It’s hard to imagine life without Google. The internet as we know it is built around search engines, and Google is the biggest of them all. In 2024, Google was the primary search engine for 76% of desktop users and 95% of mobile users.
Even if you don’t have Google Chrome on your device, you probably use Google Search multiple times a day without thinking about it.
If you have an iPhone and you open the Safari app to perform a search, you’re automatically using Google. That’s no accident: Google pays Apple $20 billion a year to be Safari’s default search engine. And that can be a problem, especially if you’re tired of seeing Google’s AI overviews.
What if you prefer to search the old-fashioned way, by browsing through a list of blue links without the assistance of AI? Or what if you don’t want to use Google at all? How can you look something up without “Googling it”?
You can in fact switch your default search engine in most web browsers, and it’s not too much of a hassle — you just need to know where to look.
How do I change my default search engine in Safari?
Safari defaults to Google for searches, but it also allows you to choose from one of these options instead: Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo or Ecosia.
While Yahoo’s search engine is much less popular than Google’s, it debuted in 1995, three years before Google’s official launch. DuckDuckGo launched in 2008, followed by Microsoft Bing and Ecosia in 2009.
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that won’t automatically track your searches. While it does show you ads based on what you look up, it won’t save your search history and personal data to show you targeted ads (the way most other search engines do).
Ecosia uses the profits from its search engine to support climate action, with a stated goal of planting more trees around the world. It provides Google search results by default, though it gives you the option of switching to Microsoft Bing.
If you want to use a non-Google search engine in the Safari iOS app, go to your Settings, then tap Apps, then tap Safari. Then select Search Engine to see your options.
How do I change my default search engine for Microsoft Edge and Firefox?
If you’re using Microsoft Edge, go to the app itself and tap the three-bar hamburger menu icon. Go to your Settings, tap Search, then Select Search Engine. Edge uses Bing by default, but you can also select Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Yandex and yes, Google.
If you’re using Firefox and you want to change your default search engine, go to the app and click on the (…) to access your Settings. Under the General section, tap Search, then go to Default Search Engine. You’ll be able to choose from Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google, Wikipedia and eBay. If you want to use an option you don’t see listed, you can go to Alternative Search Engines and select Add Search Engine.
Can I change my default search engine in Google Chrome?
Interestingly, you can also change your default search engine in Google’s own Chrome app. Just tap your profile image to pull up your Settings. Select Search Engine and you’ll see the following options: Google, Microsoft Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and Yandex.
Google Search is so common that many of us haven’t stopped to consider using an alternative. But as our search engines continue to evolve in this era of AI, it’s helpful to know that you have other ways to find information online.
