Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also pay for premium, but vanced is how I block shorts and sponsor block
Honestly YouTube should have a way to disable shorts in app. They're trying to pull an Instagram and stomp on TikTok's grounds, but it doesn't feel like it's working and it feels like how Instagram went from being a simple photo sharing tool to being a bloated mess with four major interfaces in one.
I have it on good authority that Shorts is both experiencing steady growth and is the fastest-growing segment within Youtube-the-company.