Kiddle has hit the internet and the parents are going wild. Media outlets everywhere are touting "Google's new kid-safe search site" as being highly overdue. Twitter is a buzz with excitement. Only one problem: Kiddle is not a Google company. The creators of Kiddle are either genius or on their way to massive lawsuit. Let's take a look at the front page:
The font looks like Google. The layout looks like Google. The word Google is on the front page. Hell, it even sounds like Google. But when you read the fine print, it says "Visual search engine for kids, powered by editors and Google safe search". The editors in question work for Kiddle, not Google. It is in their fine print. The Google SafeSearch mentioned is a Google feature that you can actually turn on for yourself. Aside: Google says "SafeSearch can help you block inappropriate or explicit images from your Google Search results. The SafeSearch filter isn’t 100% accurate, but it helps you avoid most adult content." To recap, Kiddle editors use SafeSearch to scan results and then their own editors refine filters even more.
Possibly. Their Kids Safe Search, listed below, indicates that all their results are handpicked by the editors. Just keep in mind this is a new company so their credibility is really yet to be determined.
Depends on how accurate you want your results. I tried a variety of searches and though I did not turn up explicit content, much of it was quite dated. I searched both 'Zac Efron' and 'Selena Gomez'. There were two kids-safe biography websites that seemed up to date, but the rest were all sites and articles written in their Disney channel days. No topless pictures of Zac. I tried to search 'breast cancer' and got the response below.
If you want to trust the site, I would say this would be a good engine for kids under 10 because of its limitations. Kids older than that will get frustrated quickly with the lack of content. Plus they are likely savvy enough to work around it. If you are going to use it, monitor young kids. Even though one site may be safe, kids could easily click through to something else.
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