How to turn off autoplay on YouTube on Android

What does autoplay do on YouTube?

When Autoplay is on, another related video starts by itself after the one you are watching ends. YouTube’s help describes it as a way to make it easier to decide what to watch next. In practice it means you never have to decide at all: the next video is already playing before you have thought about whether you wanted one.

A few details from YouTube’s help that are worth knowing:

• It runs for a long time. On a mobile network, Autoplay stops after you have been inactive for 30 minutes. On Wi-Fi it keeps going for up to 4 hours.
• It is set per device. You can have Autoplay on in the app on your phone and off on your computer, so changing one does not change the others.
• Teens start with it off. For users aged 13 to 17, Autoplay is off by default. On a supervised account, a parent may have turned it off and the switch may not be available.
• Small things interrupt it. If you scroll past the player or type something, like a comment or a search, the next video will not start on its own.

How do you turn off autoplay on a video?

The quickest way, from YouTube’s steps for Android:

1. Open any video so you are on the watch screen.
2. At the top of the video player, tap the Autoplay switch so it shows as off.

That is it. The switch is a setting, not a one-time choice, so it stays off for the next video too.

How do you turn off autoplay in YouTube settings?

If you cannot find the switch on the player, or you want to check it is really off:

1. Tap your profile picture (on newer versions, the You tab).
2. Tap Settings (the gear at the top right).
3. Tap Autoplay.
4. Switch Autoplay off.

Want to leave Autoplay on but skip it once? YouTube’s tip: tap Cancel at the end of the video, when the next one comes up.

How do you stop videos playing in your feed?

Even with Autoplay off, videos can start moving as you scroll. That is a different feature: the inline player. Per YouTube’s inline player help, as you scroll your Home feed and search results, videos begin to play on mute with captions. It may be on by default on both Wi-Fi and mobile data. To turn it off:

1. Tap your profile picture, then Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Playback in feeds.
4. Choose Off. The other options are Always on and Wi-Fi only.

This one matters more than it looks. A moving preview is far harder to scroll past than a still thumbnail, and YouTube notes that if you watch a video for a while in the inline player, it may go into your watch history. Off means you only watch what you actually tap. YouTube also says previews are already turned off on some devices and formats to save battery, so you may not see every option.

How do you turn off autoplay while casting to a TV?

Casting has its own queue, and Autoplay can keep filling it. From YouTube’s help:

1. Connect your phone to the TV and start a video.
2. Tap the control bar at the bottom of the screen to expand the queue and see the Autoplay setting.
3. Switch Autoplay off.

If you watch in the YouTube app on the TV itself rather than casting, the setting is in the TV app: Settings → Autoplay.

What does turning off autoplay not stop?

Autoplay off removes the automatic next video. It does not remove the reasons you keep watching:

• Shorts. The Shorts feed is a swipe, not an autoplay queue. The Autoplay switch does not end it. Use the Shorts feed limit in our YouTube Shorts guide.
• Recommendations. The next video is still suggested right under the player. You just have to tap it yourself, which is the point.
• The habit of opening the app. If you open YouTube without deciding to, no player setting will catch that. See stop opening apps on autopilot.

How do you add a stop that sticks?

Turning off autoplay gives every video an end. If you still end up watching for hours, add a limit:

• Take a break reminder. In YouTube: profile picture → Settings → General (or Time management on newer versions) → Remind me to take a break. It pauses the video at the interval you pick.
• Bedtime reminder. Same menu: Remind me when it’s bedtime, with a start and end time. Pair it with Android’s Bedtime mode, which can turn the screen grayscale at the same hour.
• An Android app timer. Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls → find YouTube → set a daily limit. When the time is up, YouTube pauses until midnight, with no Ignore button. See how to set app timers on Android.

YouTube’s own reminders can be dismissed with a tap. Treat them as a speed bump, and use the app timer if you tap past them every night.

Which setting should you change?

What if autoplay will not stay off?

Autoplay is back on

• Autoplay can be set differently on each device. Check the phone, tablet, and TV separately.
• Check which Google Account you are signed in to in YouTube. If you switch accounts, check the setting in each one.

There is no Autoplay switch

• On a supervised account, a parent may control Autoplay, so the switch may not be there.
• Update the YouTube app, then look again in Settings → Autoplay. Menus move between versions.

Videos still play while I scroll

• That is the inline player. Set Settings → General → Playback in feeds to Off.

The next video still plays on the TV

• Turn off Autoplay in the cast queue on your phone, or in Settings in the YouTube app on the TV.

Where ReClaim fits

ReClaim is the Android launcher we build. Autoplay off gives each video an end. ReClaim adds a decision before the first one starts, on the home screen, where opening YouTube usually begins.

• App reminders. Before YouTube opens, ReClaim asks how long you intend to use it, then nudges you when that time is up.
• Daily and weekly limits. Give an app a budget. When it is up, ReClaim can close it.
• Scheduled blocking. Recurring windows, like bedtime, when selected apps are not available.

The home screen is a clock and the few apps you choose, then a plain alphabetical list without icon candy, so a video app is something you go looking for rather than something that finds you.

Questions