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YouTube Using – Etiquettes of

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Hijaazi Institute of Islamic Learning

YouTube Etiquette

An Attempt to Leave What Does Not Concern Us

Am I using YouTube, or is YouTube using me?

YouTube is not merely a platform for videos; it is also an environment that shapes our gaze, hearing, time, attention and habits.

Decide Your Purpose Before Opening YouTube

Leaving What Does Not Concern Us Does Not Simply Mean Turning Off the Phone

Islamic etiquette does not only tell us what not to do; it also teaches us where we need to direct our attention and make things right. That is why, alongside every principle in this article, a practical digital habit and a corresponding YouTube technical step have been provided.

Qur’an & Sunnah → Action → Technology

12 Basic Etiquettes of YouTube

Read each etiquette, choose the action, and at the same time take its practical step in your own YouTube.

Not everything that appears before you is meant to be watched.
Hadith
«مِنْ حُسْنِ إِسْلَامِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهُ مَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ»
Part of the excellence of a person's Islam is that he leaves what does not benefit him.
Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2317

Practical Action

Decide your purpose before opening YouTube. When the purpose is finished, YouTube is finished too.

Technical Action

Use Not interested on aimless recommendations.

More ⋮ → Not interested
Time does not return; it can only be used well or wasted.
Qur’an
وَالْعَصْرِ ۝ إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ
By time! Indeed, mankind is in loss.
Surah al-‘Asr, 1–2

Practical Action

Set a time limit even for entertainment; when the time ends, the video ends too.

Technical Action

Set an App Timer for YouTube on Android.

Settings → Digital Wellbeing → App timers
What attracts the gaze is not necessarily worthy of the gaze.
Qur’an
قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ
Tell the believing men to lower their gaze.
Surah al-Nur, 30

Practical Action

When an inappropriate scene appears, do not stop; move on immediately.

Technical Action

Mark repeatedly unwanted content as Not interested or use Don't recommend channel.

More ⋮ → Not interested
What we hear also becomes part of our inner world.
Qur’an
إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا
Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart—all of these will be questioned.
Surah al-Isra’, 36

Practical Action

Not every sound deserves to be heard; not every conversation deserves your attention.

Technical Action

Review subscriptions and notifications from unhelpful channels.

Subscriptions → Unsubscribe / Notifications
Not everything that can be said needs to be said; not every video that can be watched needs to be watched.
Qur’an
لَا خَيْرَ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنْ نَجْوَاهُمْ
There is no good in much of their private conversation.
Surah al-Nisa’, 114

Hadith
«مَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ»
Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent.
Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim

Practical Action

Move on from backbiting, mockery, obscenity and aimless talk.

Technical Action

Do not repeatedly give such recommendations a place in your Feed.

Not interested / Don't recommend channel
When YouTube is opened without a purpose, that very purpose may end up consuming your time.
Hadith
«إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ»
Actions are judged by intentions.
Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim

Practical Action

One video? One topic? One purpose? Decide first, then open YouTube.

Technical Action

Instead of wandering through the Home Feed, Search directly for the topic you need.

Search → Required Topic
Knowledge is not merely what is preserved; it is what changes life.
Qur’an
وَقُلْ رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
And say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge.
Surah Ta-Ha, 114

Practical Action

Write down one useful point from every beneficial video and decide on one action.

Technical Action

Save useful videos in a Learning Playlist.

Save → Learning Playlist
Leisure is part of life; it is not the purpose of life.
Qur’an
وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ
Eat and drink, but do not be excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.
Surah al-A‘raf, 31

Practical Action

Before beginning entertainment, decide its ending time as well.

Technical Action

Use an App Timer for YouTube or your own predetermined stop-time.

Digital Wellbeing → App Timer
Do not let YouTube decide the next video; you decide.
Principled Application

Turning off Autoplay is not, in itself, a prescribed Shar‘i ruling; it is a practical digital measure for protecting time and leaving what does not concern us.

Practical Action

When one video ends, ask yourself: Do I really need to watch the next one?

Technical Action

Turn Autoplay off.

Video Player → Autoplay → OFF
What you repeatedly watch gradually becomes part of your Feed.
YouTube's Practical System

According to YouTube, watch history, search history, subscriptions, likes/dislikes and feedback such as Not interested and Don't recommend channel affect recommendations.

Practical Action

Look at your Feed: does it really represent your purposes?

Technical Action

Like/Subscribe to beneficial content, and mark unwanted content as Not interested.

Feedback → Train Your Feed
Not every notification deserves your attention.
Principled Application

There is no need to surrender your attention to a continuous stream of alerts. Turning off unnecessary notifications is a practical measure for protecting attention and time.

