How do I get rid of Norton Safe Search?

Norton Safe Search is a feature that comes included with Norton’s antivirus software. It helps filter out inappropriate or dangerous websites when you search the web. However, some users find this filtering restrictive or want more control over their web browsing experience. Fortunately, there are a few methods you can use to disable or remove Norton Safe Search.

What is Norton Safe Search?

Norton Safe Search is a web filtering feature that blocks websites deemed unsafe or explicit by Symantec, the developers of Norton Antivirus. When enabled, it restricts your search engine results to content Symantec has pre-approved as safe. This helps prevent you from accidentally visiting malicious or adult-only websites when searching the web.

Here’s a quick overview of how Norton Safe Search works:

• Gets added to your browser automatically when you install Norton security software.
• Redirects searches on Google, Bing, Yahoo and other engines through the Norton server first.
• The Norton server checks the requested sites against its database and filters out unsafe or inappropriate sites.
• You only see search results that Norton has verified as safe and family-friendly.

The goal is to let you browse worry-free without stumbling onto dangerous or objectionable content. However, some users feel Norton Safe Search is too restrictive or don’t like having their web activity monitored.

How to Temporarily Disable Norton Safe Search

If you just want to turn off Safe Search temporarily, you can do so right from your browser’s address bar:

1. Click in the address bar so a caret symbol appears.
2. Type nslookup reporting.antiphishing.norton.com and hit Enter.
3. A technical readout will appear. Scroll down and look for a line labeled “Non-authoritative answer:”
4. To disable Safe Search, copy and paste this full line back into the address bar and hit Enter again.

Norton Safe Search will now be disabled for your current browsing session across all sites. It will automatically re-enable next time you restart your browser.

How to Permanently Disable Norton Safe Search in Windows

To completely turn off Safe Search in Windows:

1. Open the Norton app on your desktop.
2. Click Settings in the left pane.
3. Select General under Settings.
4. Under Safe Web Browsing, toggle Enable Norton Safe Web to off.

This will fully disable the Safe Search feature so it doesn’t run when you browse. Repeat the steps and toggle Safe Web back on to re-enable protection.

Alternate Method:

If Norton doesn’t have a visible toggle under Settings > General, you can also disable its services directly from Windows:

1. Open the Start menu and search for “Services”.
2. Open the Services app.
3. Search for “Norton Safe Search” and open its Properties.
4. From the Startup type drop-down, select Disabled.
5. Click OK to save changes.

How to Remove Norton Safe Search in Chrome

For Chrome users, you can remove the Norton Safe Search extension entirely:

1. Open Chrome and click the 3-dot menu in the top right.
2. Hover over More tools and select Extensions.
3. Find “Safe Web Lite by Symantec” in the list and click Remove.

This will delete the extension responsible for Norton Safe Search. You can re-add it later if wanted.

Disabling Norton Safe Search in Firefox

Similarly, Firefox users can remove the add-on for Safe Search:

1. Click the 3-line menu button and select Add-ons.
2. On the Extensions page, find “Norton Safe Web Lite” in the list.
3. Click the 3-dot menu next to it and select Remove.

Again, this completely deletes the add-on from Firefox. Norton Safe Search will no longer affect your searches.

Removing Norton Safe Search in Safari

Apple Safari doesn’t use add-ons, but you can still disable Norton filtering in Settings:

1. Open Safari and click Safari in the menu bar.
2. Select Preferences from the dropdown.
3. Go to the Extensions tab.
4. Find and uncheck the box next to “Norton Safe Web Extension”.

This will prevent Norton Safe Search from running during this browser session. Repeat to re-enable the extension.

How to Remove Norton Safe Search Browser Extensions

In addition to the main add-on, Norton Safe Search installs an “Norton Assistant” extension in some browsers. To fully remove all traces of Safe Search filters, uninstall this extra extension as well:

In Chrome:

1. Open Extensions again via More tools.
2. Remove the extension called “Norton Assistant”

In Firefox:

1. Open Add-ons.
2. Remove the add-on called “Norton Assistant”

Disabling Norton Safe Search on Android Devices

If using Norton Mobile Security on an Android phone or tablet, you can disable its safe browsing feature in settings:

1. Open the Norton app.
2. Tap on the ≡ menu icon.
3. Choose Settings.
4. Tap Safe Search.
5. Toggle the Safe Search switch off.

This will stop Norton from filtering unsafe sites on that device. Repeat the steps to turn safe search protection back on when desired.

Removing Norton Safe Search on iPhone/iPad

For iOS devices with Norton Mobile Security installed:

1. Launch the Norton app.
2. Tap the ≡ menu button.
3. Select Settings.
4. Choose Safe Web Browsing.
5. Turn off the setting labeled Enable Safe Web Browsing.

Now Norton will no longer filter or intercept your web searches on that iPhone or iPad. Re-enable the setting if you want to turn protection back on.

Using a Different Antivirus Program

If you want to completely remove Norton Safe Search, the nuclear option is to uninstall Norton altogether and switch to alternative antivirus software:

• Windows Defender – Built into Windows 10 and Windows 11, provides basic protection for free.
• Avast – Solid basic antivirus with a free tier.
• AVG AntiVirus – Another good free antivirus option.
• Bitdefender – Top rated paid option with excellent malware protection.

Most other mainstream antivirus programs will not force enable a filtering feature like Safe Search by default. Just keep in mind you’ll lose out on Norton’s leading malware detection capabilities.

Conclusion

While Norton Safe Search provides an extra layer of protection, it’s understandable why some users want to remove the filtering. Thankfully, disabling or deleting the feature is straightforward across Windows PCs, Macs, and mobile devices.

Temporarily disabling Safe Search for one browsing session is the easiest approach. But you can completely remove its extensions and services for a permanent solution. Switching to an alternative antivirus provider also avoids the Safe Search system.

At the end of the day, you have full control over whether Norton filters your web activity or not. Don’t hesitate to turn off or uninstall Safe Search if you find it restrictive or unnecessary for your purposes.