Detect explicit content (SafeSearch)

SafeSearch Detection detects explicit content such as adult content or violent content within an image. This feature uses five categories (adult, spoof, medical, violence, and racy) and returns the likelihood that each is present in a given image. See the SafeSearchAnnotation page for details on these fields.

SafeSearch detection requests

Set up your GCP project and authentication

If you have not created a Google Cloud Platform (GCP) project and service account credentials, do so now. Expand this section for instructions.

Sign in to your Google Cloud account. If you're new to Google Cloud, create an account to evaluate how our products perform in real-world scenarios. New customers also get $300 in free credits to run, test, and deploy workloads.

Set up a Cloud Console project.

Set up a project

Click to:

Create or select a project.
Enable the Vision API for that project.
Create a service account.
Download a private key as JSON.

You can view and manage these resources at any time in the Cloud Console.

Set the environment variable GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS to the path of the JSON file that contains your service account key. This variable only applies to your current shell session, so if you open a new session, set the variable again.

Example: Linux or macOS

export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="KEY_PATH"

Replace KEY_PATH with the path of the JSON file that contains your service account key.

For example:

export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/home/user/Downloads/service-account-file.json"

Example: Windows

For PowerShell:

$env:GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="KEY_PATH"

Replace KEY_PATH with the path of the JSON file that contains your service account key.

For example:

$env:GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="C:\Users\username\Downloads\service-account-file.json"

For command prompt:

set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=KEY_PATH

Replace KEY_PATH with the path of the JSON file that contains your service account key.

Install and initialize the Cloud SDK.

Set up a Cloud Console project.

Set up a project

Click to:

Create or select a project.
Enable the Vision API for that project.
Create a service account.
Download a private key as JSON.

You can view and manage these resources at any time in the Cloud Console.

Example: Linux or macOS

export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="KEY_PATH"

Replace KEY_PATH with the path of the JSON file that contains your service account key.

For example:

export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/home/user/Downloads/service-account-file.json"

Example: Windows

For PowerShell:

$env:GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="KEY_PATH"

Replace KEY_PATH with the path of the JSON file that contains your service account key.

For example:

$env:GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="C:\Users\username\Downloads\service-account-file.json"

For command prompt:

set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=KEY_PATH

Replace KEY_PATH with the path of the JSON file that contains your service account key.

Install and initialize the Cloud SDK.

Explicit content detection on a local image

The Vision API can perform feature detection on a local image file by sending the contents of the image file as a base64 encoded string in the body of your request.

REST & CMD LINE

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

base64-encoded-image: The base64 representation (ASCII string) of your binary image data. This string should look similar to the following string:
- /9j/4QAYRXhpZgAA...9tAVx/zDQDlGxn//2Q==
Visit the base64 encode topic for more information.

HTTP method and URL:

POST https://vision.googleapis.com/v1/images:annotate

Request JSON body:

{
  "requests": [
    {
      "image": {
        "content": "base64-encoded-image"
      },
      "features": [
        {
          "type": "SAFE_SEARCH_DETECTION"
        },
      ]
    }
  ]
}

To send your request, choose one of these options:

curl

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth application-default print-access-token) \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d @request.json \
"https://vision.googleapis.com/v1/images:annotate"

PowerShell

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth application-default print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method POST `
  -Headers $headers `
  -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
  -InFile request.json `
  -Uri "https://vision.googleapis.com/v1/images:annotate" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "responses": [
    {
      "safeSearchAnnotation": {
        "adult": "UNLIKELY",
        "spoof": "VERY_UNLIKELY",
        "medical": "VERY_UNLIKELY",
        "violence": "LIKELY",
        "racy": "POSSIBLE"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the Vision quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Vision Go API reference documentation.

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// detectSafeSearch gets image properties from the Vision API for an image at the given file path.
func detectSafeSearch(w io.Writer, file string) error {
	ctx := context.Background()

	client, err := vision.NewImageAnnotatorClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	f, err := os.Open(file)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	defer f.Close()

	image, err := vision.NewImageFromReader(f)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	props, err := client.DetectSafeSearch(ctx, image, nil)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Safe Search properties:")
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Adult:", props.Adult)
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Medical:", props.Medical)
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Racy:", props.Racy)
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Spoofed:", props.Spoof)
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Violence:", props.Violence)

	return nil
}

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the Vision API Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the Vision API Java API reference documentation.

