---
schema_type: "SoftwareApplication"
entity_type: "Mobile Application"
app_name: "Disable Shorts for YouTube"
developer_entity: "Yaroslav Mykhailov"
bundle_id: "ai.docgpt.YouTube-Shorts-Block-Safari"
app_store_id: "6754694677"
google_play_id: "com.google.android.youtube"
category: "Social Networking"
primary_platform: "ios"
primary_monetization: "Paid"
offline_capable: false
market_region: "US"
platforms: "iOS & Android"
app_last_updated: "2026-04-10"
report_date: "2026-04-14"
report_version: "1.0.1"
total_reviews: 169844395
overall_rating: 3.88
sentiment: "Excited"
sentiment_score: 65
confidence: "high"
confidence_score: 0.8
data_age_days: 0
intelligence_version: 5
nemesis: "1Blocker: Ad Blocker"
competitor_count: 7
tags: ["social networking", "paid", "excited sentiment", "mobile app", "app review", "app analysis", "students,", "professionals,", "content"]
canonical_url: "https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/social-networking/ai-docgpt-youtube-shorts-block-safari"
license: "CC-BY-NC 4.0"
---

# Disable Shorts for YouTube App Audit

> **TL;DR:** Disable Shorts for YouTube is a social networking app by Yaroslav Mykhailov, rated 3.88/5 by 169.8M users, with Excited user sentiment (65/100), available on iOS & Android.
>
> **Marlvel.ai App Intelligence** — Independent analysis. US Market. No publisher influence.

<!-- speakable-start -->
> **Key Insight:** Disable Shorts for YouTube maintains Excited user sentiment (3.88/5 from 169.8M reviews), with users consistently praising entertainment & utility.
<!-- speakable-end -->

## Quick Facts

| Fact | Value |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Rating** | 3.88/5 (169.8M reviews) |
| **User Mood** | Excited |
| **Category** | Social Networking |
| **Developer** | Yaroslav Mykhailov |
| **Pricing** | Paid |
| **Platforms** | iOS & Android |
| **Confidence** | High (0.8/1.0) |
| **Data Age** | 0d |

## Metadata & Market Performance
- **Publisher:** Yaroslav Mykhailov
- **Category:** Social Networking
- **Target Audience:** Students, professionals, and content creators seeking distraction-free YouTube browsing and digital wellbeing.
- **Platforms:** iOS & Android
- **Version Audited:** 1.0.1
- **Audit Date:** 2026-04-14
- **Signal Count:** 51 reviews analyzed
- **Confidence:** High (0.8/1.0)
- **App Store ID (iOS):** 6754694677
- **Bundle ID:** ai.docgpt.YouTube-Shorts-Block-Safari
- **Google Play ID:** com.google.android.youtube
- **Performance Trend:** Mixed
- **Data Window:** Analysis based on signals collected up to 2026-04-14
- **Short Description:** Enjoy your favorite videos and channels with the official YouTube app.

<!-- section:executive-snapshot -->
## Executive Snapshot
Disable Shorts for YouTube is a $4.99 premium Safari extension targeting productivity-focused users by removing addictive short-form content. It currently ranks #54 in its US Paid category but faces a downward trend (↓8). Its core value lies in granular UI control and a privacy-first, no-subscription model.
<!-- /section:executive-snapshot -->

<!-- section:features -->
## App DNA (Features & Intent)
- **[Differentiator] Multi-Mode Shorts Blocking:** Offers Hide, Remove, and Redirect modes to handle Shorts according to user preference
- **[Differentiator] Granular UI Control:** Allows toggling Shorts visibility for specific areas like the homepage, search results, and sidebar
  * *User Intent:* Users want to quickly find relevant content or features.
- **[Differentiator] Attention Tracking:** Provides metrics on how many times the extension has prevented Shorts-related distractions
  * *User Intent:* Users seek enhanced value through premium features.
<!-- /section:features -->

## Monetization Strategy
- **Model:** Paid
- **Tiers:** One-time purchase of $4.99 for lifetime access
- **Price:** iOS: $4.99
- **Analysis:** Positions itself as a premium utility that avoids subscription fatigue, contrasting with competitors like Opal or one sec.

