Although it’s not as mainstream as Facebook or Twitter, the social network Tumblr is popular — particularly among younger generations — as a place to share and explore artwork, music, and ideas. It’s also a place to find some more … salacious material. The seedy underbelly of Tumblr is home to various blogs and pieces of art that could be called “adult,” and while Tumblr has gained a lot of notoriety for its adult content, new users won’t necessarily find it right off the bat. If you’ve recently created a Tumblr account, your account will, by default, have “Safe Search” turned on, keeping innocent eyes away from naughty blogs.
Further reading
If you’re an adult who wants the pure, uncut Tumblr experience — or maybe you just have an uncontrollable lust for Bowsette fan art — you can take the training wheels off and ride into a world of forbidden delights. Here’s how to turn off Safe Search in Tumblr.
Disabling Safe Search in your browser
If you typically view Tumblr in your desktop browser, pull up the site and log in as you normally would.
Step 1: Once logged in, click the icon that resembles a person in the upper-right corner of your dashboard.
Step 2: From the drop-down menu, click Settings.
Step 3: Look for the field marked Filtering, with a button next to it labeled Safe Search. Click this button to disable Safe Search.
Disabling Safe Search on your mobile device
If you prefer to browse Tumblr using your mobile device, the process for disabling Safe Search is just as simple.
Step 1: Launch the Tumblr app as you would normally.
Step 2: Select the humanoid icon in the bottom-right corner.
Step 3: Tap the gear icon in the upper-right corner to access the Accounts menu.
Step 4: Select General Settings at the top of the resulting menu.
Step 5: Scroll down to Filtering, and tap it.
Step 6: You should now see a field labeled Safe Mode. If the button beside it is blue, that means Safe Mode is currently enabled. Tap the button to disable the feature.
That’s it! You should now be free to explore the strange, sometimes titillating world of NSFW Tumblr. Beware, however! Wandering through the dark, cavernous netherworld of NSFW Tumblr, you may see things that you can never erase from your mind. Proceed at your own risk.
