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.

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  1. Don Varnau 19,930 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-04-19T09:17:04+00:00

    Lan, not workplace, educational, organizational. I have the power :-) And I didn't set this strict safesearch up.

    Sorry for slow reply and for the fact that I don't know what else you can try except that since multiple browsers and several search providers are involved, you might dig into router settings or contact your ISP.

    And... Long shot but if this problem doesn't occur with the browser in Private/Incognito mode that suggests that a browser extension or files in the cache are involved. Try clearing the cache.

    Don

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-04-19T21:11:18+00:00

    There are three SafeSearch settings:

    1. Strict: Filter out adult text, images, and videos from your search results
    2. Moderate: Filter adult images and videos but not text from your search results
    3. Off: Don't filter adult content from your search results. The SafeSearch function is obsolete.

    Microsoft needs to update Windows, Edge and Bing to exclude the SafeSearch option.

    Just completely remove it.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-05-11T14:31:12+00:00

    So I presume this is just busted and no one is working to fix it since no one seems to have a solution... <sigh>

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-05-11T15:30:37+00:00

    I don't think it is "broken," microsoft just doesn't allow you to control your own settings. I gave up trying to fix this. I am on an education version of windows and there is no group policy, or registry edit to force it to turn off safe search, so I gave up and am using chrome. Now that Chrome has the unused tab sleeping feature it is more friendly on RAM.

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-05-22T04:50:28+00:00

    Chrome, Firefox, and Edge all fail the same way for me. Can't change from Strict safesearch.

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