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Yahoo! Image Search Safety Guide
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Yahoo! Image Search Safety Guide

What is Yahoo! Image Search?

Yahoo! Image Search is a service that lets you search hundreds of millions of images posted on sites throughout the Web.

Yahoo!’s younger members users might use Yahoo! Image Search to research school projects or for personal interests.

To learn more about Yahoo! Image Search, please read through Image Search Help.

What are some risks to my child on Yahoo! Image Search?

Just as there may be risks in the community where you live, using Yahoo! Image Search may pose certain risks to children. Yahoo! Image Search provides a number of safety features, but as a parent or caregiver, you are expected to take an active role in protecting your child online.

We suggest that you start by reviewing some general practices for online safety. In addition, please keep in mind that Yahoo! Image Search collects hundreds of millions of images — photos, illustrations, and icons — from all over the Web. Among this vast selection of images, there may be some that you or your child find vulgar, sexually explicit, or otherwise offensive. Yahoo!’s SafeSearch filters out much of the mature content, but no filter is perfect, and Yahoo! cannot guarantee that all explicit images will be removed from search results.

What can be done to limit this risk? Review Yahoo! Image Search’s safety features, learn how to report abuse, and read what parents and caregivers can do to help kids be safe using Yahoo! Image Search.

What safety features should I know about to help protect my child on Yahoo! Image Search?

Yahoo! Image Search provides several safety features. You and your child should know how to do the following when searching for images:

  • Turn on SafeSearch. Yahoo!’s SafeSearch can be set to filter out explicit, adult-oriented images from search results. While SafeSearch filters out a large quantity of mature content, no filter is perfect, and Yahoo! cannot guarantee that all explicit images will be removed from search results. To turn on SafeSearch, click the Advanced Search link next to the search box or Preference in the upper-right corner of any Yahoo! Image Search results page. You can also go directly to the SafeSearch Preferences page.
  • Lock SafeSearch. Parents can make sure the SafeSearch settings are not changed by selecting Lock SafeSearch on the SafeSearch Preferences page. This prevents anyone on your computer who is using the same browser from changing SafeSearch settings unless they are registered as a Yahoo! user over 18 years of age. If your family uses multiple browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera, consider locking SafeSearch on each.

If you come across any results in Yahoo! Image Search that depict minors in a harmful or sexually explicit manner, please report them to Yahoo!.

How can I report problems that my child encounters on Yahoo! Image Search?

Yahoo! Image Search provides a customer care form to report abuse. Please complete this form if your child is exposed to sexually explicit images of minors or anything else that violates the Yahoo! Terms of Service. Make sure to provide specific information about the location of the offending content.

Yahoo!’s customer care team receives abuse reports and takes appropriate action as necessary, which may include deactivating an abuser’s account. Reports that indicate activity involving child pornography or solicitation of a minor are dealt with promptly by Yahoo!’s legal team and, when appropriate, reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

What can I do to help my child use Yahoo! Image Search in a safe manner?

Yahoo! is committed to providing a safe online experience for all users and, accordingly, complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Yahoo! Image Search provides a number of safety features to limit potential risks to users. However, protecting children online is a responsibility shared with parents, teachers, and other caregivers.

We suggest that you start by reviewing some general practices for online safety. These include safeguarding identity online, keeping passwords secret, being cautious about contact with strangers, and creating a pledge for online safety.

You can also make sure that the Yahoo! SafeSearch settings can't be changed by choosing the Lock SafeSearch option on the SafeSearch Preferences page. This prevents anyone on your computer who is using the same browser from changing the SafeSearch settings unless they are registered as a Yahoo! user over 18 years of age.

If your child is exposed to sexually explicit images of minors or anything else that violates the Yahoo! Terms of Service, please report the abuse.

And remember, Yahoo! Kids offers all kinds of age-appropriate content and activities for children under 13.

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