Google Instant Blocks Sexy Searches: See What Basic Terms Google Thinks Are NSFW

Google's "Instant" search feature hopes to speed up search by displaying search results as you type--so long as your queries are PG, that is.

As The Register observes, Google Instant "includes a blacklist for words and phrases involving what the company considers 'violence, hate, or pornography.'" Whereas querying for neutral terms like "weather" or "restaurant" offers up a dropdown menu with suggested terms and presents a page of relevant search results, the streaming search tool does not work with "NSFW" search terms, which cause the page to go blank.

"We care a lot about child safety and these kinds of issues, so we had to think a lot about auto-complete and how that works as you're getting the results," Google product manager Johanna Wright said, according to The Register. "As a result, if you're typing for something that may not be appropriate for certain people to see, you won't see results until you press enter."

But many anatomical terms are also being censored by the search engine, although not consistently. As the slideshow below demonstrates, a query for "breast" and "testicle" were accepted by Google Instant, whereas typing "penis" or "vagina" were not compatible.

Users have taken issue with the restrictions on Google Instant searches. Robert Scoble tweeted Wednesday, "I want to turn off the Google censor on Google Instant. Try searching for a naughty word. Doesn't work. I feel like I live in China. Thanks!"

What do you think of Google's policy? See how Google Instant treats different queries in the slideshow below. Are the censored terms justified or not? Learn more about Google Instant , then check out users' reviews of the new tool, as well as the Google Instant "alphabet."

1 of 10

1 of 11

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

Tim Cook Through The Years

7 Things We Forget We Do Online

How Internet Is Restricted Around The World

7 Things Microsoft Surface Has That iPad Doesn't

Chris Hadfield's Best Photos From Space

9 Gadgets To Help You Avoid Surveillance

comments(849)

featured comment

Reply | Share

Michael Giblin said on 11 Saturday 2010 am30 12:39 am: Well they're both down there. You need someone to draw a map?

Total comments: 849 | Post a Comment

1 of 11

This Term

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Justified Ridiculous

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Terms

loading...

Terms

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Comments

[Rooster Coburn]

04:34 AM on 10/26/2010

I did a quick check of "gun" "pistol" "rifle" "shotgun" "colt" "glock" and did not find any hoplophobia to be present so I'm O.K. with it. If they were to start censoring firearm related searches that would be wrong and unAmerican given our Second Amendment guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms.

[fairywhatnot]

01:59 PM on 10/25/2010

I hate the new auto-complete by google. I have been typing in my usual search words - which are NOT on the offensive list, BTW - but when I look up, I realize that sometime after the second or third letter, google has lost me, and what I type in comes out as total gibberish. As an example, I just typed in 'Switzerland', and instead THIS shows up in the type-in box: swizlan - and as the first choice in the drop down window it shows Swaziland.
I am more than p***ed off with google for this, and am considering switching to other search engines.

[Helanren]

10:59 PM on 10/16/2010

It seems to be implemented in a silly way. In a way - personally, I don't really care - I can understand them wanting to 'protect' you from unexpected and unwanted results, but I would define that as getting those offensive results while you're busy typing in a 'normal' word. However, if you finish the complete word, it's obvious that that's what you are looking for.

Even worse: if you start typing 'naked', by the time you're up to 'nake', the list is full of 'nude results', which disappear again after adding the last d. But that list at 'nake' is exactly what they were supposed to screen!

[porninstant]

04:41 PM on 09/27/2010

looking for instant porn? try youporn instant at http://www.porninstant.net

[Libraray Lady]

03:52 PM on 09/16/2010

Actually it doesn't block the search. Google just wants to check that you REALLY want to instantly search that. So, if you type "penis," you won't see anything instantly. But then if you backspace the "s" and type it again, THEN the search will instantly occur without your pressing Enter. that takes an extra 1/2 second, but I don't think you can consider that BLOCKING! I appreciate the feature because I don't always want to see body parts instantly if I happen to mistype or am looking for something less racy, like breast cancer info rather than "boobs."

