How to Turn Off Google SafeSearch

There is a website for each market segment and interest, but this does not mean that content can be found safely, especially when you share your device with your kids. Unless you want them to have unlimited access to search results, you will need a filter. Google will block explicit content by default, thanks to the Google Safe Search system.

SafeSearch filters content that it considers unsafe for children. This is not foolproof, but it can help children and young people search the Internet in a safer way. However, if you want to know how to disable SafeSearch, you need to disable it in the Google search settings menu on your device.

Disabling Google SafeSearch on PC or Mac

If you use Google Search in a web browser on a PC or Mac, disabling SafeSearch filtering is a simple process. This will give you the full search results for your query, including clear results.

These steps are applicable to any desktop platform, assuming you use a web browser for Google search queries. This includes Windows, Linux, and Mac devices.

To disable Google SafeSearch in your browser, open your browser to visit the Google website and perform a search using any query. After the search results appear, select the “Settings” option under the search bar.

From the drop-down menu, select the Search settings option.

In the Search settings menu, make sure to uncheck the Turn on SafeSearch checkbox. This will disable SafeSearch filtering.

Once you’ve unchecked the SafeSearch option, scroll down and select Save to save your settings.

SafeSearch filtering will be disabled immediately, but to verify this, run a search query that may return clear results. If results are missing, SafeSearch is still active.

However, you should know that safe search is not foolproof, and there may be clear results in the results from time to time. To be completely sure that SafeSearch is disabled, you can verify by asking any query and looking at the upper right corner of the search results.

Google labels filtered result pages with a SafeSearch on label. If you see this listed, you’ll need to follow the steps above to disable it.

Turn Off Google SafeSearch on Mobile Browsers

The Google search experience on mobile devices is slightly different from that of PC or Mac users. The search interface and results adapt to the screen of the mobile device. You can disable SafeSearch for mobile search results, but the method to disable it depends on how you search.

If you use Google Search via a mobile browser, you need to perform the following steps. This applies to users of Android, iPhone, and iPad devices. However, for Google Search app users, you may need to disable SafeSearch by following the steps below.

First, open a mobile browser on your device and go to the Google website. Use the search engine to perform any search query and load the search results page. After loading, select the hamburger menu icon in the upper left corner.

From the menu, select the Settings option.

In the “Search Settings” menu, select the “Show Explicit Results” radio button to disable Google SafeSearch filtering. This can only disable filtering in your web browser; You need to follow the steps in the next section to check if you have successfully disabled filtering in the Google Search app. If you decide to re-enable SafeSearch, select the Hide explicit search results option.

Once you’ve disabled Google SafeSearch, scroll down and select the Save button to save your settings.

You can double-check whether you have disabled SafeSearch on your mobile device by performing a Google search that may produce clear results. If these results appear, SafeSearch will be disabled and the search results will not be reviewed.

Turning Off Google SafeSearch in the Google Search App on Android

The above method will disable Google SafeSearch on your mobile browser and may also apply to Google search results accessed through the Google app, depending on whether you are logged in or not.

However, if you prefer to use the Google application on your Android device, you can simply disable SafeSearch. This also applies to users who have not logged into Google in their browser and want to disable filtering in the mobile application.

Android users can begin by opening the Google app on their Android device. To begin, select the More button in the bottom-left.

In the Google app menu, select the Settings option.

In the Settings menu, select the General option.

To disable SafeSearch, tap the SafeSearch slider. The slider will turn gray when you switch SafeSearch off.

The settings you change in the settings menu of the Google application will be automatically saved. If you want to verify that SafeSearch is turned off, click Back and use Google’s main search bar to run queries that may yield clear results.

If your results are explicit and uncensored, Google SafeSearch will be disabled, allowing you to search without restrictions.

Turning Off Google SafeSearch in the Google Search App on iPhone and iPad

Android device owners can use the steps above to disable SafeSearch in the Google app, but for iPhone and iPad users, the steps are slightly different.

To start, open the Google app on your iPhone or iPad. To access the settings menu, tap your profile icon in the top-left corner.

From the pop-up menu, select the Settings option.

In the Settings menu, select the General option.

In the General menu, select the Search settings option.

Google search settings will appear in the pop-up menu. Tap the Show explicit results option to disable SafeSearch filtering, or Hide explicit results to enable it instead. Tap Save to confirm your new settings.

After modification, return to the Google search application and use the search bar to make a clear query. If the results contain clear results, SafeSearch will be disabled, providing a complete and unrestricted list of results for the query you are executing.

Staying Safe Online

If you want to improve online safety, it’s best to enable Google SafeSearch. If you decide to disable safe search, you need to make sure to take other precautions to keep young search engines safe, using apps to monitor online activities and features to lock their mobile devices.

However, online search is not always the best way for children to use the Internet. If you’re concerned, you can switch to a privacy-focused search engine to limit online tracking and (hopefully) reduce explicit search results.