How to Hide YouTube Recommendations (2026 Guide)

To hide YouTube recommendations in 2026, install the free Unhook extension on Chrome, Firefox, or Edge and toggle off the homepage feed, sidebar recommendations, and end-screen autoplay. Your subscriptions and search remain fully functional. YouTube has no native setting to disable recommendations — an extension is required.

Last verified: May 25, 2026 · Reading time: 3 min · Difficulty: Easy

TL;DR

• YouTube’s recommendations are designed to maximize watch time, not match your intent.
• Best tool: Unhook — free, granular, single-toggle, Chrome + Firefox + Edge.
• Covers homepage feed, sidebar, end-screen cards, trending page, and “Up next” autoplay.
• Subscriptions and search are completely unaffected.

What YouTube lets you do (and why it’s not enough)

As of May 2026, YouTube’s native controls for recommendations include:

• “Not interested” on individual videos (resets within days).
• “Don’t recommend channel” (works per channel, not category-wide).
• Pausing watch history (breaks personalization but doesn’t remove the recommendation UI).

None of these hide the homepage feed, disable the sidebar, or remove end-screen cards. The algorithmic surfaces remain visible. This is by design — YouTube’s revenue depends on recommendations driving watch time.

The setup

1. Install Unhook

Free, no account required. Unhook.app.

• Chrome Web Store
• Firefox Add-ons
• Edge: install from Chrome Web Store.

2. Configure the recommendation toggles

Click the Unhook icon → set these:

Setting	Recommended
Hide homepage feed	On
Hide sidebar recommendations	On
Hide end-screen cards	On
Hide “Up next” autoplay	On
Hide Shorts shelf	On (see hide YouTube Shorts)
Hide trending	On
Hide comments	Optional
Hide subscriptions feed	Leave Off — you want this

3. Reload YouTube

The homepage now shows a search bar and your subscriptions. No feed. No “Because you watched…” No viral rabbit holes.

What you’re left with

After configuring Unhook:

• Search — fully functional. YouTube as a search engine.
• Subscriptions — fully functional. Channels you chose to follow.
• Watch history — fully functional.
• Playlists — fully functional.

You’ve converted YouTube from an attention slot machine into a deliberate-use tool.

Going further

• Hide YouTube Shorts — Unhook also handles Shorts; it’s a separate set of toggles.
• Add News Feed Eradicator as a backup layer — it removes the YouTube homepage completely and works independently of Unhook.
• For total YouTube blocks during work hours: Cold Turkey or Freedom can block youtube.com on a schedule. Use in combination with Unhook so that when you are on YouTube, the recommendations are gone.

What this won’t do

• Won’t block YouTube in the mobile app. The YouTube iOS and Android apps don’t support browser extensions. On Android, YouTube Revanced (sideloaded patched client) can disable the homepage feed. On iOS, use YouTube in Orion browser with Unhook installed.
• Won’t prevent autoplay from playing the next video in a playlist you started. Unhook’s “Up next” toggle stops the sidebar recommendation, not playlist continuation.
• Won’t stop YouTube from adding new recommendation surfaces. Unhook updates when YouTube ships UI changes, but there may be brief gaps after major YouTube redesigns.

If it’s not working

• Homepage still showing videos? Confirm “Hide homepage feed” is toggled on (not just the Shorts shelf). Reload after any settings change.
• Sidebar still showing? “Hide sidebar recommendations” is a separate toggle from the homepage feed.
• End-screen cards reappeared? YouTube ships UI changes regularly; check for a pending Unhook extension update.

Related guides

• How to hide YouTube Shorts permanently — Shorts are a separate surface from the main recommendation feed.
• What is doomscrolling? And how to stop it — YouTube recommendations are one of the primary doomscrolling vectors.
• Best distraction blockers 2026 — when hiding recommendations isn’t enough and you need to block YouTube entirely.

What to do next

Install Unhook, toggle on “Hide homepage feed,” “Hide sidebar recommendations,” and “Hide end-screen cards.” Reload YouTube. Thirty seconds.

Join the waitlist — the FeedCutter extension will bring the same recommendation-removal capability to the official YouTube mobile app.