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import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.AnnotateImageRequest;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.AnnotateImageResponse;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.BatchAnnotateImagesResponse;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.Feature;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.Image;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.ImageAnnotatorClient;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.SafeSearchAnnotation;
import com.google.protobuf.ByteString;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

public class DetectSafeSearch {
  public static void detectSafeSearch() throws IOException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String filePath = "path/to/your/image/file.jpg";
    detectSafeSearch(filePath);
  }

  // Detects whether the specified image has features you would want to moderate.
  public static void detectSafeSearch(String filePath) throws IOException {
    List<AnnotateImageRequest> requests = new ArrayList<>();

    ByteString imgBytes = ByteString.readFrom(new FileInputStream(filePath));

    Image img = Image.newBuilder().setContent(imgBytes).build();
    Feature feat = Feature.newBuilder().setType(Feature.Type.SAFE_SEARCH_DETECTION).build();
    AnnotateImageRequest request =
        AnnotateImageRequest.newBuilder().addFeatures(feat).setImage(img).build();
    requests.add(request);

    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After completing all of your requests, call
    // the "close" method on the client to safely clean up any remaining background resources.
    try (ImageAnnotatorClient client = ImageAnnotatorClient.create()) {
      BatchAnnotateImagesResponse response = client.batchAnnotateImages(requests);
      List<AnnotateImageResponse> responses = response.getResponsesList();

      for (AnnotateImageResponse res : responses) {
        if (res.hasError()) {
          System.out.format("Error: %s%n", res.getError().getMessage());
          return;
        }

        // For full list of available annotations, see http://g.co/cloud/vision/docs
        SafeSearchAnnotation annotation = res.getSafeSearchAnnotation();
        System.out.format(
            "adult: %s%nmedical: %s%nspoofed: %s%nviolence: %s%nracy: %s%n",
            annotation.getAdult(),
            annotation.getMedical(),
            annotation.getSpoof(),
            annotation.getViolence(),
            annotation.getRacy());
      }
    }
  }
}

Node.js

Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the Vision quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Vision Node.js API reference documentation.

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const vision = require('@google-cloud/vision');

// Creates a client
const client = new vision.ImageAnnotatorClient();

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment the following line before running the sample.
 */
// const fileName = 'Local image file, e.g. /path/to/image.png';

// Performs safe search detection on the local file
const [result] = await client.safeSearchDetection(fileName);
const detections = result.safeSearchAnnotation;
console.log('Safe search:');
console.log(`Adult: ${detections.adult}`);
console.log(`Medical: ${detections.medical}`);
console.log(`Spoof: ${detections.spoof}`);
console.log(`Violence: ${detections.violence}`);
console.log(`Racy: ${detections.racy}`);

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the Vision quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Vision Python API reference documentation.

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def detect_safe_search(path):
    """Detects unsafe features in the file."""
    from google.cloud import vision
    import io
    client = vision.ImageAnnotatorClient()

    with io.open(path, 'rb') as image_file:
        content = image_file.read()

    image = vision.Image(content=content)

    response = client.safe_search_detection(image=image)
    safe = response.safe_search_annotation

    # Names of likelihood from google.cloud.vision.enums
    likelihood_name = ('UNKNOWN', 'VERY_UNLIKELY', 'UNLIKELY', 'POSSIBLE',
                       'LIKELY', 'VERY_LIKELY')
    print('Safe search:')

    print('adult: {}'.format(likelihood_name[safe.adult]))
    print('medical: {}'.format(likelihood_name[safe.medical]))
    print('spoofed: {}'.format(likelihood_name[safe.spoof]))
    print('violence: {}'.format(likelihood_name[safe.violence]))
    print('racy: {}'.format(likelihood_name[safe.racy]))

    if response.error.message:
        raise Exception(
            '{}\nFor more info on error messages, check: '
            'https://cloud.google.com/apis/design/errors'.format(
                response.error.message))

Explicit content detection on a remote image

For your convenience, the Vision API can perform feature detection directly on an image file located in Google Cloud Storage or on the Web without the need to send the contents of the image file in the body of your request.

REST & CMD LINE

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

cloud-storage-image-uri: the path to a valid image file in a Cloud Storage bucket. You must at least have read privileges to the file. Example:
- ```
gs://my-storage-bucket/img/image1.png
```

HTTP method and URL:

POST https://vision.googleapis.com/v1/images:annotate

Request JSON body:

{
  "requests": [
    {
      "image": {
        "source": {
          "imageUri": "cloud-storage-image-uri"
        }
      },
      "features": [
        {
          "type": "SAFE_SEARCH_DETECTION"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

To send your request, choose one of these options:

curl

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth application-default print-access-token) \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d @request.json \
"https://vision.googleapis.com/v1/images:annotate"

PowerShell

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth application-default print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method POST `
  -Headers $headers `
  -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
  -InFile request.json `
  -Uri "https://vision.googleapis.com/v1/images:annotate" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "responses": [
    {
      "safeSearchAnnotation": {
        "adult": "UNLIKELY",
        "spoof": "VERY_UNLIKELY",
        "medical": "VERY_UNLIKELY",
        "violence": "LIKELY",
        "racy": "POSSIBLE"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the Vision quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Vision Go API reference documentation.

