I've noticed my phone storage keeps getting full even though I barely download anything. Turns out YouTube Shorts are being cached automatically in the background. Is there a way to disable this without having to clear my entire app cache every week?
YouTube doesn't give you a built-in toggle to turn off Shorts caching specifically - it's baked into how the app works. Your best bet is to go into Settings > Apps > YouTube > Storage and hit "Clear Cache" regularly, or limit background activity by going to Settings > Battery and restricting YouTube's background usage. If that feels tedious, you could also just reduce how much you scroll through Shorts (the less you watch, the less it caches), or switch to the web version on your browser when possible since that won't cache to your phone storage 📱
The caching is frustrating but there's actually a bit more control than people realize. I had the same issue and found that going to Settings > Apps > YouTube > Permissions and disabling "Modify system settings" actually stopped a lot of the background caching for me - though it might limit some features. The nuclear option of clearing cache weekly does work, but if you're willing to tolerate not having Shorts preload as smoothly, you can also just let the app auto-clear cache in your phone's storage settings (most phones have an option to delete cached data for apps you haven't used in X days). Some people also swear by using YouTube in the browser instead of the app since web versions don't cache video data the same way.
The thing is, you've got more options than just nuking your entire cache every time. The app does cache aggressively by default, but you can actually limit how much damage it does without going nuclear.
First, go into the YouTube app settings and look for "Offline" or "Downloads" - there's usually a storage limit you can set there, which caps how much space the app reserves. Set it low, like 500MB or 1GB depending on your phone. Beyond that, Android users can go to Settings > Apps > YouTube > Storage and instead of clearing the whole cache at once, just clear it every couple weeks rather than weekly. For iPhone, the approach is similar through Settings > General > iPhone Storage > YouTube, where you can see exactly how much space it's using and choose to offload the app (which clears data but keeps the app itself).
If you really want to get aggressive without clearing everything, you could disable auto-play for Shorts specifically if you're on WiFi most of the time - go to Settings within YouTube and find the playback options. That'll at least stop it from pre-downloading stuff on cellular. The real nuclear option is still there if nothing else works, but honestly starting with these smaller tweaks should buy you breathing room for a while.
YouTube actually does give you more control than you might think, it's just not obvious. The issue is that the app's aggressive caching happens by default in the background, and most people don't realize there are a few layers you can tweak. You can't toggle Shorts caching off completely without disabling the whole app's cache function, but you can absolutely reduce how much it stores and how often it refreshes.
Start by going to YouTube settings within the app itself - tap your profile icon, then Settings > General. Look for options around "Playback and performance" or similar (the exact name varies depending on your version). There's usually a setting for video quality and streaming preferences that affects caching behavior. You can lower the cached content size by adjusting playback quality preferences. Then head to your phone's settings, go to Apps > YouTube > Storage, and look for "Clear cache" specifically - not "Clear storage," which nukes your login and everything else. Do this monthly or whenever you notice things slowing down.
The other thing that helps is checking if YouTube has permission to write to your system storage. Go to Settings > Apps > YouTube > Permissions and make sure storage access is set to "Allow only while using the app" rather than "Allow all the time." This limits how aggressively the app can cache in the background when you're not actively using it. It's not a perfect solution - the app will still cache what you watch - but combined with monthly cache clearing and adjusted playback settings, you should see a real difference in how much space it's gobbling up.
On Android, you can actually go into the YouTube app's settings directly - look for "Offline" or "Downloads" in the app menu itself, not just the system settings - and disable automatic downloads or lower the cache limit if that option exists. Beyond that, the nuclear option people mention works, but a faster middle ground is to set up automatic cache clearing on a schedule using something like CCleaner or your phone's built-in storage maintenance (most modern phones have this now). If you're on iOS, YouTube's control is even more limited, so you might need to rely on the system-level app cache clearing or just accept that Shorts will eat storage unless you actively manage it every couple weeks.
The frustrating part is that YouTube treats Shorts caching like a core feature, not an optional thing. You can't flip a switch to disable it entirely, but you've got more granular control than just torching your whole app cache. In the YouTube app itself, go to Settings > General and look for "Download" or "Offline" settings - some versions let you restrict auto-downloads. More importantly, check Settings > Apps > YouTube > Permissions and see if you can revoke or limit "Modify system settings" or "Write to external storage," though this might break some features.
The real solution most people miss is managing it at the Android level rather than fighting YouTube directly. Go to Settings > Storage > Manage Storage (varies by phone maker), and you can often see exactly how much YouTube is taking up. You can also set app-specific storage limits if your phone supports it - on some devices this is under Developer Options. Some folks set up a recurring task using an automation app to clear YouTube's cache on a schedule, say weekly, without wiping everything else. It's not elegant, but it actually works better than manually clearing it every time you notice the problem.
One last thing: if you're really fed up, there's always YouTube Vanced or similar third-party clients that give you actual control, though they come with their own trade-offs around updates and stability.
Clearing cache weekly does work, but you can stretch that way further by turning off auto-play in YouTube settings (under "General") and keeping the app updated - older versions cache more aggressively. Past that, honestly, the app itself doesn't let you disable caching entirely without hacks, so if you're really desperate you could switch to using YouTube through your browser instead of the app, which gives you more control over what gets stored locally.
Most phones let you restrict background app activity through system-level settings - go to Settings > Battery or Settings > Apps > YouTube and look for "Background restriction" or "Battery optimization," which will cut off the caching without touching your cache folder. The catch that nobody mentions: if you restrict YouTube's background access too aggressively, Shorts won't preload at all, so the app might feel sluggish or you'll get buffering when you actually open it, so you'll need to find the balance that works for you.
clearing the cache weekly is the nuclear option, but you can also restrict youtube's background activity by going to Settings > Apps > YouTube > Battery > Battery Saver and setting it to "Restrict" - this cuts down how aggressively it pre-loads and caches shorts when you're not actively using the app, though it might mean slightly slower loading when you do open it. another trick that actually works is disabling auto-play for Shorts specifically in youtube's settings (swipe to your profile icon, Settings > General, and toggle off "Autoplay") which reduces how many videos get cached in the first place since the app won't be pre-buffering content you haven't even watched.
Your best move is to restrict YouTube's background activity permissions rather than just clearing cache repeatedly - go to Settings > Apps > YouTube > Permissions and turn off "Background restriction" or set it to "Don't allow in background," which will stop the aggressive pre-caching that happens when you're not even using the app. The earlier answers are right that there's no official toggle for Shorts caching specifically, but limiting background permissions actually prevents most of the unwanted storage drain without nuking your entire cache every week.
If you're on Android, you can go into Settings > Apps > YouTube > Battery > Battery Saver and set it to "Restrict" or higher, which kills background activity including caching - just note this might affect playback quality when you actually use the app. The nuclear cache-clear option still works, but doing it monthly rather than weekly usually strikes a balance if you're willing to live with some cached files.
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