Google and Bing are two of the most popular search engines on the internet, providing users with access to billions of web pages, images, videos, and other online content. However, not all of the content that can be found online is appropriate for everyone, especially children and young people. Some of the content may contain explicit, violent, illegal, or harmful material that users may not want to see or expose to others. To help users avoid such content, both Google and Bing offer a feature called Safe Search, which is a web filtering tool that can block or limit the display of potentially inappropriate content in search results.

Safe Search is a feature that can be enabled or disabled by the user in the settings of the search engine. The methods may include analyzing the text, images, metadata, and other signals of the web pages and content sources, as well as using feedback from users and third-party organizations to flag and remove inappropriate content. The search engine will also use encryption and secure connections to prevent unauthorized access or modification of the search results.

How does Safe Search work?

Safe Search works differently for Google and Bing, but the basic principle is the same: the search engine will try to prevent or minimize the display of potentially inappropriate content in the search results, depending on the level of filtering that the user chooses. For Google, there are three levels of Safe Search: off, moderate, and strict. Off means that no filtering is applied, and the user may see any kind of content in the search results. Moderate means that some filtering is applied, and the user may see some explicit content in the search results, but not in the images or videos. Strict means that the most filtering is applied, and the user will not see any explicit content in the search results, regardless of the type of content. For Bing, there are four levels of Safe Search: off, moderate, strict, and custom. Off means that no filtering is applied, and the user may see any kind of content in the search results. Moderate means that some filtering is applied, and the user may see some explicit content in the search results, but not in the images or videos. Strict means that the most filtering is applied, and the user will not see any explicit content in the search results, regardless of the type of content. Custom means that the user can adjust the level of filtering for different types of content, such as web, images, videos, and news.

How to enable or disable Safe Search?

To set up Safe Search for a school network, the administrator needs to configure the network settings to enforce the Safe Search mode for all the devices connected to the network.

Group policy is a feature of Windows that allows administrators to manage and apply settings for computers and users in a network domain. Group policy can be used to enable Safe Search for all the devices and browsers that are part of the domain, by modifying the registry settings or the proxy settings.

Help articles:

• Google Safe Search
  • Lock SafeSearch for accounts, devices & networks you manage - Google Search Help
  • Force Google SafeSearch (admx.help)
• Bing Safe Search
  • Enforce Bing SafeSearch (admx.help)

What are the benefits and limitations of Safe Search?

Safe Search can be a useful tool for users who want to avoid or reduce exposure to inappropriate or unwanted content on the internet, especially for parents, teachers, and guardians who want to protect children and young people from harmful or disturbing material. Safe Search can also help users to have a better and safer online experience, by preventing malware, phishing, scams, and other malicious content from appearing in the search results. However, Safe Search is not perfect, and it cannot guarantee that all inappropriate content will be blocked or removed. Some content may still slip through the filters or may be misclassified as inappropriate or appropriate. Some content may also be unavailable or inaccessible due to Safe Search, even if it is not inappropriate or harmful. Therefore, users should always exercise caution and critical thinking when using the internet, and not rely solely on Safe Search to protect them from online risks.