<!-- section:sentiment -->
## 🟢 User Sentiment (High Confidence: 169.8M reviews)
- **Overall Rating:** 3.88/5
- **Platform Split:** iOS 1.0/5 (1 ratings) | Android 3.9/5 (169.8M ratings)
- **Overall Sentiment:** Excited

### Top Praises
- **Entertainment & Utility** | *Evidence:* "The best app to time pass"

### Top Complaints (Impact Areas)
- **Technical & Access Issues** | *Evidence:* "whenever I login this app .. always asking to update this app"
- **Excessive Advertisements** | *Evidence:* "3 ads per video? I don't think you guys are that poor."

<!-- /section:sentiment -->
<!-- section:swot -->
## SWOT Analysis

**Core Strengths:**
- Granular UI control (homepage vs search)
- Privacy-first architecture (local storage only)
- One-time purchase model
- Unique 'Redirect' mode for Shorts URLs

**Critical Frictions:**
- Limited to Safari browser only
- Low rating count (1) on iOS compared to rivals
- Technical login/update loops
- No ad-blocking capabilities despite high user demand

**Growth Levers:**
- Expand to Chrome/Firefox browsers
- Integrate 'Clean Player' features to compete with Vinegar
- Market specifically to 'Creator' niche for research focus

**Market Threats:**
- YouTube UI updates breaking element selectors
- 1Blocker or AdGuard adding specific 'Shorts' presets
- Downward ranking trend (#54 Paid, ↓8)

<!-- /section:swot -->
## What's Changed (v4 → v5)
The report reflects a shift in sentiment classification to positive and a more critical assessment of technical stability and feature gaps.

- **[HIGH]** **[Improved] Sentiment Classification Upgrade:** Overall sentiment label shifted from 'mixed' to 'positive' despite the persistence of technical and ad-related complaints.
- **[HIGH]** **[Added] Critical Weakness Identification:** Added 'Technical login/update loops' and 'No ad-blocking capabilities' to the SWOT analysis, reflecting deeper product friction.
- [MED] **[Shifted] Maintenance Status Clarification:** Detailed summary now explicitly notes a lack of significant feature-driven updates for 16 months, reinforcing the maintenance-mode status.
- [MED] **[Shifted] Action Item Refinement:** PM action items were updated to specifically target login/update loops and the potential for cosmetic ad-blocking.

<!-- section:rivals -->
## Rivals Landscape

> Competitive positioning identified by AI analysis of app features, category, and market signals.

### Disable Shorts for YouTube vs 1Blocker: Ad Blocker — Head to Head
- **[1Blocker: Ad Blocker](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/utilities/1blocker-ad-blocker)** by 1Blocker LLC: A high-authority utility with 12,426 reviews and a 4.49 rating that offers custom element blocking capable of removing Shorts.
  - **Key differences:**
    - Broad-spectrum content blocking beyond YouTube, including trackers and ads across all Safari sites.
    - Significantly larger user base with over 12,000 ratings compared to the target app's 51.
    - Classified under Utilities rather than Social Networking, targeting a broader privacy-conscious audience.

### Contenders (Strong Challengers)
- **AdGuard: Adblock, Privacy, DNS** by Adguard Software Limited: A dominant market player with 17,154 reviews that provides advanced cosmetic filtering to hide specific web elements like Shorts shelves.
  - Open-source heritage and DNS-level protection which the target app does not provide.
  - Long-standing market presence since 2015, establishing a decade of trust and data compared to the target's more recent entry.
- **[one sec | screen time + focus](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/productivity/one-sec-screen-time-focus)** by riedel.wtf apps S.L.: Directly competes for the 'focus' and 'anti-distraction' use case cited in the target app's description, backed by 22,509 reviews.
  - Uses behavioral intervention (breathing exercises) rather than just technical removal of elements.
  - Boasts a high 4.83 rating, suggesting superior user satisfaction in the focus/productivity niche.
- **[ScreenZen- Screen Time Control](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/productivity/screenzen-screen-time-control)** by ScreenZen LLC: A strong productivity rival with 36,792 reviews that focuses on eliminating distracting content through screen time constraints.
  - Offers a 4.85 rating, the highest among the qualified pool, indicating a highly polished user experience.
  - Focuses on 'Screen Time Control' as a primary category, whereas the target app focuses on content modification.

