The Tool Desk
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The steps below apply primarily to Bing.com in a desktop browser. Some options vary by account type, device, country, and whether you are signed in.
1. Change Bing SafeSearch
SafeSearch controls whether Bing displays explicit content in search results.
- Open Bing.com.
- Select the GlobalNavButton icon in the upper-right corner.
- Select Settings, then More.
- Choose a setting:
| Setting | What Bing filters |
|---|---|
| Strict | Explicit text, images, and videos |
| Moderate | Explicit images and videos, but not explicit text |
| Off | Does not filter explicit content |
- Select Save.
Microsoft describes Moderate as the default in most countries and regions, but local laws and regional settings can change the default. Users under 18 may have SafeSearch set automatically to Strict, and some options may not be available in every country or region.
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- Durable and Reliable: This USB wireless mouse features a line-by-line scroll wheel, up to 1 year of battery life (2) thanks to a smart sleep mode function, and comes with the included AA battery
- Universal Compatibility: Your Logitech mouse works with your Windows PC, Mac, or laptop, so no matter what type of computer you own today or buy tomorrow your mouse will be compatible
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Force Strict SafeSearch on a network
For a school, office, or home network, an administrator can force Strict SafeSearch by configuring DNS so that www.bing.com is a CNAME for strict.bing.com. Microsoft recommends using the CNAME rather than the endpoint’s IP address because the IP can change.
This removes SafeSearch controls for users on that network. To apply the same restriction to the Bing sidebar in Microsoft Edge, map edgeservices.bing.com to strict.bing.com.
2. Turn Bing search history on or off
Bing’s search-history setting controls whether new searches are added to Bing history. Turning it off does not automatically remove searches already recorded.
- On any Bing.com page, select the Settings icon in the upper-right corner.
- Select Search history.
- Under Change history settings, select Off or On.
If Bing will not save the change, enable JavaScript and cookies in your browser and try again.
Delete Bing search history
The deletion method depends on how you use Bing:
| Situation | Steps |
|---|---|
| Signed out | Open Search History, select the X beside a search, or select Clear all under Change history settings. This clears history stored on that device. |
| Personal Microsoft account | Open the Microsoft Privacy dashboard. Under Clear search history, select Clear search history, then Clear. |
| Work or school account | On the Search History page, under Clear search history, select Clear all, then Yes. |
Clearing Bing history is not the same as clearing your browser history. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and other browsers can still have their own record of the Bing pages and searches you visited.
Searches made while signed out do not appear in the Microsoft Privacy dashboard; they remain associated with the device and browser context instead.
3. Use Bing search operators to customize results
You can customize an individual search without changing account settings. Bing treats separate search terms as an AND search by default, so you normally do not need to type AND between every word.
Rank #2
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- Wireless does not have to mean heavy, G305 lightweight mouse provides high maneuverability coming in at only 3.4 oz thanks to efficient lightweight mechanical design and ultra-efficient battery usage
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Use an exact phrase
Put the phrase in quotation marks:
“windows 11 search permissions”
This is useful when searching for an exact error message, product name, song title, or technical phrase.
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Require or exclude words
Use + to require a term, and either uppercase NOT or a minus sign to exclude one:
laptop reviews +OLED
laptop reviews -gaming
laptop reviews NOT gaming
The plus sign can also force Bing to include a term it would normally treat as a stop word.
Search for alternatives
Use uppercase OR or the pipe character:
“password manager” OR “password vault”
printer | scanner troubleshooting
OR has the lowest precedence. Use parentheses when combining alternatives with other terms:
Windows backup (OneDrive OR Dropbox)
Use uppercase OR and NOT. Lowercase or and not may be treated as ordinary stop words instead of operators.
Rank #3
- Your hand can relax in comfort hour after hour with this ergonomically designed mouse. Its contoured shape with soft rubber grips, gently curved sides and broad palm area give you the support you need for effortless control all day long.
- You’ve got the control to do more, faster. Flipping through photo albums and Web pages is a breeze, especially for right-handers—with three standard buttons plus Back/Forward buttons that you can also program to switch applications, go full screen and more. And side-to-side scrolling plus zoom gives you the power to scroll horizontally and vertically through your music library, maps and Facebook feeds, and zoom in and out of photos and budget spreadsheets with a click.* * Requires Logitech SetPoint software (Windows) or Logitech Control Center software (Mac OS X)
- Two years of battery life practically eliminates the need to replace batteries. ** The On/Off switch helps conserve power, smart sleep mode extends battery life and an indicator light eliminates surprises. ** Battery life may vary based on user and computing conditions.
- The tiny Logitech Unifying receiver stays in your laptop. There’s no need to unplug it when you move around, so there’s less worry of it being lost. And you can easily add compatible wireless mice and keyboards to the same wireless receiver.
Restrict results to a website
Use site: with no space after the colon:
site:itechguides.com Bing search settings
You can combine multiple sites:
(site:bbc.co.uk OR site:cnn.com) climate report
Find particular file types
Use filetype: or ext::
home network security filetype:pdf
Windows deployment ext:docx
filetype: searches for pages created in the specified file type, while ext: targets pages with the specified filename extension.
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Limit language or country
Use a language code with language: and a country or region code with loc: or location::
“antiques” language:en
sculpture loc:US
sculpture (loc:US OR loc:GB)
There must be no space after the colon, so use language:en, not language: en.
Search page titles, body text, or links
These keywords target specific parts of indexed pages:
intitle:router inbody:firmware
inanchor:download
Bing documents one term per metadata keyword. Add another keyword when you need to target another term.