Practical Action

Do not hand your attention over to an upload schedule. You will watch when you choose to watch.

Technical Action

Turn off unnecessary YouTube notifications; keep only genuinely necessary alerts.

YouTube → Settings → Notifications
Sometimes do not look at your Feed; look at your habit.
Qur’an
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ
O believers! Be mindful of Allah, and let every soul look to what it has sent forth for tomorrow.
Surah al-Hashr, 18

Practical Action

Spend a few minutes reviewing your Watch History, subscriptions and recommendations.

Technical Action

Open YouTube History and ask: What have I actually been watching?

Profile → Settings → Manage all history

Clean Up Your YouTube Now

Do not simply read and move on. Of the following actions, do the ones you can do today—right now.

0% Complete
Digital Hygiene

Configure Your YouTube Practically

The purpose of each setting is not to condemn YouTube, but to take control of its use back into your own hands.

◷

1. Review Your Watch History

Go to YouTube History and see where your attention has been spent over the past few days.

  1. Open your profile picture
  2. Settings
  3. Manage all history
  4. Review your viewing history
Place Screenshot Here YouTube → Settings → Manage all history
✕

2. Not interested

When recommended content is something you do not want, instead of repeatedly watching it, make your preference clear.

  1. More ⋮ beside the recommended video
  2. Not interested
  3. If needed, Tell us why
Place Screenshot Here More ⋮ → Not interested
⊘

3. Don't recommend channel

If a channel's content is repeatedly unwanted, give this feedback to reduce its presence in recommendations.

  1. More ⋮ beside the Video / Short
  2. Don't recommend channel
Place Screenshot Here More ⋮ → Don't recommend channel
Ⅱ

4. Pause History

If, during temporary research or while exploring a particular topic, you do not want viewing history to affect future recommendations, history controls can be used.

  1. Profile picture
  2. Settings
  3. Manage all history
  4. Controls
  5. Turn off the option to include YouTube videos watched
Place Screenshot Here Manage all history → Controls
▶

5. Turn Off Autoplay

The automatic start of the next video can weaken your decision. Therefore, keep Autoplay off when appropriate.

  1. Play a video
  2. Find Autoplay in the video player
  3. Turn it OFF
Place Screenshot Here Video Player → Autoplay → OFF
🔕

6. Reduce Notifications

It is not necessary to watch every upload immediately. Set notification boundaries for the sake of your attention.

  1. YouTube Settings
  2. Notifications
  3. Turn off unnecessary alerts
Place Screenshot Here YouTube → Settings → Notifications
▣

7. Reduce Shorts

If Shorts are becoming a major source of unintentional scrolling, use YouTube's available Show fewer Shorts feedback.

  1. Find the Shorts shelf in the Home feed
  2. More ⋮
  3. Show fewer Shorts
Place Screenshot Here Shorts shelf → More ⋮ → Show fewer Shorts
⏱

8. Digital Wellbeing Timer

On Android, a daily usage limit can be set for YouTube. The menu may vary depending on the device.

  1. Phone Settings
  2. Digital Wellbeing
  3. App timers
  4. YouTube
  5. Set your daily limit
Place Screenshot Here Settings → Digital Wellbeing → App timers → YouTube
Self Assessment

YouTube Adab Audit

This is not an examination to show others; it is a way to look at yourself.

0%
Current Score
Begin the self-review now. Move one step forward with every sound habit.

Fix Your YouTube Before You Close This Page

Do not leave after merely reading the article. Take one small practical step right now.
✓ Turn off one unnecessary notification.
✓ Remove one inappropriate recommendation.
✓ Choose one beneficial channel.
✓ Set a time limit for your YouTube use.
✓ And decide for yourself whether to watch the next video.
🌱 Etiquette is not merely read; it is adopted.

Important Sources

  1. The Qur’an: Surah al-‘Asr 1–2, al-Nur 30, al-Isra’ 36, al-Nisa’ 114, Ta-Ha 114, al-A‘raf 31, al-Hashr 18.
  2. Hadith: «مِنْ حُسْنِ إِسْلَامِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهُ مَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ» — Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, 2317.
  3. Hadith: «مَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ» — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim.
  4. Hadith: «إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ» — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim.
  5. YouTube Help: recommendations, Not interested, Don't recommend channel, history and Shorts controls.
  6. Android Help: Digital Wellbeing and App Timers.

Important Note: YouTube buttons and menu paths may vary somewhat according to the device, app version and account. Screenshots should be updated according to the interface available at the time of publication.

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