News Summary:
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According to Google “Search results for explicit content are hidden when SafeSearch is enabled. When SafeSearch is disabled, the most pertinent search results—which might contain explicit material like violent images—are displayed to you.” Pornography, violence, and graphic images are examples of explicit content.
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Today is Safer Internet Day, so it’s the ideal time for Google to declare that starting in the coming months, a new SafeSearch setting will be enabled by default for all users. With the new setting, Google Search app explicit images will be automatically blurred. For users who haven’t already enabled SafeSearch, the filter will become the new standard.
Visit the Google app and tap your profile picture in the upper right corner if you’re unsure of how your SafeSearch toggle is configured. After that, check the toggle setting under Settings > SafeSearch.
For instance, choosing the “filter” option under “manage settings” will blur explicit images while choosing “off” will disable the filter and allow you to view the explicit images. SafeSearch will only function with Google search results; other search engines, apps, and websites will not have their explicit images blocked or blurred. But the youngsters are the center of attention. Google made SafeSearch the default setting for users under the age of 18 beginning in August 2021.
Soon, the blur filter will be enabled by default even for those who have the SafeSearch filter turned off. The image will therefore be automatically blurred if a user encounters an explicit image in a search result, such as one depicting pornography, violence, or blood and gore. The “view image” button can be selected by users who want to see the image. Users can change the filter’s settings or turn it off by clicking the “manage setting” button.
Making the blurring setting default for all users ensures that kids and teenagers who haven’t signed into Google aren’t viewing explicit images (since the filter might not be enabled even if they are under 18).
In cases where the explicit content was not intended to be titillating or gory, Google uses AI to help find these images and remove them, even if SafeSearch is turned off. Google has not stated when the new blurring feature will be available to Google search users. It is not currently available on this writer’s Pixel 6 Pro, which is running the latest Android 13 QPR2 Beta.
Google is also making the Google app in iOS more secure. While it already provides an Incognito mode for iPhone users and the ability to delete the last 15 minutes of Search history, more security is on the way.
