None of that is to say that the process is intuitive. Even if it is easy enough to accomplish. But that’s what this guide is ultimately here to discuss. So let’s dive into how you can go about making a change to your default search engine in Google Chrome.
Why might you want to change the default search engine in Google Chrome?
Of course, there are plenty of reasons why a user might want to keep Google Chrome but change the default search engine. Chrome is, after all, widely considered the best browser. At the very least, when it comes to balancing features, safety settings, account syncing, and other features with speed. Those reasons range from personal preference to legitimate concerns about how or whether Google is saving data from those searches. More specifically, whether or not that data is being stored in a way that conclusively links it to the user. Whether or not a change is really a necessity is open for debate. Privacy is, after all, a serious matter for users in the modern online landscape. Google has worked hard to convince users that they are, in fact, safe using Chrome and Google Search. But not everybody is easily convinced. And, in some cases, concerns may be warranted to some extent. Regardless, users could simply switch over to using one of the many available top-rated browsers on just about any platform. But sticking with Chrome is often the most convenient option. Fortunately, changing the default search engine is also an incredibly easy option if you know where to look.
Here’s how you can change the default search engine in desktop Chrome
As noted above, changing your default search engine away from Google is easy. With much more anonymized options such as DuckDuckGo or simply to something else, like Bing, is straightforward. But the steps will vary a bit based on the search engine you’ve chosen and which platform you’re using. For instance, changing the default search engine on mobile or tablet, rather than desktop, takes slightly different steps that can trip users up. There are also some tricky segments in the process if you’re trying to change to a search engine that Chrome doesn’t include. Selecting the desired search engine will automatically save the change. Now you can type a search into the URL Omnibox in Chrome and results will appear from the selected search engine. However, not every search engine is included in Google’s list by default. But if you’d like to change to a different search engine, that can also be accomplished.
You can change this on mobile too
Now, you can also change which is your default search engine for Chrome on mobile too. Albeit, not to the same extent or with the same depth as you can for desktop Chrome. Just for starters, Chrome doesn’t allow you to set up your own search engine on mobile as it does with the example above. Instead, Google offers just a select few defaults that it’s set up as options. With that said, there are still some great options available to users on that front. And not only does that include anonymized engines such as DuckDuck Go. It’s also incredibly easy to change.
