Safe Search Engines and Browsers for Kids

No kid-safe search engine or browser is a complete filter, so the safest setup layers three things: a supervised account with SafeSearch locked on (Google Family Link is the most complete free option), a kid-focused search engine or filtered browser for younger children, and regular conversations about what to do when something upsetting appears. Pick tools by age, and check them against what they actually do, not what their names suggest.

Kids use search for homework, games, and curiosity, and a normal search engine will show them whatever matches, including adult content, scams, and unsafe sites. Kid-focused tools narrow that. But they also vary a lot in quality, and some well-known recommendations no longer work the way people think. Here is what each option does, where it falls short, and how to set up a layered approach.

A Real Example: When a Kids’ Platform Tracked Kids

In September 2019, Google and YouTube agreed to pay $170 million to settle FTC and New York Attorney General charges that YouTube collected personal information from children without parental consent. According to the FTC, YouTube gathered persistent identifiers (cookies that track users across the internet) from viewers of child-directed channels and used them to serve targeted ads, earning millions of dollars. The FTC said YouTube presented itself as a general-audience site even though some channels, such as those run by toy companies, were directed at children. The $136 million paid to the FTC was the largest amount it had obtained in a children’s privacy (COPPA) case since the law was enacted in 1998. FTC press release.

The lesson for parents: a platform’s popularity with kids isn’t proof that it protects them. “Safe” has two parts, what kids see and what is collected about them, and the tools below address the first much better than the second.

How Kid-Safe Search Works

Most tools combine three layers:

Query and result filtering, which hides adult or violent material.
Site blocking, which stops known unsafe domains from loading.
Account-level controls, which enforce the first two and stop a child from simply switching settings off.

The third layer is what separates a real control from a suggestion. A kid-friendly search page does nothing if your child can open another browser.

Options Worth Considering

Google Family Link with SafeSearch (best overall control)

When you supervise a child’s Google Account, Google says SafeSearch filtering is turned on and locked by default, and only parents can manage it. In the Family Link app, select your child, tap Controls, then Google Search, and choose Filter, Blur, or Off. Related controls include disabling Incognito mode on Android and Chromebooks, and turning off ads personalization.

Google also lists the limits:

SafeSearch can’t be enforced if your child isn’t signed into their Google Account.
Alternative search apps, such as Google Go, can bypass these settings, so you may need to limit them in Family Link.
Turning off Search in the Google app doesn’t stop access through browsers like Chrome or Firefox, which you need to block separately.

Source: Google For Families Help, Manage Search on your child’s Google Account.

Kiddle (for younger children)

Kiddle is a search engine built for kids, with large fonts and a simple design. One correction to common descriptions: Kiddle is not affiliated with Google. It’s powered by Google’s Programmable Search Engine with SafeSearch and additional filters. Its results are ranked so the first three come from sites written for kids and reviewed by Kiddle editors, the next four are safe sites rewritten in kid-friendly language, and from the eighth result on they are safe sites written for adults. The tradeoff is that the filtering reflects Kiddle’s editorial choices. In 2016 it was criticized for blocking LGBTQ-related search terms, which it later unblocked. Source: Wikipedia, Kiddle (a secondary source).

SPIN Safe Browser (filtered mobile browser)

SPIN is a free filtered browser from National EdTech for Android and iOS. It blocks millions of sites in categories such as pornography, nudity, unfiltered search engines, and drug and alcohol content, and enforces SafeSearch on Bing, Google, and Yahoo. Its maker lists real limits:

It doesn’t affect searches in other browsers such as Chrome or Safari.
It has no private mode.
Google SafeSearch still allows some racy images, such as lingerie and bikinis.
Monitoring and lockdown require the maker’s paid parental control products.

Source: National EdTech, SPIN FAQ. A filtered browser only works if the child can’t open another one, so pair it with device-level app restrictions.

Tools We Removed From This List

Yahoo Kids was discontinued on April 30, 2013, per Wikipedia.
KidRex is still online, but since August 2021 its results have simply redirected to Google, and previously blocked search terms are no longer blocked, per Wikipedia. It no longer provides its own filtering.

If you’ve seen these recommended elsewhere, treat that as a sign the list is out of date.

A Setup by Age

These are suggestions, not rules. Adjust for your child.

Younger children: A supervised account with locked SafeSearch, plus Kiddle as the default search page for homework. Sit with them while they search.
Older children: A supervised account with SafeSearch locked, a filtered browser on mobile, and agreed rules for which browsers are allowed. Block unapproved browsers at the device level.
Teens: Filters get less effective and conversation matters more. Keep SafeSearch on if they’ll accept it, and focus on how scams, strangers, and privacy settings work. See our guides to social media safety for parents and choosing a first smartphone.

Privacy Matters Too

The FTC’s COPPA rule covers websites and apps directed to children under 13, and general-audience sites that knowingly collect personal information from kids that age. They must notify parents directly and get approval before collecting a child’s personal information. You can consent to collection while barring the company from sharing it, ask to review what was collected, and withdraw consent and request deletion at any time. Read an app’s privacy practices before your child uses it. Source: FTC, Protecting Your Child’s Privacy Online.

If Your Child Sees Something Upsetting

Stay calm, and thank them for telling you. Kids hide what they see if they expect punishment.
Talk about what they saw and how they felt. Don’t dwell on the details.
Close the page and check the history to see how they got there, so you can close the gap.
Block the site and report it to the platform where you found it.
If an adult contacted your child in a sexual or threatening way, save screenshots, don’t delete anything, and report it to the platform and to law enforcement.
If you think a site collected your child’s information illegally, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

See also our guide to talking to your kids about cyberbullying and our family tech safety hub.