The Internet is the information superhighway of the world. That means along with the tons of useful stuff available online for your daily consumption, there is an equal amount of disturbing, dangerous content that you wish to stay far away from when you go searching online for your needs. That undesirable content is one accidental search term away from appearing on your Google search history and becoming a part of your online profile data. Fortunately, Google offers you the choice to filter out objectionable content while using its search engine.
Filtering Search Content on PC
Access your Google account by first going to your main Gmail page. Tap on your profile photo in the top-right corner, and select the Google account tab highlighted in blue.
On the new page that opens, click on the “Data and Personalization” option located to the left. You will be redirected to the page that keeps track of your data and activity preferences.
Scroll down until you get to the section titled General Preferences for the Web. The last option in this section deals with Search Settings, which you need to click on.
You will now be taken to the section of your Gmail profile that controls the amount of filtering you wish to subject your Internet searches to.
Click on the box beside the words “Turn on SafeSearch” near the top of the page.
Scroll down toward the bottom of the page and click “Save” in the blue box at the bottom of the screen. A tiny window will pop up confirming that your new preference has been saved.
Also, if you want to lock SafeSearch on your computer so that other people who use the device cannot undo the SafeSearch setting, click the blue words “Lock SafeSearch” and follow the prompts to first confirm your Gmail identity and then confirm that you want to turn ON the lock.
Also read: How to Delete Your Google Chrome Web Activity Data Automatically
Filtering Search Content on Android
Through Chrome:
Setting the SafeSearch option on your mobile phone is practically identical to the process followed on your PC, with a slightly different layout.
Once again, go to your Google Account homepage on your Chrome browser.
Scroll over to the Data and Personalization section.
Scroll down to the General Preferences of the Web section where you will find the Search Settings menu.
After tapping on “Search Settings,” select the “Filter explicit results” option that appears on the screen. Your new setting will be saved.
To undo SafeSearch on either Android or PC, repeat the steps discussed above, and in the final step, simply deselect the “Filter Explicit Results” or “SafeSearch” options respectively.
Through Google App:
Open the app.
At the bottom right, tap on the three dots for “More.”
On the page that opens, go to Settings.
Select General.
Scroll down until you see the SafeSearch option, and tap ON the switch next to it.
Conclusion
SafeSearch is a simple and powerful tool to ensure your computer is protected from the worst kind of content that the internet has to offer. However, remember that since SeafeSearch uses AI, it might sometimes filter out content that is useful to you that it categorizes as “Explicit Content.” That is why it is a better idea to keep your search terms as specific as possible. Another workaround is to keep SafeSearch off and simply use incognito mode while searching for some topic which you don’t want showing up on your Internet history page.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
Sign up for all newsletters.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy. We will not share your data and you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe
Neeraj Chand
Content writer with a keen interest in global technology and pop culture trends.
Comments are closed