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How to hide YouTube recommendations, Shorts and the home feed

Updated 13 October 2026

The short answer

On a computer, the cleanest way is a browser extension that hides the home feed, the suggested videos next to the player and Shorts, while keeping search. Without an extension, turning off your watch history empties the home page, but suggested videos and Shorts still appear.

Option 1: hide them with Stillwood

While protection is on, Stillwood removes the parts of YouTube built to keep you watching: the home feed, the suggested videos next to the player, Shorts and the end screens. Search still works, so you can find the video you came for and leave.

  1. Install Stillwood for Chrome and add YouTube to your list.
  2. Choose when protection is on: work hours, all the time, or only when you press “Start focus”.
  3. Open YouTube. Instead of the feed you’ll see a short note and the search bar.

Stillwood also pauses YouTube before it opens and asks what’s pulling you there. If you need a video for work, it opens YouTube for 10 minutes in this clean, search-only mode.

Option 2: turn off your watch history

YouTube builds the home feed from what you’ve watched. Turn the history off and the home page stays empty.

  1. On youtube.com, click your profile picture, then Your data in YouTube.
  2. Open YouTube Watch History and choose Turn off.

The catch: it affects every device you’re signed in to, you lose “continue watching”, and the videos suggested around the one you’re watching, and Shorts, can still appear.

Option 3: hide the Shorts shelf for a while

On the YouTube home page, the Shorts shelf has a close button. Click it and YouTube hides the shelf for 30 days. It comes back after that, and Shorts can still show up in search and in the sidebar.

Which one to choose

If you just want a calmer home page, turning off history is free and takes a minute. If you want YouTube to stop pulling you in while you work, but still need search, an extension that hides the feed, suggestions and Shorts together is the one that holds.

Questions

Can I keep YouTube search but hide everything else?

Yes. Stillwood hides the home feed, suggested videos, Shorts and end screens while protection is on, and leaves search working.

Does hiding recommendations remove my subscriptions?

No. Your subscriptions, playlists and channel stay the same. Only what YouTube shows you on the page changes.

Does this work in the YouTube app?

No. Extensions work in the browser on your computer. In the mobile app, turning off watch history is the closest option.

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