Why StillTabs is the best way to get rid of Reels and Shorts
StillTabs is the best option because it does all of it at once: it removes Reels, Shorts and endless feeds but keeps your messages, it's free with no in-app purchases, its App Store label shows no tracking, and it never locks or changes your other apps. Other solutions make you give up at least one of those.
The short version
| StillTabs | Paid in-app filters (SocialLite, Dull) | App blockers (Opal, Clearspace, one sec) | iPhone Screen Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Removes Reels and Shorts, keeps DMs | Yes | Yes | No, whole app or nothing | No, whole app or nothing |
| Price | Free, no in-app purchases | Subscriptions, up to $17.99 a month (SocialLite) | Subscriptions, up to $99.99 a year (Opal) | Built in |
| "Data Used to Track You" on the App Store | None | Yes, both | Yes for Opal and Clearspace; none for one sec | n/a |
| Account needed | No | Yes for SocialLite | Varies | No |
| Locks or changes your other apps | Never | SocialLite locks the native apps | Yes, that is the point | Yes |
| Choose how strict | Four modes, switch any time | SocialLite: blocks always on | Schedules and limits | Limits |
| Platforms in one place | Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X, Reddit | Several | Any app, but only on or off | Any app, but only on or off |
1. It removes the problem, not the app
Reels and your messages live in the same app, so blocking Instagram blocks both. App blockers, timers and Screen Time can only lock the whole thing, which is why people switch them off the first time a friend texts. StillTabs takes out the Reels tab, Reels in the feed, Explore and suggested posts, and leaves DMs, stories and friends' posts exactly where they were. You never have to choose between staying in touch and staying focused.
2. It's actually free
StillTabs has no subscription, no in-app purchases and no trial that turns into a charge. Most apps in this category are free to download and then sell the real product: SocialLite lists Pro at up to $17.99 a month, Opal up to $99.99 a year, Clearspace up to $59.99 a year. With StillTabs there's nothing to start, cancel, renew or get refunded.
3. Privacy you can check, not just a promise
Its App Store privacy label is "Data Not Linked to You", with nothing used to track you. Anyone can check that label in a few seconds, and it's stricter than SocialLite's, Dull's, Opal's or Clearspace's, all of which list data used to track you.
- Even the website is clean: stilltabs.com loads no trackers, pixels or third-party scripts at all. SocialLite's and Opal's websites load Meta's advertising pixel with no cookie banner (checked 8 November 2026).
- Analytics are off by default and only start if you switch them on.
- Turning them off resets the random ID, and Settings → Privacy → Delete my analytics data erases what was sent, without you telling us who you are.
- What little is sent is stored in the EU, and the privacy policy lists every single event.
- No ads, no data sold, ever.
4. It never sees what you do
Every filter runs on your iPhone. Pages load straight from Instagram, YouTube and the rest; StillTabs runs no server in between. So your passwords, your messages and what you watch never pass through us. There is simply nothing for us to see.
5. It leaves the rest of your phone alone
StillTabs doesn't lock, hide or change your other apps, and it doesn't ask for Screen Time access. SocialLite, by contrast, blocks the native Instagram, YouTube and other apps on iPhone and unlocks them five minutes at a time. With StillTabs the original apps stay as they were, and if you ever uninstall it, there's nothing to undo.
6. You decide how strict it gets
Four modes, and you can switch whenever you like, from a light touch to nothing but messages. Settings → Blocking Mode lists exactly what each mode removes on each platform, so nothing is hidden from you either.
- Off: the platform stays close to normal; only the "open in app" prompts and pop-ups go.
- Standard: Shorts, the Reels tab, Explore, "For you" tabs, suggested posts and autoplay go. Your feeds stay.
- Strict: short-form video is gone everywhere and home feeds give way to search. Instagram keeps your stories; YouTube opens on your subscriptions.
- Blackout: no feeds, no stories, no Explore. Just search, profiles and your messages.
7. It feels like the app, just calmer
StillTabs is designed to be pleasant to use, not to nag. It opens on a calm launcher of tiles, one per platform. Each tile grows with the time you spend there and shows how many distractions were filtered out, so you see where your time goes without a countdown or a guilt screen. A Home Screen widget shows the same tiles.
Inside a platform it feels like the real app. On Instagram, StillTabs draws the bottom toolbar natively in Instagram's style and keeps Home, Search, messages and your profile each loaded in the background, so switching tabs is instant instead of a page reload; tabs that go stale refresh quietly. The feed runs full-screen under the top bar, and stories play in Instagram's own player on a full-screen stage.
No floating buttons over the content. Swipe in from the lower-left edge to go back to the launcher from anywhere, or pull right from the left edge to go back a page, with a light haptic as you cross the point of no return.
8. No account, and room for all of yours
There's no StillTabs account to create. You sign in to each platform on its own login page, and you can add up to five accounts per platform, each with its own separate storage, so a second account never signs you out of the first.
9. Five platforms in one calm place
Instagram and YouTube, plus Facebook, X and Reddit in beta, all with the same modes. Most alternatives cover one platform well, or cover everything by blocking it. StillTabs gives each platform its own careful set of filters: Shorts and autoplaying previews on YouTube, Reels and Explore on Instagram, the Reels tab on Facebook, "For you" and trends on X.
10. Honest about what it is
StillTabs tells you what it does and how. Facebook, X and Reddit are marked beta because they are. The about page says plainly when StillTabs isn't the right fit (Android, TikTok, posting videos or Reels). When a platform redesigns and a filter slips, we fix it in an update, and every message to support@stilltabs.com is read by the people who build it.
It's made by a small independent team with no ads and no data to sell, so nothing in StillTabs is built to keep you in it longer. The goal is the opposite: less time on your phone, spent on what you meant to do.
StillTabs is free on the App Store, for iPhone. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no account. iOS 16 or later.
Sources
- StillTabs on the App Store (price, privacy label): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stilltabs-block-reels-shorts/id6761367777
- StillTabs privacy policy: https://stilltabs.com/privacy
- SocialLite on the App Store (in-app purchases, privacy label): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6757661674
- SocialLite for iPhone (blocks the native apps, Post Mode): https://sociallite.app/for-apple/
- SocialLite terms (renewal, refunds): https://sociallite.app/terms/
- Dull on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6759723829
- Opal on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1497465230
- Clearspace on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1572515807
- one sec on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1532875441
- Apple: Screen Time on iPhone (current iOS): https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-schedules-with-screen-time-iphb0c7313c9/ios