How to Search Google Safely in Front of Children

Using Google or any search engine safely in front of children is a concern for most parents and adults. Google uses a search technique that scours the web looking for web pages that contain even an inkling of the words or search terms that a user has typed into the search box. Thus, sometimes it can produce a search result page or search result pages that contain a bewildering, exotic and wholly inappropriate array of web page links, images and videos. Children should be protected from such situations when adults or parents search the web in front of them and when children themselves access Google.

The following are steps a parent or adult can take to avoid such disconcerting situations:

1. Use Google’s SafeSearch Filtering options. SafeSearch works by blocking web pages that contain explicit and sexual content from appearing in search results. To do this go to the Google home page and click on the Preferences link on the right hand side of the search box. Scroll down to find the SafeSearch filtering options. There are three (3) settings available:

-          Do not filter my results: This setting allows every search result to be displayed including explicit sexual content.

-          Use moderate filtering:  This is the default setting. This option blocks only explicit images and allows explicit text.

-          Use strict filtering: This setting blocks both explicit images and web pages with sexual content.

1. Clear past searches from the browser. When a user types a search term into the search box, possible matches from previous searches appear under the box allowing the user to simply click on one of them if a match is found. It can be embarrassing if some of the suggested matches are explicit search terms an adult has previously used. To prevent this always delete search history from the browser particularly if it contains explicit material. To do this depends on the browser in use (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc). If you cannot find the “delete search history” option, consult your browser’s help function or look it up on the internet.
2. If you have a Google Account and you are signed in when you use the Google search box, you can clear particular searches from your web history or you can remove web history from your account so that search suggestions do not show up.
3. Most new internet browser versions offer a private mode for browsing the internet. It is called Incognito in Google Chrome and InPrivate in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox 3.5. When using the private mode, web searches are not recorded or stored in the browser’s history.
4. This is added as an afterthought for adults and parents who are multilingual. You can choose to display Google’s search result in a language which you think children will not understand. To do this, click on the Preferences link and under the Search Language option, select a language other than English.

Despite the above suggestions, whenever possible, it is best not to conduct searches on content which is inappropriate for children on a computer which they might use.