Short the Shorts

Short the Shorts: a tiny puzzle between YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels to break the doom-scroll. Free, private, no account.

Ever opened one Short and looked up 40 minutes later? Short the Shorts adds a tiny pause between YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Before the next video plays, you solve a quick puzzle. It takes a few seconds, just long enough to ask yourself: do I actually want to keep scrolling? If you do, solve it and carry on. If not, close the tab. Either way, it's your choice again, not the algorithm's. HOW IT WORKS • Watch Shorts or Reels as normal • Every few videos, a "Mindful Pause" appears and the video pauses • Solve a quick math sum or word unscramble to continue • Or watch the Short as a normal YouTube video, or close the tab MAKE IT YOURS • Frequency: pause every Short, or every 3, 5 or 10 • Challenge: Micro Math or Word Unscramble • Difficulty: Easy, Medium or Hard • Auto-off times: switch it off during set hours, like lunch or weekends • Choose sites: turn YouTube or Instagram on or off separately • Optional: gate all YouTube videos, not just Shorts SEE YOUR PROGRESS The popup shows today's videos viewed, pauses solved, and an estimate of the time you've saved. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account, no sign-up • No tracking, no analytics, no ads • Everything runs in your browser. Your settings sync through your own Chrome profile, and nothing is sent to us. • Only asks for permission to run on youtube.com and instagram.com FREE, FOREVER No paywall and no premium tier. If it helps you, you can leave a tip or share it with a friend straight from the pause screen. Built to make scrolling a choice again.