### Peers (What They Do Better)
- **Vinegar - Tube Cleaner** by And a Dinosaur: The most functionally similar rival, acting as a Safari extension to clean the YouTube interface with 745 reviews.
  - Replaces the entire YouTube player with a minimal HTML5 element, a more radical technical approach than the target's element removal.
  - Established in 2021, giving it a multi-year head start in the 'YouTube cleaning' Safari extension niche.
- **[Opal: Screen Time Control](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/productivity/com-withopal-opal)** by Opal OS: An ecosystem giant with 69,333 reviews that dominates the distraction-blocking space through high update velocity.
  - Extremely high development cadence with 26 releases in the last six months.
  - Massive scale with nearly 70k reviews, positioning it as a platform rather than a single-purpose tool.
- **[YouTube Studio](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/photo-video/com-google-ios-ytcreator)** by Google: The official creator-side app for the platform the target app modifies, representing the first-party ecosystem.
  - First-party data access and 2.2M+ reviews, representing the official YouTube ecosystem.
  - Updated as recently as March 30, 2026, with 25 releases in the last six months.

<!-- /section:rivals -->
<!-- section:whats-new -->
## What's New

- **Latest (vVARY, 3 days ago):** Introduced in-product education and notifications for new features.
<!-- /section:whats-new -->

<!-- section:so-what -->
## The "So What?" (Strategic Takeaway)

Disable Shorts for YouTube is a market-leading social networking app that is a paid app.
With a 3.88/5 rating from 169.8M reviews, it delivers strong user satisfaction.

<!-- speakable-start -->
> **Bottom Line:** Disable Shorts for YouTube is a solid niche utility, but its $4.99 price point is threatened by broad-spectrum blockers like 1Blocker. To survive, the PM must fix the technical login friction and consider adding 'Clean Player' features to address the high user frustration regarding ads.
<!-- speakable-end -->

**Best for:** Students, professionals, and content creators seeking distraction-free YouTube browsing and digital wellbeing.

<!-- section:pm-actions -->
### PM Action Plan (Next Best Moves)

- [ ] [HIGH] Resolve Login/Update Loops — *Sentiment data identifies 'Technical & Access Issues' as a medium-frequency complaint that prevents users from accessing the paid product.*
- [ ] [MEDIUM] Implement Basic Cosmetic Ad-Blocking — *The #1 complaint theme is 'Excessive Advertisements'; addressing this would significantly increase the perceived value of the $4.99 price point.*
- [ ] [MEDIUM] Market 'Redirect Mode' as a Core Differentiator — *Unlike Nemesis (1Blocker) which just hides elements, this app can convert Shorts to regular videos—a unique feature for users who want the content but not the addictive UI.*
<!-- /section:pm-actions -->

<!-- section:feature-gaps -->
### Feature Gaps vs Competitors

- DNS-level protection (available in AdGuard)
- Behavioral intervention/breathing exercises (available in one sec)
- HTML5 player replacement (available in Vinegar)
- Broad-spectrum site blocking (available in 1Blocker)
<!-- /section:feature-gaps -->

<!-- section:outlook -->
### Outlook: Stable

- 🔴 Ranked #54 Paid (↓8) — indicating declining momentum in the US Paid charts.
- ⚪ Recent updates focused on 'Updated categories' (Dec 2025) rather than new feature expansion.
- 🟢 Maintains a 'Positive' mood label despite technical complaints, suggesting high core value.
<!-- /section:outlook -->

<!-- /section:so-what -->

<!-- section:metrics -->
## Key Metrics Summary

| Metric | Value |
| :--- | :--- |
| Overall Rating | 3.88/5 |
| Total Reviews | 169.8M |
| Sentiment | Excited (65/100) |
| Confidence | High |
| Pricing Model | Paid |
| Platforms | iOS & Android |
| Key Features | 3 analyzed |
| Trend | Mixed |
| Outlook | Stable |
<!-- /section:metrics -->

