Bing safesearch stuck at "strict" on Edge

Anonymous
2022-02-16T09:34:31+00:00

Recently, I discovered that when I browse Bing using Edge on my desktop, SafeSearch appears to be fixed on "strict" when it was "off" previously.

When I attempt to change this setting, I see the following message with no options to change SafeSearch permissions:

"Your country or region requires a strict Bing SafeSearch setting, which filters out results that might return adult content."

I live in the US, so this is definitely incorrect. Using a VPN to switch countries does not allow me to change the setting.

I am able to change SafeSearch settings when using a different browser and/or using a different device and Edge, so the issue appears to be specific to my desktop and Edge. I am using a Windows 10 Education key that I bought almost 5 years ago.

How do I turn off SafeSearch when using Edge on my desktop?

Edit: Only solution was to move to a different Windows 10 version. Seems to be an issue with Windows 10 Education and usergroup policy. I'm not IT savvy enough to find out how to change that, so the nuclear option of downgrading to a different version of Windows 10 was my only option. Hope this helps others that have this issue.

Bing | Safety and privacy | Adult content and SafeSearch

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments

107 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2022-03-17T17:44:28+00:00

    This happened within the last month or so. This has to be a bug or some change in the software because the stated reason is not accurate as the U.S. hasn't any such policy

    Was this answer helpful?

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2022-03-28T03:36:40+00:00

    There is no option, and it states that my country requires a strict Bing SafeSearch setting.

    Was this answer helpful?

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2022-11-25T03:43:03+00:00

    This problem has been highlighted for a very long time. Various solutions have been posted but none of them work. Why are options greyed out or just not doing anything? Completely innocuous sites are blocked, eg UNESCO, Local Council sites, religious sites. Come on Microsoft, put this right.

    Was this answer helpful?

    8 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2022-05-05T19:33:37+00:00

    I've been having this issue as well on both windows 11/10 education, from what I can gather this has to do with some policy setting Microsoft thought would be a good idea as a default, and from what myself and others have tried, unchangeable. This is another annoyance with this education license I got from my school to upgrade my windows home key. You have to install windows in a dumb roundabout way because the authenticator inside of education won't let you use a non edu email, which is a problem seeing as the key is tied to my normal Microsoft account.

    Was this answer helpful?

    7 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments No comments
  5. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.


    Comments have been turned off. Learn more