Firefox makes it easier to switch to the privacy-focused...

Post Reply New Topic

With privacy a greater concern for people than ever before, Firefox is adding Startpage as a built-in option as a search engine for the browser. While it has always been possible to choose this search engine, Mozilla’s decision to promote it to a selection menu greatly simplifies the process.

The change comes in Firefox 154, but it is only happening in a handful of counties – starting off in the home country of Startpage, the Netherlands.

Announcing the new option, Mozilla says: “starting with Firefox 154, that choice becomes as easy as head to the drop-down menu, hit ‘select,’ and start searching. Startpage is now a built-in search option for Firefox users on desktop in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Android and iOS are coming soon. Whether you want to search with Startpage, or another preferred search engine, it’s as easy as opening your search settings, picking a default, and done”.

Firefox users have already shown a lot of love toward Startpage, and newcomers will undoubtedly appreciate the privacy focus, the lack of AI, and absence of user tracking.

Ajit Varma, Head of Firefox, says:

So much of your web experience is prescribed before you ever open a browser. We’d rather you decide how you want to search. Adding Startpage puts a genuinely private search engine option — real results, zero profiling, AI-free — one click away for millions of people in Europe.

Stewart Marlborough, President of Startpage, adds:

More and more of what people use online comes from a handful of very large companies, and search is where that concentration gets felt most directly. Firefox has always been the browser for people who want to make their own decisions about the web, which makes it a natural home for private search. Firefox users already run over a billion Startpage searches a year. Now Startpage is built in for everyone in these markets.

For now, the change is only affecting users in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, but more countries may well be added in time.