The fastest way to disable Cast to TV

The Cast button appears on YouTube when your device detects a compatible TV or streaming device on your home network. To turn it off, open YouTube on your phone or computer, tap or click the Cast icon (it looks like a rectangle with curved lines in the corner), then select Stop casting or disconnect from the device you're currently sending video to. If you want to prevent the Cast button from showing up at all, you'll need to adjust your device's network settings or YouTube's casting preferences — the steps differ depending on whether you're on Android, iPhone, or a web browser.

The quickest temporary fix is to turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on your device. This stops your phone or computer from finding casting devices and makes the button disappear when ready. For a permanent solution that keeps your network on, you'll need to dig into your device settings or your TV's casting menu.

Key Takeaways

  • The Cast icon appears in the top right corner of YouTube on phones and computers when a compatible device is on your network.
  • To stop an active cast session, tap or click the Cast icon and select the option to disconnect or stop casting.
  • On Android, you can disable casting by turning off Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, or by going to Settings and disabling nearby device scanning.
  • On iPhone, the Cast button only appears when AirPlay-compatible devices are nearby, so disabling AirPlay discovery removes it.
  • On a computer, disabling casting usually requires turning off network discovery or using your router to hide casting-capable devices.

Stopping an active cast session on your phone

If you're already casting to a TV and want to stop, the process is when ready. Open the YouTube app and look for the Cast icon in the top right corner — it will show a small dot or indicator when a device is connected. Tap it once.

A menu will appear showing the device you're casting to. Tap Stop casting or the name of the device itself to disconnect. The video will stop playing on your TV and resume on your phone. You can also stop casting directly from your TV's remote or the casting device's settings, but using the YouTube app is the quickest method.

Disabling Cast on Android devices

On Android phones and tablets, the Cast button appears because your device is scanning for nearby Chromecast devices and other casting-compatible hardware. To prevent this, you have three options depending on how thoroughly you want to disable it.

Option 1: Turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The simplest approach is to disable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth in your phone's quick settings. Your device won't detect casting devices if it's not connected to the network they're on. This works when ready but affects all apps, not just YouTube. You can turn them back on whenever you need them again.

Option 2: Disable nearby device scanning. Go to Settings, then tap Google (or About Phone on some devices), then tap Manage Your Google Account. Go to the Data & Privacy tab, scroll down to Web & App Activity, and turn off the toggle for "Include Chrome browsing history and activity from apps and devices that use Google services." This reduces the background scanning that finds casting devices without turning off your network entirely.

Option 3: Disable Cast in YouTube settings. Open YouTube, tap your profile icon in the top right, go to Settings, then tap Playback and Performance. Look for an option related to casting or remote playback and toggle it off if available. Not all Android versions show this option, but when it does appear, it's the most direct way to hide the button in YouTube only.

Disabling Cast on iPhone and iPad

iPhones and iPads use AirPlay instead of Google Cast. The Cast button in YouTube is actually an AirPlay button on Apple devices, and it only appears when AirPlay-compatible devices (like Apple TV, AirPods, or HomePods) are on your network.

To remove the button, go to Settings on your iPhone or iPad, tap Bluetooth, and toggle it off. This prevents your device from discovering nearby AirPlay devices. Alternatively, go to Settings, tap Wi-Fi, and toggle Wi-Fi off — your device won't find any AirPlay devices without a network connection. If you want to keep Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on but still hide the AirPlay button, there is no built-in YouTube setting; you would need to disable AirPlay discovery at the system level, which Apple does not expose in standard Settings.

Disabling Cast on a web browser

When you use YouTube on a computer in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge, the Cast icon appears in the top right if your computer detects casting devices on your network. The method to disable it depends on your browser and operating system.

On Windows: Go to Settings, then System, then Display. Scroll down and look for "Multiple displays" or "Cast to devices." Toggle off "Allow casting to this device" or disable network discovery. Alternatively, turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to prevent your computer from detecting casting devices. This is the most direct way to hide the button without affecting other network functions.

On Mac: Go to System Preferences (or System Settings on newer macOS versions), click Network, and turn off Wi-Fi. You can also go to Bluetooth settings and toggle Bluetooth off. This prevents your Mac from discovering AirPlay or Chromecast devices. There is no direct YouTube setting to hide the Cast button on Mac, so network-level changes are your best option.

In your browser: Some browsers allow you to disable casting through extensions or privacy settings. In Chrome, you can disable the Cast extension by going to chrome://extensions, finding "Google Cast," and toggling it off. This removes the Cast button from YouTube and other sites without affecting your network connection.

Why the Cast button keeps appearing

The Cast button shows up because your device is actively scanning for compatible devices on your Wi-Fi network. This is a background process that runs whenever your device is connected to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is enabled. Even if you're not using Cast, your phone or computer is listening for nearby TVs, speakers, and streaming devices.

If you've tried the steps above and the button still appears, check that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are actually off — some devices re-enable them automatically after a restart. You can also check your router's settings to see if it's broadcasting a 2.4 GHz network, which is what most casting devices use. Switching to 5 GHz only will prevent your device from finding older casting hardware, though this may affect other devices in your home that rely on the 2.4 GHz band.

When you might want to keep Cast enabled

Before you disable casting entirely, consider whether you use it regularly. The Cast button takes up minimal space and doesn't drain battery or data when you're not actively casting. If you occasionally send videos to a TV but find the button distracting, you can straightforward ignore it — it won't set up unless you tap it.

If you live with others who use casting, disabling it on your personal device won't affect their ability to cast from their own phones or computers. Each device has its own casting settings, so you can turn it off on your phone while someone else keeps it on theirs. You can also disable casting on your TV itself, which prevents anyone on your network from casting to it without affecting their individual devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does disabling Cast affect other apps that use casting?

Yes. If you turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or disable network discovery on your device, casting will stop working in all apps — not just YouTube. If you only want to disable Cast in YouTube specifically, use the YouTube settings method (available on some Android devices) rather than disabling it system-wide.

Can I disable Cast on my TV instead of my phone?

Yes. Most smart TVs and Chromecast devices have a setting to turn off casting discovery. Go to your TV's Settings menu, look for "Casting," "Guest Mode," or "Chromecast," and toggle off "Allow casting" or "Enable discovery." This prevents any device on your network from finding that TV, which is more effective than disabling Cast on individual phones.

Will disabling Cast stop someone else from casting to my TV?

No. Disabling Cast on your phone only affects your phone. To prevent anyone from casting to your TV, you must disable casting on the TV itself or change your Wi-Fi network password so unauthorized devices can't connect.

What if the Cast button disappeared but I want it back?

Turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth back on, or re-enable network discovery in your device settings. The Cast button will reappear within a few seconds as your device rediscovers compatible devices on your network.

Does casting use a lot of data?

Casting streams video over your home Wi-Fi network, not your mobile data plan, so it doesn't count against your data limit. However, it does use bandwidth on your Wi-Fi, which can slow down other devices if your network is congested.