How to Change Default Search Engine in Firefox on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Jan. 20, 2021

Firefox comes with a number of available search options built-in, withGooglebeing the default. However, if you want someone other than the Mountain View behemoth to power your searches, you can easily add a custom search engine in Firefox in a few simple clicks. Today, we will tell how to change default search engine in Firefox on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS. We will also tell you how to add search engines in Firefox or remove the search providers that Firefox offers.

Note:UsingGoogle Chromeinstead of Firefox? Here is how you canchange default search engine is Google Chrome.

Change Default Search Engine in Firefox on Computers and Smartphones

You can change the default search engine in Firefox easily on all leading mobile and desktop platforms. Using our tutorial, you can not only set default search engine on Firefox, but also remove the default search engine if you want. So without further ado, let’s check out how we can change the default search engine in Firefox on computers and smartphones.

The process to change the default search engine in Firefox remains the same on Windows, Mac and Linux. I’m using Windows for this demo, but the menus, options and settings will be almost identical for Mac and Linux as well.

Note:You can also access search engine options by clicking on the ‘hamburger’ menu (three horizontal lines) on the top-right and then opting for Options > Search.

The process of changing the default search engine in Firefox on your smartphone is relatively straightforward. Here’s how you do it on Android:

Note:The ‘More’ button will be in the bottom-right corner by default, but you can configure it to be on the top-right, like I did.

Now that you know how to change your default search provider in Firefox, go ahead, make theswitch from Google. I would ideally suggest you pick aprivacy-focused service like DuckDuckGoor Startpage, but the possibilities are endless. And if it’s privacy that you seek, check out how you can use keyboard shortcuts todelete your browsing historyon any browser.

If you are looking for something specific, also check out our articlesbest people search enginesandreverse image search engines. Either way, once you add a custom search engine in Firefox, let us know which search engine you chose and why.

Passionate techie. Professional tech writer. Proud geek.