How to set up Google Safe Search

Jun 3, 2020 | Cyber Parenting - Social Media

So how do you set up Google Safe Search on your child’s mobile?

  1. Go to www.google.com and click on ‘Search settings’ under the settings link at the top right of the page.
  2. Go to the third section on the ‘Search settings’ page, called ‘SafeSearch Filtering’ and choose the level of filter you would like activated on your family’s computer. ‘Strict filtering’ filters both explicit text and explicit images whilst ‘Moderate filtering’ filters explicit images only (moderate is the default filter setting on Google).
  3. If you have a Google account, you can lock SafeSearch on your family’s computer so that ‘strict filtering’ is always in place and no-one except you can change the settings. Simply click on ‘Lock SafeSearch’ on this page.
  4. If you’re not already signed in to your Google account, you’ll be asked to sign in. Once you’re signed in, click ‘Lock SafeSearch’. It might take a moment for the filters to be applied to all Google domains, then you’ll see a confirmation page once the lock is engaged. Please note, if you have more than one browser such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Safari on your computer or if your family computer has more than one user profile, you’ll need to set the lock on each one. When SafeSearch is locked in place, you’ll see a set of coloured balls at the top of all search pages. If the coloured balls aren’t there, SafeSearch is no longer locked.

Please note, Google does its best to keep SafeSearch as up-to-date and comprehensive as possible, but inappropriate sites do sometimes get through. If you have SafeSearch activated on your computer and still find offensive content in your results, visit Google’s Web page removal request page to let them know about the site or image you found.

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