Users aren’t happy with Google searches. Google just doesn’t offer what you’re searching for anymore (intentionally) – and gives you Reddit and Quora results – or from major publishers like Forbes. And then they sell all your data to advertisers. Well, couldn’t you just go to Reddit and Quora then and save yourself the hassle?

Heck, even Elon Musk isn’t happy with the quality of the search results these days!

Users have increasingly voiced their dissatisfaction with Google’s search results for many reasons. They can’t find what they are looking for. It’s been filled with Reddit and Quora spam. And Google’s intentionally not showing us the right search results – even if we search with “_” quotes.

Other complaints range from irrelevant ads cluttering the search landscape to personalized search bubbles that only show major publishers. Heck, marketers have been complaining that their sites are being outranked by LinkedIn and Medium.com – for the same post. It’s as if publishing on their site is unhelpful but publishing on LinkedIn suddenly makes the content worth sharing.

The issue has been exacerbated by a persistent lack of privacy for Google overall and the opaque nature of algorithm updates which often prioritize commercial interests over user needs. Heck, Google’s caught prying on users even on Google Chrome’s privacy mode so it shouldn’t be a surprise at all.

Why Should You Go For Alternative Search Engines?

Unlike Google, many of these platforms often better user privacy, providing unbiased results, and even contributing to social causes. And unlike Google, some of them are clean. And even those that don’t seem to respect users as much (like Microsoft, maybe?), offer you rewards for using its service.

And the way Google is right now with only Reddit and Quora results, you can get a lot better results from websites that actually answer what you’re asking for. We will walk you through some of the other options for search engines first – before we tell you how to change them on your device – easily and quickly.

Privacy-Focused Search Engines

DuckDuckGo

Features and Benefits

This one should feature right at the top of your go-to search engines if you want privacy.

DuckDuckGo offers robust privacy features that distinguish it from competitors. It does not track user searches or store personal data, ensuring that each search is private and anonymous. Additionally, DuckDuckGo blocks trackers and provides an encrypted connection, further safeguarding user privacy.

User Experience

The user interface of DuckDuckGo is clean and intuitive, making it easy for newcomers to adapt while offering enough depth for power users. Its commitment to not using personalized ads means that all users receive the same search results, free from biased algorithms.

Go to: https://duckduckgo.com

Ecosia

Features and Benefits

Ecosia is unique among search engines for its environmental mission: it uses its profits to fund tree planting projects around the world. This Berlin-based startup has planted millions of trees, focusing on biodiversity hotspots in dire need of reforestation.

Environmental Impact

The environmental impact of Ecosia is profound. Each search contributes roughly 1 kg of CO2 reduction, directly supporting reforestation efforts that restore degraded habitats, enhance local climates, and support communities dependent on forests for their livelihoods.

Go to https://www.ecosia.org

Reward-Oriented Search Engine

Bing.com

Rewards Program

Bing Rewards is a program designed to incentivize users to choose Bing as their daily driver for search queries. Users earn points for searches, which can be redeemed for gift cards, donations to charities, or sweepstakes entries, making every search rewarding.

User Experience

The interface of Bing is visually appealing, incorporating elements like daily background images and a rewards dashboard directly accessible from the homepage. The search engine is praised for its video search capabilities, which surpass those of many competitors.

Points of Distinction from Google

Bing differentiates itself from Google with features such as better rewards programs, CoPilot, and video search functionalities.

Unlike Google’s more minimalistic design, Bing provides a more dynamic user interface that includes news highlights and quick access to weather forecasts, making it not just a search engine but a gateway to a wider range of information. You may or may not like it – but give it a try for a month! Habits take around 21 days to form, so you should try to leave Google Search for a month and see.

Now, Microsoft isn’t your saviour when it comes to respecting privacy, but at least you’re getting rewarded for every search you make. If you use it regularly, you could ratch up a free Xbox Game Pass every couple of months. At least that’s way better than giving up all your privacy to Google for nothing.
Google’s approach is to rely heavily on personal data for ad targeting and search result personalization – and caring a shit about you. And I am not sure why we are okay with that.

