How do I remove smoking cues from my digital environment?

01

A followed channel and a suggested video need different controls

On YouTube on a computer, check that you are in your own account. To stop following a channel, its official instructions use a channel video page: below the player choose ‘Subscribed’, then ‘Unsubscribe’. Look for the confirmation and check the channel’s subscription state. You can subscribe again if you change your mind; re-subscribing resets notification preferences.

For a Home recommendation instead, use ‘More’ beside its title, then ‘Not interested’. The channel-level alternative is ‘Don’t recommend channel’ on supported pages. These are recommendation feedback, not the same action as unsubscribing. The help page’s later reset clears submitted feedback; do not assume it restores only the last item.

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02

If the cue is an alert, change the alert first

YouTube’s computer help distinguishes a channel’s ‘None’ notification choice from general notification preferences. The general route is profile picture → Settings → Notifications; mobile/desktop types and email types are separate. Choose the unwanted type rather than disabling unrelated safety or emergency alerts on the device.

Check the selected value again after leaving and reopening the setting. A channel can still appear in the subscription feed when its alerts are off, and recommendations can have another source. If you re-subscribe, check the bell again rather than assuming the previous choice survived.

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03

History deletion is not a reversible first step

YouTube’s help also describes removing individual searches or videos and turning history off. Those options concern history used in recommendations; they are not an instruction to erase all account activity. Before any removal, inspect the account, selected items and date range on the official confirmation screen. If you only need to stop an alert, history deletion is a different task.

For another app, use its own current help to find the equivalent control. If your screen does not match these computer instructions, stop instead of guessing a similarly named button. Do not add an extension or surrender account access to a third-party ‘feed cleaner’ to complete this example.

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04

Test the setting, not your willpower

Reopen the original surface once and check the change you chose: no longer subscribed, the alert option changed, or feedback recorded. Do not keep watching unwanted videos to test whether an algorithm has forgotten them. A quiet interval with no alerts is not proof that all future alerts are blocked.

Keep a private note such as ‘video app: channel alerts off; review next week’ if useful—no screenshots, account names or search text need uploading here. Only edit a device/account you may manage, while stationary and free of safety-critical tasks. On shared or managed devices, ask the owner or administrator about controls you cannot change.

05

What to keep in mind

• Match the control to the source of the cue.
• An unsubscribe, a recommendation and an alert are different.
• Verify one observable setting before making a broader change.