This should have happened in 2011, when Mozilla and Google last extended their deal. Unfortunately, for some lame reason, Mozilla’s leadership at the time simply didn’t seem to appreciate that Google was intent on siphoning away their users and dominating browser market share with Chrome just as it has dominated search. But better late than never:
Mozilla is breaking up with Google and switching to Yahoo as the default search provider for its popular Firefox web browser.
Mozilla’s partnership with Google had been rocky for years, so its end was not entirely unexpected. Google is America’s favorite search provider, with about two-thirds of the market, according to comScore, but it also created and actively promotes its own web browser, Chrome.
Mozilla, meanwhile, has sought to create its own mobile phone software, competing with Google’s Android, and has tried to distinguish itself from rivals by committing to customer privacy technologies that are opposed by Google, Facebook, Yahoo and just about every other major website that sells advertising
As a result of this deal, the world’s three most widely used web browsers will all have different default search engines.
Google naturally has its own search engine set as the default in Chrome, although it is changeable (Bing and Yahoo are the only other built-in choices). Firefox will now have Yahoo as the default, and is adding DuckDuckGo as one of the built-in options, like Apple. Internet Explorer naturally uses Bing as its default search engine, and like Chrome, the default can be changed.
Years ago, such favoritism by Microsoft would have drawn far more scorn and scrutiny, but at least when it comes to search, Microsoft is the underdog and Google the giant. Internet Explorer still has plenty of browser market share, but it’s down from what it used to be. The latest version of Internet Explorer is only available for Windows 7 and Windows 8, not XP or Vista. Amusingly, up to date versions of Firefox and Chrome can be installed on all four.
Apple, meanwhile, has been increasingly moving away from Google. Apple is using Bing to power Siri and search results for Spotlight. Google remains the default in Safari for the time being, likely due to a contractual arrangement. When Apple inevitably ditches Google as the default for search in Safari, that will just leave Opera as the only other browser maker to use Google by default. Opera would be wise to do what Mozilla and Apple are doing and choose a different default search provider.