Whatever your opinion of Google, it offers a good range of free tools to keep kids safe online. One of the best is Family Link, a parental control app for Android that helps parents limit screen time and set up guardrails for web searches.
SafeSearch – one such guardrail – has been around for years. The feature is automatically enabled for anyone under 18 signed in with their Google Account, whether or not their parent uses Family Link. Now Google is expanding the feature to blur what it considers explicit images in search results even if SafeSearch is disabled.
The idea is to prevent children from seeing inappropriate images when searching the web. However, the fact that there’s a prominent ‘View Image’ button means curious kids (or anyone else) can still choose to see it if they want. They will also have the option to manage settings and disable SafeSearch if they wish.
Google hasn’t specified when the SafeSearch blur will be available, but says it will happen “in the coming months.”
That’s not the only new feature on the way, though.
Soon, iPhone owners will have the ability to set up Face ID so that only they can open the Google app on their phone. The app already has an Incognito mode, as well as the ability to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history from your Google account. The addition of Face ID means an extra layer of security for your Google data should someone manage to take your phone while it’s unlocked.
In May 2022, Google announced the virtual cards. These offer a way to pay for goods and services online without having to enter the three-digit CVV code on the back of your real card, and therefore help to prevent these details from falling into the wrong hands.
Initially these were only available if you had a Capital One card, but now Amex customers can also use them.
Finally, Google’s password manager has the ability to use a fingerprint scanner (or other biometric authentication) on supported computers before autofilling passwords on login screens. Additionally, this same authentication can be used to view hidden passwords, copy them, or change them, meaning you no longer have to enter your master password to do these things.
