Whether you’re using Google Search at work or at home, SafeSearch can help you filter out sexually explicit content from your results. It is switched-on by default for children when they’re signed-in to Google, but turned off for adult users. Today, we will show you how to enable Google SafeSearch for everyone on computers and smartphones. We will not only tell you how to enable or disable Google SafeSearch on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS, but also how to lock it for any device on your network.

Google SafeSearch is an important feature for computers at school and at work, but can sometimes be an irritant otherwise. So in this article, we will show you how to enable or disable Google SafeSearch on any desktop or mobile platform. We will learn about what is Google SafeSearch and how to turn it on or off on the web through your browser and in mobile apps on Android and iOS. So without further ado, let’s learn more about Google SafeSearch and check out how to enable or disable Google SafeSearch right now.

  • What is Google SafeSearch?
  • Turn Google SafeSearch On or Off Via Web Browser
  • Lock Google SafeSearch Using Hosts File on Windows
  • Lock Google SafeSearch Using Hosts File on Mac and Linux
  • Enable or Disable Google SafeSearch on Android
  • Enable or Disable Google SafeSearch on iOS

What is Google SafeSearch?

SafeSearch was designed by Google as an automated filter for sexually explicit content that can be awkward if they show up unexpectedly. It is also designed to keep children safe from potentially harmful content at school and at home. Applicable to Google Search and Google Image Search, SafeSearch helps filter out explicit content in Google’s search results for all your queries across images, videos and websites.

Either way, here’s how you can enable or disable Google SafeSearch on all your computers and smartphones:

You can turn on SafeSearch with or without logging in to your Google account. However, when you’re not signed-in, your settings will be lost once you clear your browsing history. On a private or incognito tab, it will be lost the moment you close the tab/window. The process is identical on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Lock Google SafeSearch Using Hosts File on Windows, Mac and Linux

Desktop operating systems, like Windows, Mac and Linux, have a ‘hosts’ file that maps hostnames to IP addresses. You can use it to force Google to ‘lock’ SafeSearch on that device, thereby making it always use the feature on all browsers all the time. The setting will apply to all general search, image search, and video search results on Google. Only users with administrative privileges on the device can undo this change. Here’s how you can lock SafeSearch on your computer using the hosts file:

  • Open Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell (search ‘cmd’ or ‘powershell’ and click on ‘Run as Administrator’). Now enter the command ping forcesafesearch.google.com -4 and hit Enter. This will return the IPV4 address of the Google search domain. Note the IP address. In this case, it is: 216.239.38.120.

  • You will be asked to choose a program to open the file. Select ‘Notepad’ and hit ‘OK’.

The process to lock Google SafeSearch is fairly similar on all desktop platforms, but with a slight difference. Here’s how you do it on Mac and Linux:

  • Now enter the command sudo nano /private/etc/hosts on Mac or sudo nano /etc/hosts on Linux and hit enter. Enter your admin password when you see the prompt.

  • Open the Google app on your iPhone or Android device. Now tap on ‘More’ (three dots) at the bottom right and select ‘Settings’ on the next page.

That’s it. You’ve now successfully turned on Google SafeSearch in your Android phone.

  • Open the Google app on your iPhone or iPad. Now tap on your profile picture > Settings.

Make Internet Safer for Children with Google SafeSearch

Google SafeSearch is an important feature that can not only keep children safe online, but also save you the blushes by preventing inappropriate results from popping-up for completely innocent searches. However, it can also prevent important content from appearing in search results because of algorithmic quirks and automatic filtering. Now that you know how to turn it on or off across all platforms, go ahead and do it on your computer or mobile. Once you do, remember to let us know why you felt the need to change Google SafeSearch setting on your devices.