SafeSearch
SafeSearch is a search feature on Google, and later, Microsoft Bing. It is an automated filter of pornography, violence, gore, and other offensive or inappropriate content. It is used as a parental control setting due to the feature being, most likely, to keep children from harmful content.
SafeSearch is a search feature on Google, and later, Microsoft Bing.[1] It is an automated filter of pornography, violence, gore, and other offensive or inappropriate content.[2] It is used as a parental control setting due to the feature being, most likely, to keep children from harmful content.
History
[edit]On November 11, 2009, Google introduced the ability for users with Google Accounts to lock on the SafeSearch level in Google's web and image searches. Once configured, a password is required to change the setting.[3]
On December 12, 2012, Google removed the option to turn off the filter entirely, requiring users to enter more specific search queries to access adult content.[4][5][6]
SafeSearch can be enforced by local area network administrators and ISPs by adding a DNS record. This is often done on school networks to prevent students from accessing pornographic content.[7][8]
Users themselves can turn this setting on to filter out any inappropriate content.[9]
Effectiveness
[edit]A report by Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society stated that SafeSearch excluded many innocuous websites from search-result listings, including ones created by the White House, IBM, the American Library Association and Liz Claiborne.[10]
On the other hand, many pornographic images slip through the filter, even when "innocent" search terms are entered.
Blacklisting certain search terms is hindered by homographs (e.g., "beaver"),[11] blacklisting certain URLs is rendered ineffective by the changing URLs of porn sites, and software to tag images with copious amounts of flesh tones as pornographic content is problematic because there are a variety of skin tones and pictures of babies tend to have a lot of flesh tones.[12]
Google's ability to filter porn has been an important factor in its relationship with the People's Republic of China.[13]
In Iran
[edit]On July 11, 2022, Iranian users noticed that Google's locked SafeSearch (designed for users under 13) was enabled on their mobile Internet for all users. This feature is actually a new intelligent Internet filtering system that hijacks all DNS requests with Google addresses and even Microsoft's Bing search engine so that the returned IP from DNS is 216.239.38.120 (for Google) and 131.253.33.220 (for Bing).
Iran's Minister of Communications, Issa Zarepour, described the mandatory SafeSearch activation as a demand from families. In a poll with 41,299 votes, 88.2 percent of participants opposed mandatory SafeSearch. This seems to be the beginning of the adoption of the protection plan.
References
[edit]- ^ "Enforcing Bing SafeSearch | Tech Lockdown". www.techlockdown.com. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ "Google SafeSearch". Internet Matters. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ^ Humphries, Matthew (November 12, 2009). "Google lets you lock SafeSearch with Strict mode". Geek.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ^ Newton, Casey (December 12, 2012). "Google tweaks image search to make porn harder to find". CNET News. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
- ^ Matthew Panzarino (December 12, 2012). "Google tweaks image search algorithm and SafeSearch option to show less explicit content". TNW. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
- ^ Josh Wolford (December 16, 2012). "Google No Longer Allows You to Disable SafeSearch, and That Makes Google Search Worse". Web Pro News. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
- ^ "Lock SafeSearch for devices & networks you manage - Google Search Help". Google Help. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- ^ "SafeSearch on: Indonesia IT Ministry instructs all ISPs to restrict pornography from search engines by tomorrow | Coconuts". Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ "Your SafeSearch Setting". Google News. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ Benjamin Edelman (April 14, 2003). "Empirical Analysis of Google SafeSearch". Harvard University. Archived from the original on March 4, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
- ^ "Canada's The Beaver magazine renamed to end porn mix-up". AFP. January 12, 2010. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
- ^ Paul Festa (July 2, 2001). "Porn sneaks past search filters". CNET News. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
- ^ Fletcher, Owen (September 7, 2009). "Google porn filter gained China's thumbs-up". Network World. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
External links
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