What’s happened? YouTube is rolling out a new feature to help users waste less time on Shorts.
- It lets users set a daily limit for how long they can scroll the Shorts feed on mobile.
- YouTube says (via TechCrunch) users will see a prompt stating that “scrolling on the Shorts feed is paused for the day,” after they hit the limit.
- Like other screen-time tools, this feature won’t completely stop users from watching Shorts, and they’ll have the option to dismiss the prompt to continue their binge.
Why is this important? The built-in timer should help users monitor and limit the time they spend watching Shorts without relying on system-level or third-party screen-time tools.
- Unlike system-level screen time settings on iOS and Android, this feature only limits Shorts consumption instead of locking users out of the YouTube app entirely.
- The limit could promote healthier viewing habits for users who spend way too much time scrolling the Shorts feed.
Why should I care? If you’ve found yourself wasting way too much time on YouTube Shorts of late, this feature should help you regain control by nudging you to take a break once you hit your daily limit.
- If you, like me, often watch Shorts before bed, this feature will curb late-night scrolling and help you get some much-needed sleep.
- Once YouTube adds the feature to its parental controls, which is already on the cards, it will also allow parents to control how much time their kids spend watching Shorts.
What’s next? YouTube is rolling out the Shorts daily limit feature on its mobile apps starting today, and it should reach your device in the coming days. The feature won’t be available on desktop and smart TVs for now, and YouTube has not shared a timeline for expanding it to those platforms.