[General Public]

08:44 PM on 09/13/2010

Hah, I have SafeSearch off, and Google Instant still censors the results. But you can turn Google Instant off just like you can turn SafeSearch off. Try going to google.com and typing in "tits"... unlike "breast", you won't see any results until you hit the search button or press Enter. Funny since both terms refer to the same thing. Anyway folks, go here to turn off Google SafeSearch and Google Instant, if you feel like it:
http://www.google.com/preferences

[fairywhatnot]

02:03 PM on 10/25/2010

THANK YOU FOR THIS LINK!!! You have saved my sanity!!! I successfully was able to turn off the instant one, which was driving me BATTY!!!

[Enid]

02:57 PM on 09/12/2010

Ripping pages from a dictionary would be foolish so is this.
Sticks and stone may brake my bones but names will never hurt.
Than I find out article is all misleading and a no story.

[JasonMcl]

01:06 PM on 09/12/2010

To anyone who will happen to come across this article, you need to know that it is a complete and total misrepresentation of the truth.

Google has not censored ANYTHING. It has simply prevented you from seeing flashes of NSFW pages as you happen to type things. It will still search for whatever you have typed after you press enter no matter what you have typed.

The reason the instant search has some terms blocked is to keep potentially NSFW things from popping up as you type. Example: If your a young woman searching with your grandmother for a "Cocktail dress" you don't have to subject her to flashes of anatomy while you type in the word.

Go ahead and try it for yourself. Type in "Boobs" in the search window. When you complete the word you will notice that all the results have been cleared and the engine clearly tells you to "Press enter to search". (Ironically the top link is from cracked.com.)

There are certainly a few reasons to jump on Google and this website has without a doubt taken care of all of them and then some, but this Article is extremely misleading and reflective of very poor journalism on the part of the author.

[harveyparadox]

08:24 PM on 09/11/2010

Huffpost is turning into a gossip rag full of misleading headlines (which are what everyone reads, of course).

[miamia25]

06:32 PM on 09/11/2010

That seems about right.

[Phideaux]

06:12 PM on 09/11/2010

Darn it... there goes my ongoing search for tnemegralne sinep!

[dulceburro]

04:34 PM on 09/11/2010

Whats with all the Google hatred suddenly? What happened to Wal Mart? What happened to facebook. I feel like there are 2-3 month shifts on the HP. Used to come here and read about how bad walmart is. Then it was facebook, now it is Google.

[MathIsTruth]

04:46 PM on 09/11/2010

I wish the world were as simplistic as you view it.

If only there were but one company at any given time that was deserving of strong criticism!

[dulceburro]

04:51 PM on 09/11/2010

Welcome to my world: Nice and Simple.

[realitytrumpsbull]

05:38 PM on 09/11/2010

Well, now that the three companies have merged, and it's WalBookoogle, they'll know what you want, before you buy it, and how to better approach viral marketing. Now, instead of receiving the search results you were after, you'll just be notified of the latest sale on golfing equipment, and, since you'd previously expressed an interest in golf according to your GoogleDataBasePersonalRecordEntry34, they'll just automatically debit the cost of the accessories from your account, and have it ready for you to pick up at the returns desk. You were gonna buy em anyway, when your friend on the social networking site told you about em, right? 

[Ralph Noyes]

04:01 PM on 09/11/2010

HP has some VERY ugly little control freaks in their Fuhrerbunker.

I'm not sure HP should be throwing stones about censorhip at ANYBODY.

[Ralph Noyes]

03:56 PM on 09/11/2010

Google is just the next devil coming along.

Or is it Facebook?

[jmyoung666]

03:32 PM on 09/11/2010

Let me try another tack in responding to this. Who here wants Instant? Even ignoring that C*** or S**** Bucket might come up when kids use my computer, aren't you annoyed by the suggested phrase completions?

[dulceburro]

04:35 PM on 09/11/2010

I like instant.