Google has announced that it will enable its SafeSearch filtering technology by default for all users in the coming months. SafeSearch filters out explicit imagery and is designed to help people protect themselves and their families from inadvertently encountering this content on Search. The feature is meant to mark Safer Internet Day, which is celebrated each year on April 6th.
Since the SafeSearch filter is now the default for people who do not have it turned on, many users will be seeing explicit imagery blurred from their search results. This change was made in order to avoid Search engine being used as a platform for pornography. Adults have always had the option to turn SafeSearch off if they so choose, and Google notes that users can adjust this setting at any time.
If you’re looking for an explicit image, SafeSearch filtering will help keep you from seeing it in Google. You can choose to see it by clicking on the “view image” button, or you can select the “manage setting” button to adjust the filter or turn it off altogether. For instance, if you want to see all of the relevant images for your query even if they are explicit, you can select the “filter” option.
SafeSearch is an optional feature of Google that helps protect children from explicit content on the search engine results page. It’s worth noting that SafeSearch only works on Google search results and that it won’t block explicit content you find on other search engines or websites that you go to directly. However, by using SafeSearch, parents can confidently keep their kids from seeing explicit material without having to disable the entire internet connection.
In August 2021, Google began to turn on SafeSearch by default for users under 18. This decision came shortly after Congress pressured Google and other tech companies on the negative impacts their services may have on children. SafeSearch is a feature that allows users to search the web without being exposed to potentially inappropriate material.
This expansion of SafeSearch is a great way to make sure that children and teens don’t encounter explicit imagery when using Google, as not everyone uses the search engine while logged in to their account. If you don’t want the filter on, you can always just turn it off in your settings.
Google’s AI technology known as “BERT” is proving to be quite successful at helping the company remove explicit and suggestive content from its online search results, even when SafeSearch filtering is turned off.