Rank #4
- 【Special Mint Green Mouse】This is an ideal choice if you need a colorful and cute mouse. Special mint green color and compact size makes it the best mouse for kids and people with small hands.
- 【Portable Small Mouse】 Only 3.94*2.28*1.52 inches, the usb mouse is designed for small to medium sized hands to achieve optimal fit and comfort. Portable design makes it easy to store in a bag for traveling.
- 【Soft Click Quiet Mouse】 Responsive buttons and scroll wheel provide very soft click with less noise, no more disturbing others and bring you comfortable using experience.
- 【Easy to Use Laptop Mouse】 2.4GHz wireless technology ensures reliable connectivity up to 49ft. 3 adjustable DPI levels (1600/1200/800) to meet your different needs. Only need 1xAA battery (NOT included) to support up to 15 months battery life.Note:USB connector is stored inside the back compartment (open the cover to access).
- 【Universal Compatibility】The wireless mouse is well compatible with Windows11/10/8.1/7,Mac OS . Fits for desktop, laptop, PC, and other devices.
Other useful Bing keywords
| Keyword | Example | Use |
|---|---|---|
| contains: | contains:wma music archive | Finds pages linking to a specified file type |
| ip: | ip:207.46.249.252 | Searches a specific host IP |
| prefer: | prefer:organization charity | Emphasizes a term |
| feed: | feed:football | Finds RSS or Atom feeds |
| hasfeed: | hasfeed:football | Finds pages containing feeds |
| url: | url:microsoft.com | Checks whether a domain or address is indexed |
Bing uses only the first 10 terms when generating search results. Keep long queries focused and put the most important terms early.
4. Save Bing results for later
Bing lets you save image, video, place, and shopping results to My saves.
- Run a search in one of those supported categories.
- On a result, select the + button to save it.
- To view saved items later, select Settings → My saves.
- In My saves, open the result’s ••• menu and select Remove to delete it.
When signed in, saved results are available across devices. When signed out, saves are temporary and can be cleared if you switch browsers or clear cookies.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware match5. Customize Bing-related settings in Windows
Windows Search has its own privacy and SafeSearch controls, and its settings can affect Bing results shown through Windows.
Windows 11
- Open Start → Settings.
- Select Privacy & security → Search permissions.
- Adjust SafeSearch and search-history options.
To remove locally stored Windows search activity, select Clear device search history under History.
Windows 10
- Open Start → Settings.
- Select Search → Permissions & History.
- Adjust SafeSearch or clear the device search history.
Windows has an important override: if Windows Search is set to Strict, that setting is shared with Bing in the browser, and Bing respects Strict even if Bing.com is set differently. If Windows is set to Moderate or Off, Bing uses the SafeSearch setting configured on Bing.com.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which customization should you use?
| Goal | Best option |
|---|---|
| Prevent explicit results | Set SafeSearch to Strict |
| Stop future searches being added to Bing history | Turn Search history off |
| Remove searches already stored | Clear Bing history separately |
| Search only one publication or website | Use site:domain.com |
| Search an exact error message | Put it in quotation marks |
| Remove irrelevant meanings | Use -term or NOT term |
| Keep useful results available later | Add supported results to My saves |
| Apply content filtering to everyone on a network | Use the Strict SafeSearch DNS CNAME |
FAQ
How do I customize Bing search settings?
On Bing.com, select the upper-right navigation or Settings icon and open Settings. From there, you can change SafeSearch, open Search history, and access My saves. Query operators such as site:, filetype:, quotation marks, and -term customize individual searches.
Best Value
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- Scroll 1,000 lines per second and stop on a pixel with the MagSpeed scroll wheel—Logitech’s fastest (3), quietest, and most precise (4) scrolling experience
- Enjoy 2X more powerful connectivity (7) with a USB-C dongle, advanced radio chip, and optimized antenna for faster, stronger, reliable performance—or use Bluetooth for more versatility
- Ergonomic mouse designed for comfort, MX Master 4 keeps you in flow with a natural tilt, intuitive buttons, and a thumb scroll wheel that reduces hand stress for fluid navigation
Why does Bing still use Strict SafeSearch after I changed Bing.com?
Windows Search may be overriding Bing.com. In Windows 11, check Start → Settings → Privacy & security → Search permissions. In Windows 10, check Start → Settings → Search → Permissions & History. A Windows SafeSearch setting of Strict takes priority.
Does turning off Bing search history delete old searches?
No. Turning history off prevents new searches from being added, but existing entries remain until you delete them from Search History or the Microsoft Privacy dashboard.
Does clearing Bing history clear my browser history?
No. Bing search history and browser history are separate. Clear the browser history in Edge, Chrome, Firefox, or the browser you use if you also want to remove visited Bing pages and locally stored browser entries.
What is the difference between Bing SafeSearch Moderate and Strict?
Strict filters explicit text, images, and videos. Moderate filters explicit images and videos but not explicit text. Off does not filter explicit content.
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Why is my Bing OR search not working?
Bing requires the Boolean operator to be uppercase: use OR, not lowercase or. Likewise, use NOT in uppercase when excluding a term. Parentheses help clarify a query such as topic (term1 OR term2).
The Bottom Line
For account-level customization, change SafeSearch and Search history from Bing Settings. For better results, use focused operators such as site:, filetype:, quotation marks, OR, and -term. Remember that turning history off does not erase existing entries, clearing Bing history does not clear browser history, and Windows can override Bing’s SafeSearch setting.
Quick Recap
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