To access, go to https://bing.com

Ask.com


Ask.com, originally known as Ask Jeeves, stands out for its question-answering service that allows users to ask questions in natural language, a feature that harkens back to its early days as a pioneer in search query processing. Unlike traditional search engines that focus primarily on keyword matching, Ask.com attempts to understand the intent behind a user’s query, offering direct answers or a list of search results that closely match the question asked. This approach aims to streamline the search process, making information retrieval more intuitive for users.

The interface of Ask.com is designed with simplicity in mind, facilitating ease-of-use for users seeking straightforward answers to questions. The website’s layout prioritizes the search bar, encouraging direct interaction through queries and questions.

To access, go to: https://ask.com

Change Your Search Engine

From Mac:

In Safari on Mac

If you’re using Safari:

  1. Launch Safari: Open the Safari browser on your Mac.
  2. Access Preferences: Click on “Safari” in the top-left menu bar, then select “Preferences” from the dropdown menu.
  3. Go to Search Settings: In the Preferences window, click on the “Search” tab.
  4. Select a Search Engine: You’ll see a section labeled “Search engine” with a dropdown menu. Click this dropdown and choose the search engine you wish to use (e.g., Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo).

Once you select your preferred search engine, it will automatically become the default for searches made within Safari. There is no need to restart the browser; the change takes effect immediately.

In Chrome on Mac

  1. Open Google Chrome: Start by launching the Chrome browser on your Mac.
  2. Access Settings: Click on the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner of the Chrome window and select “Settings” from the dropdown menu.
  3. Navigate to Search Engine Settings: In the settings menu, find and click on “Search engine” from the sidebar. This will take you to the search engine preferences section.
  4. Change the Default Search Engine: You’ll see an option titled “Search engine used in the address bar”. Click on the dropdown menu next to this option and choose your preferred search engine from the list. Common options include Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and Ecosia.
  5. Manage and Add Search Engines: If you want to add a new search engine not listed, scroll down to “Manage search engines and site search”. Here you can add a new search engine by specifying the search engine name, a keyword, and the URL with “%s” in place of the query.
  6. Set as Default: After adding, find the newly added search engine in the list and click the three-dot icon next to it. Choose “Make default” from the dropdown menu to set it as your default search engine.
  7. Finalize Changes: Your changes are saved automatically, so you can close the settings tab and start using your new default search engine.

In Firefox on Mac

  1. Open Firefox: Start by launching Firefox on your Mac.
  2. Access Options: Click on the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the upper-right corner of the Firefox window, then select “Preferences” from the dropdown menu.
  3. Navigate to Search Settings: Click on the “Search” tab in the Preferences window.
  4. Select a Search Engine: You will see a section labeled “Default Search Engine” with a dropdown menu. Click this dropdown and choose the search engine you want to use. You have options like Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and others available by default.
  5. Confirm Changes: After selecting your preferred search engine, the change will take effect immediately without needing to restart the browser.

If you want to add a new search engine not listed in the defaults, scroll down to the “Find more search engines” link at the bottom of the Search settings page. This will direct you to the Firefox Add-ons page where you can add more search engines​.

In Opera on Mac

  1. Open Opera Settings: Start by launching Opera. Click on the “O” button at the top-left corner of the browser, which stands for “Customize and control Opera.” From the drop-down menu that appears, select “Settings.”
  2. Navigate to Search Engine Settings: In the settings menu, on the left sidebar, click on “Basic” to expand the basic settings options. Then, scroll down to find the “Search engine” section.
  3. Change the Default Search Engine: You’ll see a dropdown menu under “Search engine used in the address bar.” Click this dropdown and you’ll be presented with a list of pre-loaded search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and more. Select the one you wish to set as your default.
  4. Adding a Custom Search Engine: If the search engine you want to use isn’t listed, you can add it manually. Still in the “Search engine” section, find and click on “Manage search engines.” Here, you’ll see an option to “Add” a new search engine. You’ll need to provide the name, keyword, and the URL with “%s” in place of the query.
  5. Set as Default: After adding the new search engine, click the three dots next to it and select “Make default” to set it as your new default search engine.
  6. Confirm Changes: The changes are applied immediately, and you can close the settings tab.