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// detectSafeSearch gets image properties from the Vision API for an image at the given file path.
func detectSafeSearchURI(w io.Writer, file string) error {
	ctx := context.Background()

	client, err := vision.NewImageAnnotatorClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	image := vision.NewImageFromURI(file)
	props, err := client.DetectSafeSearch(ctx, image, nil)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Safe Search properties:")
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Adult:", props.Adult)
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Medical:", props.Medical)
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Racy:", props.Racy)
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Spoofed:", props.Spoof)
	fmt.Fprintln(w, "Violence:", props.Violence)

	return nil
}

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the Vision quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Vision Java API reference documentation.

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import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.AnnotateImageRequest;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.AnnotateImageResponse;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.BatchAnnotateImagesResponse;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.Feature;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.Feature.Type;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.Image;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.ImageAnnotatorClient;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.ImageSource;
import com.google.cloud.vision.v1.SafeSearchAnnotation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

public class DetectSafeSearchGcs {

  public static void detectSafeSearchGcs() throws IOException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String filePath = "gs://your-gcs-bucket/path/to/image/file.jpg";
    detectSafeSearchGcs(filePath);
  }

  // Detects whether the specified image on Google Cloud Storage has features you would want to
  // moderate.
  public static void detectSafeSearchGcs(String gcsPath) throws IOException {
    List<AnnotateImageRequest> requests = new ArrayList<>();

    ImageSource imgSource = ImageSource.newBuilder().setGcsImageUri(gcsPath).build();
    Image img = Image.newBuilder().setSource(imgSource).build();
    Feature feat = Feature.newBuilder().setType(Type.SAFE_SEARCH_DETECTION).build();
    AnnotateImageRequest request =
        AnnotateImageRequest.newBuilder().addFeatures(feat).setImage(img).build();
    requests.add(request);

    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After completing all of your requests, call
    // the "close" method on the client to safely clean up any remaining background resources.
    try (ImageAnnotatorClient client = ImageAnnotatorClient.create()) {
      BatchAnnotateImagesResponse response = client.batchAnnotateImages(requests);
      List<AnnotateImageResponse> responses = response.getResponsesList();

      for (AnnotateImageResponse res : responses) {
        if (res.hasError()) {
          System.out.format("Error: %s%n", res.getError().getMessage());
          return;
        }

        // For full list of available annotations, see http://g.co/cloud/vision/docs
        SafeSearchAnnotation annotation = res.getSafeSearchAnnotation();
        System.out.format(
            "adult: %s%nmedical: %s%nspoofed: %s%nviolence: %s%nracy: %s%n",
            annotation.getAdult(),
            annotation.getMedical(),
            annotation.getSpoof(),
            annotation.getViolence(),
            annotation.getRacy());
      }
    }
  }
}

Node.js

Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the Vision quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Vision Node.js API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

// Imports the Google Cloud client libraries
const vision = require('@google-cloud/vision');

// Creates a client
const client = new vision.ImageAnnotatorClient();

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment the following lines before running the sample.
 */
// const bucketName = 'Bucket where the file resides, e.g. my-bucket';
// const fileName = 'Path to file within bucket, e.g. path/to/image.png';

// Performs safe search property detection on the remote file
const [result] = await client.safeSearchDetection(
  `gs://${bucketName}/${fileName}`
);
const detections = result.safeSearchAnnotation;
console.log(`Adult: ${detections.adult}`);
console.log(`Spoof: ${detections.spoof}`);
console.log(`Medical: ${detections.medical}`);
console.log(`Violence: ${detections.violence}`);

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the Vision quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Vision Python API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

def detect_safe_search_uri(uri):
    """Detects unsafe features in the file located in Google Cloud Storage or
    on the Web."""
    from google.cloud import vision
    client = vision.ImageAnnotatorClient()
    image = vision.Image()
    image.source.image_uri = uri

    response = client.safe_search_detection(image=image)
    safe = response.safe_search_annotation

    # Names of likelihood from google.cloud.vision.enums
    likelihood_name = ('UNKNOWN', 'VERY_UNLIKELY', 'UNLIKELY', 'POSSIBLE',
                       'LIKELY', 'VERY_LIKELY')
    print('Safe search:')

    print('adult: {}'.format(likelihood_name[safe.adult]))
    print('medical: {}'.format(likelihood_name[safe.medical]))
    print('spoofed: {}'.format(likelihood_name[safe.spoof]))
    print('violence: {}'.format(likelihood_name[safe.violence]))
    print('racy: {}'.format(likelihood_name[safe.racy]))

    if response.error.message:
        raise Exception(
            '{}\nFor more info on error messages, check: '
            'https://cloud.google.com/apis/design/errors'.format(
                response.error.message))

gcloud

To perform SafeSearch detection, use the gcloud ml vision detect-safe-search command as shown in the following example:

gcloud ml vision detect-safe-search gs://my_bucket/input_file