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How to Turn Off YouTube Autoplay (Every Device)

By Editorial Team · ·1 min read
How to Turn Off YouTube Autoplay (Every Device) — illustrated guide cover

Autoplay is why \"one video\" becomes an hour. YouTube buries the switch in a different place on every device — here's all of them.

Quick answer

In any playing video, look for the small autoplay toggle in the player controls (top of the player on phones, bottom bar on desktop) and switch it off. It stays off for your account on that platform.

Every device

  • Phone/tablet app: tap the video once → the autoplay switch is at the top of the player. Or permanently: profile picture → Settings → Autoplay → off.
  • Desktop: the toggle sits in the player's bottom control bar, next to the captions icon.
  • TV apps (smart TV, Fire TV, Roku, consoles): Settings (gear icon in the sidebar) → Autoplay → off. TV apps track this per device.
  • YouTube Kids: parent settings → turn autoplay off, and consider the built-in timer that locks the app after a chosen duration.

Related settings that calm YouTube down

  1. Muted playback in feeds (app Settings → General) — stops videos silently auto-previewing as you scroll.
  2. Take a Break / Bedtime reminders (Settings → General) — gentle interrupts at intervals you choose.
  3. Clear watch history influence: a pause on watch history (Settings → Privacy) stops recommendations tunnelling on one topic.

Troubleshooting

Autoplay came back? The setting is per-platform — phone, desktop and each TV remember it separately, so check the device it returned on. Videos still auto-play in Shorts? Shorts always advance by design; the only control is not opening the Shorts shelf (long-press a Shorts video → Not interested helps starve it).

Frequently asked questions

Does turning off autoplay affect playlists?

No — playlists intentionally continue to the next item. Autoplay controls only YouTube's own "up next" recommendations after standalone videos.

Why does autoplay keep re-enabling?

It's stored per device and per account. A TV app update, a sign-out, or watching signed-out can reset it — flip it off again and it sticks for that context.

Can I disable autoplay for my kid's account?

Yes — in YouTube Kids it's a parental setting, and in a supervised Google account you control it from Family Link plus the app's own settings.

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