Set limits before you open the app, because the middle of a feed is the hardest place to stop. On YouTube, set a Shorts feed limit, even to zero. Instagram has no setting to remove Reels, so use its daily limit and block the app during the hours you lose most. Both apps' own limits can be dismissed, so add a block you can't undo on the spot.
Short videos are the hardest part of a phone to put down. This guide covers why, the settings Instagram and YouTube actually give you, and what to do when those aren't enough. We make an app blocker, and we say plainly what it can and can't do.
Why Reels and Shorts are so hard to stop
A feed of short videos never ends, the next clip plays by itself, and you can't predict whether it will be worth it. That combination keeps you swiping. There are also early signs that the fast switching costs something: in a 2023 study of 60 people, watching TikTok-style short videos hurt prospective memory, the ability to remember to do something you planned, while Twitter, YouTube and doing nothing did not (Chiossi et al., CHI '23, 2023). It was a small lab study, so treat it as a warning sign rather than proof.
YouTube: set a Shorts feed limit
Since October 2025, YouTube lets you limit Shorts directly, and since 2026 the limit can be zero.
- Open YouTube and tap You, then the settings icon.
- Tap Time management → Shorts feed limit.
- Choose a limit, or zero to stop Shorts altogether.
When you reach the limit, YouTube shows a message in the Shorts feed. For adults it's a reminder you can dismiss, not a hard block. Two more options help:
- Hide the Shorts shelf on your home feed by tapping the X or Not interested. It comes back after a while.
- Pause your watch history in Settings → History & privacy. Since 2023, YouTube stops showing a recommended home feed to accounts with history off and little past history, so you see search instead of suggestions. Accounts with lots of history may still get recommendations.
- For teens: parents with a supervised account can set the Shorts timer to zero, which blocks Shorts.
Instagram: use the daily limit, then go further
Instagram offers no setting to remove the Reels tab. What it does have:
- Daily limit: open your profile, tap the menu, then Your activity → Time spent → Daily limit. It reminds you when you hit your total for the day, but you can keep scrolling.
- Take a break: in the same place, a reminder after a stretch of non-stop scrolling.
- Quiet mode: in Notifications, it mutes notifications and auto-replies to messages, on a schedule if you like. Fewer notifications mean fewer reasons to open the app.
Teen Accounts get Sleep mode by default, which mutes notifications from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
When reminders aren't enough: block the app
Every limit above can be dismissed in a tap, and research suggests limits you can undo on the spot tend to get undone. In a study of about 1,900 Android users, limits set in advance that couldn't easily be overridden reduced use substantially (Allcott, Gentzkow & Song, American Economic Review, 2022).
Focus blocks whole apps, not just Reels or Shorts, so blocking Instagram also blocks its messages. The trade-off is that the block holds:
- A block rule keeps Instagram or YouTube locked during set hours on the days you pick, such as after 10 p.m. on weeknights.
- A Strict session has no pause or cancel button until the timer ends.
- When you open a blocked app, Focus offers a short brain game instead, so the urge has somewhere to go.
If you want to keep Instagram messages, block it only in your worst hours and use Instagram's daily limit for the rest of the day. See how to block apps on Android for the steps.
What happens when you stop
- You get time back. In a 2018 experiment with about 2,700 people, four weeks off Facebook freed about an hour a day, mostly spent offline with friends, family and TV. Happiness rose slightly, and people kept using Facebook less afterwards (Allcott et al., American Economic Review, 2020).
- Mood gains are small. Six weeks off Instagram before the 2020 US election improved a happiness, anxiety and depression measure only slightly, mainly for women under 25, and the overall result missed the study's own significance threshold (Allcott et al., NBER working paper, 2025).
- Cutting back can be enough. Limiting Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to 10 minutes each a day for three weeks reduced loneliness and depression in 143 students (Hunt et al., Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2018).
For more, read how to stop doomscrolling and how much screen time is too much.
Common questions
How to reduce reel addiction?
Don't rely on stopping in the middle of a feed, which is the hardest moment to stop. Decide in advance instead: turn on YouTube's Shorts feed limit and Instagram's daily limit, and block the apps outright during the hours you lose most, such as late at night. Cutting just those hours is often enough to make a big difference.
Why am I addicted to Instagram Reels?
Reels are built to have no natural end. Each video is short, the next one starts by itself, and you never know whether it will be great or dull, which keeps you swiping. It's the design working as intended, not a personal failing, so changing your setup works better than willpower.
What happens when you stop watching Reels?
Mostly, you get time back. In a large 2018 experiment, people who stopped using Facebook for four weeks gained about an hour a day, spent more time with friends and family, felt slightly happier, and kept using Facebook less afterwards. Expect gradual gains rather than a dramatic change.
Is quitting Instagram healthy?
It can help, but the effect is usually small. In a study around the 2020 US election, six weeks off Instagram slightly improved a measure of happiness, anxiety and depression, mainly for women under 25, though the overall result missed the researchers' own significance threshold. Cutting back can work too: limiting social apps to 10 minutes each a day reduced loneliness and depression in a 2018 study.
How do I stop myself from using Instagram?
Make it harder to open. Log out, move the app off your home screen, and block it for set hours with an app blocker so the decision is made before the urge arrives. Instagram's own daily limit is only a reminder you can dismiss, so pair it with a block you can't undo on the spot.
Is there a way to permanently block YouTube Shorts?
Not completely, for adults. YouTube's Shorts feed limit can be set to zero in Settings → Time management, but the message it shows can be dismissed. Parents with supervised teen accounts can set the Shorts timer to zero, which blocks Shorts. For a block you can't dismiss, block the whole YouTube app during set hours.
Is there any app to block YouTube Shorts?
YouTube's own Shorts feed limit is the simplest place to start. Some Android blockers offer to block Shorts or Reels inside the app; check which permissions they need. Focus blocks whole apps, so it can't block Shorts alone, but it can lock YouTube completely during the hours you want, with no cancel button in a Strict session.
How do I turn off Shorts?
Open YouTube, tap You → Settings → Time management → Shorts feed limit, and set the limit to zero. You can also tap the X or Not interested on the Shorts shelf to hide it from your home feed for a while.