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Try the Safe Search Settings Now and Away from Internet Harm!

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Jun 30, 2023 Filed to: Internet Filter Proven solutions

Do you know what kids are doing online?

In this digital era, it has become very difficult to keep children safe while also permitting them to discover things on their own. Today, teens can access more content online than in any other period in history. For example, when smartphones came into existence, many parents of today were already in high school or college. However, these devices are easily accessible to kids today. The Pew Research Center has the following statistics.

data of Teenage Internet use

If you do not activate safe search settings on your devices, your kids will be at risk. While accessing more information online is good for learning and keeping children entertained, it can also expose them to numerous dangers, such as cyber-bullying, access to inappropriate content, and fraud. Especially, it is not uncommon for kids to fall in love with video games, most of which are available online. Although this can be a wonderful way for children to interact with one another, it can be very dangerous in the long run. Thatwidth="400"s why you need to turn on the safe search engine for kids to keep them safe.

data of kids ceber-bullying

Dangers your kids may encounter online

Many parents allow their kids to access the Internet to learn several things and stay entertained. Unfortunately, this can expose your little ones to several threats, especially if they spend a lot of time online. For this reason, you should know the kind of threats your children are likely to encounter so that you can keep them safe. Here are some of the common dangers kids get while surfing the Internet.

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1. Dangerous sites

If your child takes considerable time online, they are likely to come across some dangerous sites. Some of these include sites with pornography, erotic materials, and illegal software. Others are sites that deal with gambling or that promote drugs and violence. Here are some statistics showing the percentage of visits to dangerous websites among children in the country.

the percentage of visits to dangerous websites among children

2. Cyber-bullying

If your children are browsing using a mobile phone, tablet, or computer, they are at risk of becoming victims of cyber-bullying. The abundance of social media platforms, forums, and gaming sites today has made it easy for bullies to do their work. The effect of this crime can result in severe mental agony that can lead to suicide or psychological disorders.

Statistics from the Pew Research Center show that 95% of teens can access the Internet, while 85% of them use social media platforms. While this shows that more children are accessing the information that the Web has to offer, it also means the potential for these little ones to encounter cyber-bullies is increasing. Ditch the Label, a leading anti-bullying organization in the world, has the following interesting statistics.

cyber-bullying on Social Meadia Platforms

3. Information leakage and fraud

Each year, fraudsters defraud millions of unsuspecting people online. Using sophisticated technology and clever schemes, they deceive Internet users into giving out their personal information or sending money. Kids are especially vulnerable when it comes to this subject. Since children do not think like adults, they can easily fall for the tricks of the fraudsters, causing serious losses to your account. Also, kids are more likely to leak confidential information to criminals, endangering their and your life. For instance, your little one can post important information on their social media profile.

Stay away from Internet harm, try the safe search settings now!

That it is unsafe for your kids to surf the Internet on their own is an undeniable fact. However, you cannot stop them from using the Internet since it is a great source of information and entertainment. Also, you cannot sit side by side with your teens every time they want to use a smartphone or computer. What do you do then? Turning on safe search settings on your available devices can keep your children safe to some extent.

Fortunately, using a safe search engine for kids isn't difficult. In just a few steps, you can restrict access to specific websites to keep your children away from harmful content and ensure they are safe. Here's how to turn on Google's safe search engine for kids.

  1. Sign in to your Google account. If you don't have an account yet, sign up.
  2. Go to the homepage of Google.
  3. Click on the button at the top right corner and tap on Settings from the dropdown menu.
  4. Tap on Search Settings in the window that pops up.
  5. Check the box near Turn on SafeSearch.
  6. In the SafeSearch Filtering section, select the level you're comfortable using. Strict filtering ensures that your Google Search result pages do not have explicit videos or images. It also filters results that are likely to link to other sites that may have explicit content. Moderate filtering filters explicit videos or images from the result pages but doesn't do so for results that may lead to other sites with explicit content. No filtering will allow children to access all content.
  7. Once you've selected the filtering level, go to the bottom of the window and click on Save.

