YouTube Shorts Category Does Not Reliably Block Shorts
The YouTube Control feature relies on metadata provided by YouTube’s official APIs to categorize and enforce controls on video content. However, YouTube Shorts traffic is not consistently delivered through the standard video API endpoints that this categorization depends on.
Technical Explanation
YouTube Shorts uses multiple backend endpoints as part of YouTube’s newer API architecture, including:
- youtube.com/youtubei/v1/reel
- youtube.com/shorts
When a user attempts to view a Short, YouTube may alternate between these endpoints. If one endpoint is unavailable or blocked, YouTube automatically retries using the other.
As a result, blocking only one of these endpoints is insufficient, and Shorts content may still load.
These endpoints:
- Are part of YouTube’s newer, internal API framework
- Do not always expose reliable metadata for the Shorts category
- Are not consistently classified under the Shorts category received by Skyhigh from YouTube’s official APIs
Impact
Due to these architectural changes on YouTube’s side, the Block YouTube Shorts category may not reliably trigger enforcement, even when:
- YouTube Control is enabled
- HTTPS decryption is active
- The Shorts category is explicitly selected for blocking
Recommended Workaround
To ensure Shorts are fully blocked, both endpoints must be explicitly blocked using Global Block Lists.
Configuration Steps
-
Navigate to:
Global Block → Global Block Lists → Domain Blocklist -
Add the following domains:
- youtube.com/youtubei/v1/reel
- youtube.com/shorts
-
Save and publish the policy.
Result
By blocking both endpoints, YouTube Shorts traffic is consistently prevented, regardless of which backend API endpoint YouTube uses.