social Cleaner on, no time limit, so you can search freely without the Shorts shelf or homepage pull. Study mode: a 20-minute daily limit plus a weekday schedule and the floating timer. Evening cutoff: a hard block on YouTube after a set hour, so late-night binges are not an option.
Add to Chrome — free
No account, no credit card, about a 2-minute setup. Works in Chrome and Chromium browsers like Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi and Arc.
Related reading: limit social feeds during work hours, the wider Chrome website blocker setup, and MonkeyBlocker as a focus extension.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hide YouTube Shorts without blocking all of YouTube?
Yes. The Social Cleaner hides the Shorts shelf, homepage traps and recommendation rails while keeping search and your subscriptions, so you can still use YouTube normally.
Can I set a time limit for YouTube in Chrome?
Yes. Give YouTube a daily time budget and, if you like, a schedule so the limit is strict during work hours and relaxed later. The floating timer keeps the remaining time visible.
Can MonkeyBlocker stop endless Shorts swiping?
The Scroll Stopper breaks the infinite Shorts feed into deliberate stopping points, and the Social Cleaner can remove the Shorts shelf, homepage traps and recommendations entirely.
Is MonkeyBlocker a good fit for this?
Good fit if you want YouTube minus the addictive surfaces; less suited if you want the whole site blocked, or if you need this on the YouTube mobile app — MonkeyBlocker is a Chrome and Chromium desktop extension.