YouTube has taken an important step in how content is searched on the platform by introducing an update to its filtering system that allows Exclude Shorts from the results entirelyThis new feature responds to a recurring request from users who preferred to focus on longer, traditional videos without short clips flooding the search results.
With this change, the Google-owned company is trying better balance the experience between long videos and ultra-short contentThis comes at a time when Shorts have proliferated and account for a significant portion of views. The change affects the platform as a whole, including users in Spain and the rest of Europe, and will be rolled out gradually over the coming weeks.
New filter to exclude Shorts from search
The main new feature of this update is the addition of a Specific filter for Shorts within the "Type" section in the advanced search menu. From there, the user can choose whether they want to see only short videos, only long-form videos, or a combination along with other types of content such as channels, playlists, or movies.
In practice, this means that those who use YouTube to search for extensive tutorials, in-depth reviews, or educational content With a single adjustment, users can exclude vertical clips of up to three minutes that are part of the Shorts format. The filter not only allows users to choose classic video formats but also recognizes Shorts as a distinct category within the search engine itself.
It is worth remembering that the Shorts are YouTube's answer to the rise of short vertical videosPopularized by TikTok and, later, by Instagram Reels, these clips, up to three minutes long, have fostered rapid and massive consumption of content, but at the same time have made it more difficult to find long, well-produced material among so many short results.
The company admits that this clearer separation between video types is intended to offer greater control over people who use the platform for educational or informational purposesand they don't want the search to be filled with short clips when they need detailed explanations or extensive analysis.
This adjustment to the "Type" filter is combined with the options of duration in minutes that already existedSo it's still possible to narrow your search to videos under 3 minutes, between 3 and 20 minutes, or over 20 minutes. Now, this segmentation is further enhanced by the ability to completely exclude the Shorts format.
Name changes: from "Sort" to "Priority"
The update isn't limited to the new Shorts filter. YouTube has taken the opportunity to Rename several sections of the filter panel with the aim of making them more understandable for the average user. The old "Sort" menu is now called "Priority," a change that, according to the platform, better reflects what happens when applying these types of criteria to search results.
Within this revamped menu, one particularly relevant setting appears: the option "Popularity" replaces the traditional "Number of views"Instead of relying solely on how many times a video has been played, the system takes into account several indicators, such as viewing time and other interaction data, to decide which content is shown first.
This approach aims to ensure that the results better reflect what each person truly finds useful or interesting. In other words, The most viewed video is not the only one prioritizedbut rather the one that the algorithm understands as most relevant to the entered search, taking into account the overall behavior of the audience.
As YouTube explains in its documentation and in public communications about the change, The goal is to refine the quality of the search engine's responses. without the user having to navigate through a long list of videos that accumulate many views but provide little value.
This redesign fits with other recent moves on the platform, where there is an attempt to give more weight to factors such as time spent on the site or user satisfaction with the content, and not just to superficial metrics that can be inflated with opaque strategies.
Menu simplification: filters that disappear
Along with the new names and the specific filter for Shorts, the company has introduced a cleaning up options in the filter menu with the aim of simplifying it. Two criteria that were available until now have disappeared: "Upload date: last hour" and "Sort by rating".
Removing the option to view only videos uploaded in the last hour aims to reduce the complexity of the panel, but it doesn't mean losing the ability to find recent content. YouTube is keeping the filter. "Update" with the alternatives "today", "this week", "this month" and "this year", sufficient to locate new features without reaching a level of granularity that, according to the company, was hardly used.
Regarding the criteria of "sort by rating"Its withdrawal is justified by the historically declining importance of scoring systems based on numerical ratings or the direct comparison of positive and negative votes. The company now relies more on engagement and viewing time metrics, integrated into the aforementioned "Popularity" metric.
From a daily user perspective, these changes point to a less overwhelming menu, one more focused on the options most people actually use. By reducing the number of visible filters, The aim is to prevent the user from getting lost among too many possible combinations. and a more direct and understandable use is encouraged.
Sources from the official Google support community indicate that, although some advanced users may miss these options, The simplification follows a general design pattern in which priority is given to what is most useful and frequent over what is residual.
More control in the face of the avalanche of short videos
The changes to the search engine come in a context where The volume of short-form content on YouTube has skyrocketed., largely generated also with artificial intelligence toolsRecent reports indicate that a significant proportion of the material recommended on the platform falls into what has been dubbed "AI Slop": low-quality, repetitive videos designed primarily to accumulate views.
With the Shorts filter, YouTube offers a direct way to to put a stop to this saturation of ultra-short clips This is especially useful when the user is looking for something more in-depth. This measure can be particularly helpful in educational contexts, when reading news, or when searching for technical analyses, where longer videos often provide more context and depth.
For those who consume YouTube from Spain or the rest of Europe, this new feature has a clear impact on how they use the platform on a daily basis. Whether on a mobile phone, tablet, smart TV, or computer browser, Simply adjust the content type to make Shorts disappear from the results list of a specific search.
This step doesn't mean YouTube is turning its back on short-form content; in fact, Shorts remain a key part of its strategy against rival services. What's changing is that users finally have a clearer tool to decide which format you want to prioritize at any given time, something that until now was not so easy to control from the search engine itself.
In terms of experience, the result is a somewhat more predictable environment: someone comes looking for a documentary, a recorded live show, or a half-hour explainer video. He no longer has to mentally filter through dozens of fragments of just a few seconds each which occupy a large part of the first page of results.
Progressive deployment and focus on relevant results
According to information shared by the company on its blog and official forums, The filter update is being implemented gradually.Some users are already seeing the new "Priority" menu and Shorts filter, while others will receive it later through service updates.
The platform emphasizes that all these adjustments are part of a broader redesign of the search system, aimed at making it easier for people to find useful content without relying so much on automatic recommendations or algorithms that run in the background.
With the introduction of the "Popularity" criterion, YouTube is trying to improve the order of the results. is based on a combination of metricsInstead of relying on a single, easily manipulated metric, simply having a high number of views is no longer a guarantee of top rankings, while viewing time and other factors become equally or even more important.
For content creators in Europe and Spain, this new reality may mean that audience quality and retention outweigh the obsession with achieving quick spikes in views. At the same time, those who publish Shorts continue to have visibility within their own specific filter, but they are no longer mixed in as much with traditional videos in search results.
Overall, the update introduces a search engine with less visual clutter, clearer options for separating formats, and a more sophisticated sorting system that attempts to prioritize sustained value over mere click volume.
With this round of changes, YouTube is restructuring its filters so that the user has more decision power over what type of content they want to seeBy more clearly separating Shorts from other videos and focusing on relevance criteria that go beyond view counts, a simpler menu, new tags like "Priority," and the option to completely exclude the Short format have created a platform where it's easier to find what you're really looking for.
