# What's wrong with Google? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 3, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177 "2009-02-03T00:19:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/1 "2009-02-03T00:19:34Z")
It just started doing this today. It won’t save my preferences. Specifically, I don’t want my search results filtered. I click on the _Do not filter my search results_ section, a box pops up saying my preferences have been changed, but it still keeps moderate safe search on. WTF?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/2 "2009-02-03T00:47:38Z")
I’ll be darned, you’re right. Mine’s stuck on strict filtering, though. I’m sure I switched to no filtering years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/3 "2009-02-03T00:56:44Z")
… actually it was only stuck on strict if I used Opera. All other browsers where stuck on moderate, which I guess is the default. In Opera, I deleted all my Google cookies and tried again, after which it got stuck on moderate too. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/4 "2009-02-03T01:01:42Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > It just started doing this today. It won’t save my preferences. Specifically, I don’t want my search results filtered. I click on the _Do not filter my search results_ section, a box pops up saying my preferences have been changed, but it still keeps moderate safe search on. WTF?😕 THANK YOU. I thought I was the only one. This has actually been happening for more than a month now. Not only will the filtering not stay OFF but I like seeing 100 results instead of just 10 also. BUT IT KEEPS ON RESETTING! This is on Internet Explorer 7, by the way. It never USED to do that. It used to save and keep the preferences..yet every freaking time I start up IE, I have to turn the filter off again and put the “display search results” from ten to one hundred. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/5 "2009-02-03T01:16:13Z")
I think there are two things going on here: In internet explorer, it forgets the setting between sessions, but other browsers don’t have that problem. But in any browser, it won’t remember the safe search settings, even in the same session. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/6 "2009-02-03T01:18:50Z")
I’m using Firefox 3. No matter what I do it will not change the preferences out of moderate to no filter. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/7 "2009-02-03T01:49:06Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > I think there are two things going on here: In internet explorer, it forgets the setting between sessions, but other browsers don’t have that problem. But in any browser, it won’t remember the safe search settings, even in the same session. But it used to. Even when it was a new session. Before all I’d have to do is set the preferences once and it would forever be saved. Only in the last month or so has this “constantly having to set them again” thing been happening. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/8 "2009-02-03T01:51:18Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > “constantly having to set them again” thing been happening. But mine won’t let me reset it. It stays on moderate filter even when I set it to no filter and save the setting. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/9 "2009-02-03T01:57:20Z")
There is a topic on [Google’s Support Forums](http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Web+Search/thread?tid=3208bb04d091d6eb&hl=en) which attempts to address this. So far, no definitive resolution, but Google is aware of the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Petek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/petek/32/1590_2.png) [@Petek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petek)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/10 "2009-02-03T17:10:36Z")
SafeSearch Preferences now work for me as expected. They were broken yesterday (using Firefox 3.0.5). ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/11 "2009-02-03T17:44:32Z")
> [@Petek](#): > > SafeSearch Preferences now work for me as expected. They were broken yesterday (using Firefox 3.0.5). Yep. Working for me too. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/12 "2009-02-03T22:00:04Z")
I have not suffered from this nor from the recent “all sites are unsafe” problem. I feel left out. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-google/484177/13 "2009-02-04T03:58:24Z")
Strange. I didn’t even know you could set the level of search on Google until this thread. I’ve set it the way I want it now. Thanks all, Bob