Click on Lock SafeSearch and follow the prompts if you want to lock the safe search engine for kids on a PC. A confirmation page will appear once you have done that. This option applies stringent filtering to all Google domains.

Unfortunately, SafeSearch is not the surefire way to keep your children safe when they are surfing the Internet. The safe search engine for kids isn't 100% accurate and is unreliable. Moreover, SafeSearch has the following limitations:

  • If you have cached content on your computer or browser, turning on safe search won't block it due to certain DNS limitations. This requires flushing caches or waiting for them to be rewritten.
  • Only the on and off settings are available.
  • The sensitivity level is not adjustable.
  • Creating blacklists and whitelists for certain sites is impossible
  • The safe search engine is browser-specific.
  • SafeSearch depends on cookies.

FamiSafe can help your kids with safe search

  • Web Filtering
  • Location Tracking & Geo-fencing
  • App Blocker & App Activity Report
  • Screen Time Limit & Schedule
  • Explicit Content & Suspicious Photos Detection

Due to the limitation of using Google's safe search engine for kids, you may want to look for better safe search filters out there to keep your children safe while they are online. FamiSafe is a parental control app that makes parenting in this digital era enjoyable. Cross-platform software is one of the most reliable apps out there when it comes to protecting your kids from the dangers they may face online. Compatible with iOS and Android devices, it is also packed with features that help keep your kids safe, some of which include web filtering and detection of suspicious texts and photos.

Web filtering

FamiSafe Web Filter

Your kids should only access content that is appropriate for their age. Fortunately, FamiSafe blocks inappropriate websites to help you keep your little ones safe. With the app, you can view the browsing history (including their incognito surfing history) of your children remotely. Additionally, FamiSafe can help you filter risky website categories on your kid's browsers. You can also add a whitelist to get notifications whenever your little ones try to access blocked sites.

Detecting suspicious photos and text

new suspicious picture detected

FamiSafe can also help you detect signs of online sexual harassment and porn addiction in your kids. The app detects explicit photos, such as nude selfies of nudes and porn photos in the galleries of your children's devices. Moreover, it sends instant alerts to the parent's device with the detected photos. This way, you can know if your child has or makes dangerous pictures.

FamiSafe can also help you to detect and track suspect text messages on YouTube and social media apps. You can track dangerous keywords from the text messages that your kids received or sent in SMS, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other apps. The app detects porn, cyber-bullying, and other risky things that your children may be exposed to. FamiSafe also detects inappropriate video titles and comments from the subscriptions your child has made on YouTube. Better still, you can add certain keywords in categories like bullying, violence, and sex to set up a suspicious textbase.

detect suspicious text

What's the bottom line? FamiSafe helps you have more control over how to keep your children safe while they surf the Internet than the safe search engine for kids from Google. For instance, the app has more than just the on and off buttons that the default safe search settings give you. Moreover, FamiSafe is not browser-specific as opposed to SafeSearch. With these and more advantages, this app is a great option that keeps your Internet-loving children safe.

With smartphones, tablets, and computers becoming more accessible to kids in this age than in any other era in history comes the increased potential for them to be at risk. Such dangers include cyber-bullying, access to inappropriate content, and exposure to fraudsters. While turning on safe search settings can help reduce the risk, it doesn't utterly keep your kids safe. Worse still, this option does not give you complete control over what your children should or should not see online. Trying FamiSafe is a surefire way to protect your little ones. Aside from giving you more control, it is reliable and very accurate when it comes to keeping your children safe from the harms of Internet use. Try FamiSafe today to ensure a safe search for your kids.

  • Web Filtering
  • Location Tracking & Geo-fencing
  • App Blocker & App Activity Report
  • Screen Time Limit & Schedule
  • Explicit Content & Suspicious Photos Detection
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Thomas Jones

chief Editor