Firefox drops Google as default search engine

Mozilla has struck a deal with Yahoo to make the latter Firefox’s default search engine on desktop and mobile.

This means Yahoo will replace Google, which has been the Firefox default for a decade.

In conjunction with the announcement, Yahoo has said that it will roll out new search functions in December and add Firefox support for Do Not Track. The deal is set to last for five years.

Firefox currently has an approximate 17 per cent share of the browser market, with Yahoo – whose search is powered by Microsoft’s Bing – claiming a ten per cent share of the search market.

Google has been the Firefox global search default since 2004. Our agreement came up for renewal this year, and we took this as an opportunity to review our competitive strategy and explore our options,” Mozilla CEO Chris Beard said.

In evaluating our search partnerships, our primary consideration was to ensure our strategy aligned with our values of choice and independence, and positions us to innovate and advance our mission in ways that best serve our users and the Web.

In the end, each of the partnership options available to us had strong, improved economic terms reflecting the significant value that Firefox brings to the ecosystem. But one strategy stood out from the rest.”