Ready to Escape Google? Start by Changing Your Phone’s Default Search Engine

It is laborious to think about life with out Google. The web as we all know it’s constructed round search engines like google and yahoo, and Google is the most important of all of them. In 2024, Google was the first search engine for 76% of desktop customers and 95% of cell customers. Even when you do not have Google Chrome in your system, you in all probability use Google Search a number of instances a day with out eager about it. When you have an iPhone and also you open the Safari app to carry out a search, you are routinely utilizing Google. That is no accident: Google pays Apple $20 billion a 12 months to be Safari’s default search engine. And that may be an issue, particularly should you’re uninterested in seeing Google’s AI overviews. What should you favor to go looking the old style manner, by looking by way of a listing of blue hyperlinks with out the help of AI? Or what should you do not wish to use Google in any respect? How are you going to look one thing up with out “Googling it”?You’ll be able to in truth change your default search engine in most internet browsers, and it isn’t an excessive amount of of a trouble — you simply have to know the place to look. How do I modify my default search engine in Safari?Safari defaults to Google for searches, but it surely additionally lets you select from one in every of these choices as a substitute: Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo or Ecosia. Whereas Yahoo’s search engine is way much less in style than Google’s, it debuted in 1995, three years earlier than Google’s official launch. DuckDuckGo launched in 2008, adopted by Microsoft Bing and Ecosia in 2009.  DuckDuckGo is a search engine that will not routinely observe your searches. Whereas it does present you advertisements primarily based on what you lookup, it will not save your search historical past and private information to indicate you focused advertisements (the best way most different search engines like google and yahoo do).Ecosia makes use of the income from its search engine to assist local weather motion, with a acknowledged purpose of planting extra bushes around the globe. It gives Google search outcomes by default, although it provides you the choice of switching to Microsoft Bing.If you wish to use a non-Google search engine within the Safari iOS app, go to your Settings, then faucet Apps, then faucet Safari. Then choose Search Engine to see your choices. Screenshot by Jason Chun/CNETHow do I modify my default search engine for Microsoft Edge and Firefox?Should you’re utilizing Microsoft Edge, go to the app itself and faucet the three-bar hamburger menu icon. Go to your Settings, faucet Search, then Choose Search Engine. Edge makes use of Bing by default, however you can even choose Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Yandex and sure, Google. Screenshot by Jason Chun/CNETIf you are utilizing Firefox and also you wish to change your default search engine, go to the app and click on on the (…) to entry your Settings. Below the Basic part, faucet Search, then go to Default Search Engine. You’ll select from Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google, Wikipedia and eBay. If you wish to use an choice you do not see listed, you possibly can go to Various Search Engines and choose Add Search Engine. Screenshot by Jason Chun/CNETCan I modify my default search engine in Google Chrome?Curiously, you can even change your default search engine in Google’s personal Chrome app. Simply faucet your profile picture to tug up your Settings. Choose Search Engine and you may see the next choices: Google, Microsoft Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and Yandex. Screenshot by Jason Chun/CNETGoogle Search is so widespread that many people have not stopped to think about using another. However as our search engines like google and yahoo proceed to evolve on this period of AI, it is useful to know that you’ve got different methods to seek out data on-line.