Now, How to Change Default Search Engine on Windows

In Chrome on Windows

To change your default search engine in Google Chrome on a Windows computer, follow these steps:

  1. Open Chrome: Launch the Google Chrome browser.
  2. Access Settings: Click the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner to open the menu, then select “Settings.”
  3. Navigate to Search Engine Settings: Scroll down to the “Search engine” section and click on “Manage search engines.”
  4. Set Default Search Engine: You’ll see a list of search engines. Next to the search engine you want to use, click the three dots and select “Make default.”

These steps will immediately apply the change, and your new default search engine will be used for all searches done through the address bar in Google Chrome.

If you want to add a search engine that isn’t listed:

  • Under “Other search engines,” click “Add.” Fill out the form with the search engine information, including a URL that contains “%s” in place of the query.

In Firefox on Windows

To change the default search engine in Mozilla Firefox on a Windows system, follow these steps:

  1. Open Firefox: Start your Firefox browser.
  2. Access Options: Click on the three horizontal lines in the upper-right corner to open the menu, then select “Options.”
  3. Navigate to Search Settings: From the Options menu, click on “Search” in the left-hand side panel.
  4. Change the Default Search Engine: In the “Default Search Engine” section, you’ll see a dropdown menu where you can choose your preferred search engine.

Firefox supports a variety of default search engines like Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc., which you can easily switch to using the dropdown menu. If you want to add a new search engine that isn’t listed:

  • Scroll down to the bottom of the Search settings page and click on “Find more search engines.”
  • This will take you to a Mozilla Add-ons page where you can browse and add other search engines to Firefox.
  • Once added, you can set it as your default search engine by selecting it from the dropdown menu.

In Opera on Windows

To change the default search engine in Opera on Windows, you can follow these steps:

  1. Open Opera Settings:
    • Launch Opera and click on the ‘O’ button located at the top-left corner of the browser window to access the menu.
    • Select “Settings” from the dropdown menu.
  2. Access Search Engine Settings:
    • In the Settings menu, navigate to the “Search engine” section, which you can find by scrolling down or using the sidebar if available.
  3. Change the Default Search Engine:
    • You will see a list of search engines under “Search engine used in the address bar.”
    • Click on the dropdown list to see the available search engines such as Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc.
    • Select the search engine you want to use as your default.
  4. Add a Custom Search Engine:
    • If your preferred search engine is not listed, you can add it manually by clicking “Manage search engines.”
    • In the “Manage search engines” section, click “Add” next to “Other search engines.”
    • You will need to provide the necessary details for the search engine: the name, keyword, and the URL with “%s” in place of the query.
    • After filling in the details, click “Add” to include it in your list of search engines.
    • You can then set it as default by clicking the three dots next to your custom search engine and selecting “Make default.”
  5. Confirm Changes:
    • Your changes should be saved automatically, and the new default search engine will take effect immediately.

How to Change Your Default Search Engine on Your Smartphone

On Android

Google Chrome

  1. Open the Chrome app on your Android device.
  2. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner to access the menu.
  3. Select Settings.
  4. Tap on Search engine.
  5. Choose your preferred search engine from the list provided (such as Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo).

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Open the Firefox app.
  2. Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner for the menu.
  3. Go to Settings.
  4. Scroll to the Search section and tap on Search engine.
  5. Select the search engine you wish to use from the options available.

Opera

  1. Open the Opera app.
  2. Tap the Opera icon on the bottom-right for the menu.
  3. Tap on Settings.
  4. Scroll down to Search engine.
  5. Select your desired search engine from the list available.


On iOS

Safari

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down and tap on Safari.
  3. Tap on Search Engine.
  4. Select your preferred search engine from the options available (such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, or DuckDuckGo).

Google Chrome

  1. Open the Chrome app.
  2. Tap the three dots at the bottom right to open the menu.
  3. Go to Settings.
  4. Tap on Search Engine.
  5. Choose the search engine you want to use from the list.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Open the Firefox app.
  2. Tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) at the bottom right.
  3. Tap on Settings.
  4. Scroll to the Search section and tap on Search Engine.
  5. Select your desired search engine from those available.

Changed your search engine? Sign the Petition and Let the World Know!

Let’s be the change! Let’s change our default search engine today and stop using Google Search! It’s time we gave Google back what it deserves. Join the change! If you’ve changed your search engine, sign the petition below!