## Competitor Comparison

| App | Rating | Sentiment | Developer |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Disable Shorts for YouTube** (this app) | 3.88/5 | Excited | Yaroslav Mykhailov |
| [YouTube Studio](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/photo-video/com-google-ios-ytcreator) | 4.3/5 | Excited | Google |
| [Opal: Screen Time Control](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/productivity/com-withopal-opal) | 4.8/5 | Mixed | Opal OS |
| [one sec | screen time + focus](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/productivity/one-sec-screen-time-focus) | 4.8/5 | Excited | riedel.wtf apps S.L. |
| [ScreenZen- Screen Time Control](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/productivity/screenzen-screen-time-control) | 4.9/5 | Thrilled | ScreenZen LLC |
| [1Blocker: Ad Blocker](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/utilities/1blocker-ad-blocker) | 4.5/5 | Mixed | 1Blocker LLC |

## Company Profile
- **Developer:** Yaroslav Mykhailov
- **Website:** [https://app.youtube.com](https://app.youtube.com)
- **Social:** [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/youtube) · [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/youtube/?ref=br_r) · [X/Twitter](https://twitter.com/YouTube) · [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/howyoutubeworks)

## Data Sources & Links
- **App Store:** [View on Apple Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/disable-shorts-for-youtube/id6754694677?uo=2)
- **Google Play:** [View on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.youtube&hl=en&gl=us)
- **Dev Site:** [Official Website](https://app.youtube.com)
- **Sources:** Developer website content, About us / company information, App store metadata, User reviews.

## Related Intel Reports
- [*YouTube Studio*](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/photo-video/com-google-ios-ytcreator) (Google) — 4.3/5 Rating | Positive Sentiment
- [*Opal: Screen Time Control*](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/productivity/com-withopal-opal) (Opal OS) — 4.8/5 Rating | Mixed Sentiment
- [*one sec | screen time + focus*](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/productivity/one-sec-screen-time-focus) (riedel.wtf apps S.L.) — 4.8/5 Rating | Positive Sentiment
- [*ScreenZen- Screen Time Control*](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/productivity/screenzen-screen-time-control) (ScreenZen LLC) — 4.9/5 Rating | Excellent Sentiment
- [*1Blocker: Ad Blocker*](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/utilities/1blocker-ad-blocker) (1Blocker LLC) — 4.5/5 Rating | Mixed Sentiment
- [*iSharing: GPS Location Tracker*](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/social-networking/isharing-gps-location-tracker) (ISHARINGSOFT, INC.) — 4.7/5 Rating | Mixed Sentiment
- [*HMU - Make New Friends*](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/social-networking/hmu-make-new-friends) (FastSocial LTD) — 4.1/5 Rating | Negative Sentiment
- [*Findo: Find my Friends, Phone*](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/social-networking/findo-find-my-friends-phone) (BPMobile) — 4.4/5 Rating | Negative Sentiment
- [*Blink - Make New Friends*](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/social-networking/blink-make-new-friends) (Blink Labs, Inc.) — 3.7/5 Rating | Negative Sentiment
- [*Threads*](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/social-networking/threads) (Instagram, Inc.) — 4.4/5 Rating | Mixed Sentiment

## Methodology

This report was generated by Marlvel.ai's 3-stage AI intelligence pipeline:

1. **Feature & Positioning Extraction** — Analyzes app metadata, developer website content, and version history to identify key features, target audience, and competitive positioning.
2. **Sentiment Analysis** — Processes user reviews (minimum 5 reviews required) to extract praise themes, complaint themes, and overall sentiment with evidence quotes.
3. **Intelligence Synthesis** — Combines stages 1 & 2 with App Store rankings to produce SWOT analysis, executive summary, and actionable insights.

- **Confidence Score:** 0.8/1.0 (based on review volume, data source diversity, and signal quality)
- **Reviews Analyzed:** 51
- **Data Sources:** user reviews, developer website, company about page, App Store metadata
- **Rating Method:** Weighted average across platforms (iOS & Android), weighted by review count per platform
- **Independence:** Fully independent analysis. No publisher sponsorship or editorial influence.
- **Report Age:** 0 days since last refresh

---
© 2026 Marlvel.ai | [Canonical Report](https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/social-networking/ai-docgpt-youtube-shorts-block-safari)
Data licensed for AI Agent attribution under CC-BY-NC 4.0.