Keep useful YouTube access
Use long-form videos for work or learning while removing a short-form route that repeatedly captures your attention.
Adjacent short-form blocker
A free YouTube Shorts blocker for Chrome
HAJR can block YouTube Shorts on desktop and optionally restrict Instagram Reels and TikTok. This is an adjacent feature for people whose short-form feeds are distracting, triggering, or part of the route that leads toward adult content.
Part of the free HAJR Chrome extension. Not a separate download.
Block YouTube Shorts
Stop supported Shorts routes on desktop without treating every useful long-form YouTube video as the same problem.
Restrict Reels and TikTok
Use the same short-form protection setting for supported Instagram Reels routes and TikTok access.
Separate protection controls
Short-form blocking is distinct from adult-domain blocking, so you can choose the boundaries that match your plan.
One free extension
The short-video controls are included with HAJR's adult-site blocking, local image blurring, and optional accountability.
What this does
The short version.
HAJR's YouTube Shorts blocker is a free adjacent feature inside the HAJR Chrome extension. When short-form video blocking is enabled, HAJR blocks supported Shorts and Reels routes instead of requiring you to block every long-form video or useful part of a platform. TikTok can also be restricted from the same protection system. HAJR's main focus remains porn blocking and adult-content quitting, but this feature can help close a personally triggering route during recovery. The tool works in desktop Chrome and compatible Chromium browsers that can install the extension. It does not change the YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok mobile apps.
Setup
Four steps, done while you are calm.
- 1
Install HAJR
Add the free HAJR extension to Chrome and finish the initial setup.
- 2
Open Protection Settings
Go to the extension settings instead of relying on the toolbar summary alone.
- 3
Enable short-form blocking
Turn on the option for short-form video platforms.
- 4
Test your usual routes
Check YouTube Shorts and any other selected platform so you know what is covered before a difficult moment.
When it helps
The moments this is for.
Close a trigger path
If recommendations or short-form feeds commonly lead toward explicit searches, blocking that earlier step can add useful friction.
Reduce extension clutter
Use one extension for adult domains, explicit-image blurring, and selected short-form platforms instead of stacking several single-purpose blockers.
Good to know
Set it up knowing this.
- This feature applies to supported browser routes, not the platforms' mobile or desktop applications.
- YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok can change their URLs and page structure, which may require an extension update.
- Blocking a feed does not address every reason someone returns to it; it adds friction and creates room for another choice.
- As with any Chrome extension, the user retains browser-level control over whether the extension remains installed and enabled.
Questions
Asked before installing.
Can HAJR block YouTube Shorts without blocking all of YouTube?
HAJR is designed to block supported YouTube Shorts routes separately from long-form YouTube access. Test the current version against the routes you use because platform changes can affect coverage.
Does it also block Instagram Reels and TikTok?
The current extension includes controls for supported Instagram Reels routes and TikTok alongside YouTube Shorts blocking.
Is the YouTube Shorts blocker free?
Yes. Short-form video blocking is currently part of the free HAJR Chrome extension and has no integrated paid tier.
The other layers in the same extension
Turn it on before you need it.
Install once, switch on the layers that match your plan, and test them while you are thinking clearly.
Add the free YouTube Shorts blocker to Chrome