Tired of garbage Google search results? Try this.

When you’re trying to manage internet exposure for yourself and your family, one of the things that generally tops the priority list is avoiding unexpected NSFW content. Because it does tend to pop up in the weirdest and most uncomfortable spaces, generating simultaneous need for a timeline cleanse, and ability to figure out how to answer questions about it. Ugh. 

While we were writing this issue, the U.S. government's official vaccine site got defaced with AI-generated garbage. Yes, a literal .gov site. If even the verified, credible corners of the web are getting spammed into oblivion, what chance does your everyday search have?

To be fair: Google is trying. They’ve updated their algorithm to suppress “unhelpful, unoriginal content.” But the bots are evolving faster than the filters. AI content farms are publishing thousands of pages per hour, and many of them are ranking high — even when they’re hallucinating nonsense, sneaking in porn links, or just being aggressively bad.

Internet search is getting measurably worse to use. You don’t need to be a digital native to notice that you now have to scroll longer, click deeper, and triple-check your sources more often.

You search for a tool, a tip, a basic how-to, and instead of a clear answer, you get ten lookalike blogs stuffed with keywords and auto-generated “content.” At best, it wastes your time. At worst, it delivers something deeply NSFW at 11am on your work laptop.

(And then your browser helpfully recommends five more pages like it. Thanks, Chrome.)

When we talk about cleaning up your search results, we don’t mean locking them down. We’re not here to trade AI slop for overzealous censorship.

Yes, we want fewer spammy junk sites in your results. No, we don’t want a world where accessing useful or legal content requires scanning your face or uploading your ID.

A lot of the current “fix the internet” energy is being driven by lawmakers framing it as “for the children.” See here and here and here and here and here for more information on that fight, if you can bear it. But the reality is, age verification laws and content filtering bills often end up limiting access for everyone — not just kids.

That’s not where we want to end up.

We’re pro-choice in the most literal sense: choose what results you want to see. Don’t let bad tech override your agency, but don’t hand your agency off to overreaching legislation either.

There’s no permanent fix yet — but there is a solid short-term workaround. Actually, two:

Check out tenbluelinks.org. It’s a great resource that shows you how to adjust your browser settings to remove Google’s “AI Overview”. It takes a few steps, but it’s worth it if you want in browser control. Think of it like installing a better air filter on your internet.

Go to https://udm14.com. It’s a clean search front-end that strips out the AI slop. No installs, no extensions, no setup. Just bookmark it and start your searches there. It uses a Google endpoint with special parameters (&udm=14) that force the “classic” search layout; ten blue links, minimal noise.

The &udm=14 tag is a special parameter you can tack onto a Google search URL to get Google to show you results like it’s still 2012.

udm14.com is a shortcut that applies this filter automatically every time you search.

It’s not about going back to “the good old internet.” It’s about being able to find reliable info without getting ambushed by garbage.

The internet isn’t broken. It’s just clogged with AI slop, expired SEO strategies, and domains that exist solely to trick the algorithm. Until the tools catch up, the best move is to take back some control.

So the next time you need to Google something, don’t go in unprotected.
Try https://udm14.com or set up your own filters through https://tenbluelinks.org.

Because “just Google it” shouldn’t require a content warning.

CybersecuriTea is a free, plain-English guide to digital safety, designed for families, friends, and the folks you love. Subscribe today and get weekly tips to help keep your digital life secure.

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