What is Google SafeSearch and How to Enable or Disable it?
Feb. 10, 2021Whether you’re usingGoogle Searchat work or at home, SafeSearch can help you filter outsexually explicit contentfrom your results. It is switched-on by default for children when they’re signed-in to Google, but turned off for adult users. Today, we will show you how to enable Google SafeSearch for everyone on computers and smartphones. We will not only tell you how to enable or disable Google SafeSearch on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS, but also how to lock it for any device on your network.
How to Enable or Disable Google SafeSearch
Google SafeSearch is an important feature forcomputers at schooland at work, but can sometimes be an irritant otherwise. So in this article, we will show you how to enable or disable Google SafeSearch on any desktop or mobile platform. We will learn about what is Google SafeSearch and how to turn it on or off on the web through your browser and in mobile apps on Android and iOS. So without further ado, let’s learn more about Google SafeSearch and check out how to enable or disable Google SafeSearch right now.
SafeSearch was designed by Google as an automated filter for sexually explicit content that can be awkward if they show up unexpectedly. It is also designed to keep children safe from potentially harmful content at school and at home. Applicable to Google Search andGoogle Image Search, SafeSearch helps filter out explicit content in Google’s search results for all your queries across images, videos and websites.
The SafeSearch setting is ‘On’ by default for signed-in users under the age of 13 or the applicable age in each country. It can be managed withGoogle’s Family Link app, but for kids’ accounts, it can only be turned off by parents. If you’re the network administrator for a school, work, or home network, you can force all devices on that network to use SafeSearch at all times by mapping Google domains to forcesafesearch.google.com.
Meanwhile, general users won’t have to go through hoops to enable or disable Google SafeSearch. It’s relatively easy to do on most platforms, including desktops and mobiles. However, do note that SafeSearch only works on Google’s search results. It won’t prevent users from finding explicit content throughother search enginesor by navigating directly to explicit sites. For that, you’ll either have to block inappropriate sites bychanging your DNS serversor by using the host file on client desktops, which we will explain later in this article.
Either way, here’s how you can enable or disable Google SafeSearch on all your computers and smartphones:
You can turn on SafeSearch with or without logging in to your Google account. However, when you’re not signed-in, your settings will be lost once youclear your browsing history. On a private or incognito tab, it will be lost the moment you close the tab/window. The process is identical on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Note:You can also go directly togoogle.com/preferencesto set your SafeSearch preference.
Desktop operating systems, like Windows, Mac and Linux, have a ‘hosts’ file that maps hostnames to IP addresses. You can use it to force Google to ‘lock’ SafeSearch on that device, thereby making it always use the feature on all browsers all the time. The setting will apply to all general search,image search, and video search results on Google. Only users with administrative privileges on the device can undo this change. Here’s how you can lock SafeSearch on your computer using the hosts file:
Note:You need Admin privileges to be able to make changes to the hosts file.
Note:In most Windows installations, the hosts file is located at:C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. If Windows is installed in a different location on your PC, you can find the hosts file by executing the following command in Command Prompt:cd /d %systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc.
To confirm SafeSearch is on, go to Google and check that it is working and can’t be turned off. If the hosts file is correctly configured, no matter how often you turn off SafeSearch and try to save your setting, it will disregard your changes and automatically turn back on again. To disable it in the future, just delete the entry or put a “#” in front it to make sure that it isn’t executed.
The process to lock Google SafeSearch is fairly similar on all desktop platforms, but with a slight difference. Here’s how you do it on Mac and Linux:
Finally, go over to Google to check that the setting is working and cannot be tampered with.
That’s it. You’ve now successfully turned on Google SafeSearch in your Android phone.
That’s it. You’ve now successfully turned on Google SafeSearch on your iPhone or iPad.
Google SafeSearch is an important feature that can not only keep children safe online, but also save you the blushes by preventing inappropriate results from popping-up for completely innocent searches. However, it can also prevent important content from appearing in search results because of algorithmic quirks and automatic filtering. Now that you know how to turn it on or off across all platforms, go ahead and do it on your computer or mobile. Once you do, remember to let us know why you felt the need to change Google SafeSearch setting on your devices.
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