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AP850's avatar
AP850
Copper Contributor
Aug 04, 2025

Safe search cannot be disabled in the UK

I am in the UK. I am an adult, logged in using an account which is well over 18 years old, in fact it's closer to 25.

Every month, I pay you for 365, using a UK credit card in the name of the account, and the account is registered with many utility providers. I am demonstrably over 18.

So why can't I disable safe search?

 - When I try to change the dropdown on the page, it flips back.

 - When I go to the settings, the option is disabled,

Even using a VPN doesn't disable it.

That is, unless I sign out. If I sign out:

 - Then from a UK IP, I cannot disable safe search.

 - From any other country, there is no problem.

It is blatantly obvious this is a UK block. That's fine, if you give adults an override. So how do I override it? How do I verify my age?

And clearly this isn't legally necessary because no other search engine does it. So if you can't treat me like an adult without ridiculous workarounds, I'll search elsewhere.

Thanks.

6 Replies

  • vanta5514's avatar
    vanta5514
    Copper Contributor
    Aug 18, 2025

    I have the same problem; I'm 18 too as well as from the UK. They don't even give me the option to change my safe search settings. I'm an artist and it won't let me access references I've been using, but the problems this'll cause are much bigger than that

    Instead it says "Your country or region requires a strict Bing SafeSearch setting, which filters out results that might return adult content. If you're seeing adult content, tell us about it so we can filter it in the future. To learn more about SafeSearch requirements in your country or region, see How Bing delivers search results."

  • leegb11's avatar
    leegb11
    Copper Contributor
    Aug 16, 2025

    Forgot to say I located in Spain and have region set to UK. Nothing I have tried makes a difference in Chrome and Edge if set to UK. But the others all work even with VPN off. Maybe try Brave with your VPN set to Spain/ France?

  • leegb11's avatar
    leegb11
    Copper Contributor
    Aug 16, 2025

    Is annoying for sure but for me only happens in Edge and Chrome. Brave, Opera and Vivaldi I can still turn off Safe Search with UK region. Seems not bovered by which ad-blocker as I am playing with all of them, before Ublock stops working!

  • AP850's avatar
    AP850
    Copper Contributor
    Aug 05, 2025

    OK, it's a shame, I know you are just volunteers, but some acknowledgement would be nice.

    I think it's time for an Ofcom complaint. The Online Safety Act is (apparently) not intended for censorship, and this is censorship. Companies are to be fined for overblocking as well as underblocking. Preventing adults from accessing lawful content is overblocking, unacceptable, and so is the refusal to state this policy publicly.

    Someone needs to hold companies accountable.

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