How to Clean Up Your YouTube Feed (Complete Guide)
Last updated: August 2026
Quick answer: Install the free Dehook extension and do a 5 minute cleanup: hide Shorts, block your three worst topics, ban your five worst channels, and set a minimum video length. Your feed transforms immediately, and because you stop engaging with the junk, the algorithm follows within days.
A messy feed is not a character flaw; it is the intended output of a system optimized for watch time. Cleaning it up by hand with Not interested clicks is a treadmill: Mozilla measured those signals at roughly 11 percent effectiveness.
Cleanup that compounds
The Dehook cleanup works because every filter is permanent and every filtered tile stops feeding the algorithm. Day one looks better instantly; week two is better still, because your engagement data has stopped rewarding the junk. The guides below cover each step in depth.
The 5 minute feed cleanup
- Install Dehook. Add the free extension to your browser.
- Hide Shorts. One toggle. The single biggest visual cleanup.
- Block your three worst topics. Be honest: what do you watch and then regret? Celebrity gossip, politics, one specific game. Add them as topics; the AI filters by subject.
- Ban five channels. Click the ban button on the channels you hate-watch. They are gone from feed and search.
- Set a length minimum. Drag the length slider to 4 minutes to clear clip spam. Adjust to taste.
Dehook↑ five minutes, transformed feed
A cleaned-up configuration in the Dehook popup.
FAQ
Where do I start if my feed is a disaster?
Start with formats, not topics: hide Shorts and set a length minimum. That alone removes most of the junk volume. Then block the two or three topics that keep hooking you.
Will the cleanup hold, or does the mess come back?
It holds, because the filters are yours and permanent. Native cleanups decay since Not interested signals expire; a client-side filter does not.
Do I lose anything good?
Blurred tiles can always be revealed with a click, so nothing is irreversibly gone. Most people find they reveal almost nothing after the first day.
How is this different from resetting my account?
A reset wipes the good with the bad and the mess rebuilds. A cleanup keeps your subscriptions and interests and removes only what you explicitly opted out of.