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How to Select a Default Search Engine in Safari and Switch Engines on the Fly

In macOS, Apple's Safari browser allows you to choose the default search engine that is automatically used whenever you type something into the address bar. Keep reading to learn how it's done.

Like rival web browsers, these competing search engines all have something a little different to offer. While Google is the dominant engine, it's certainly not the most privacy-focused – that award goes to DuckDuckGo .

Bing is the second most popular search engine after Google, and uses powerful algorithms to help you find what you're looking for, while Yahoo is also powered by Bing, but it has a more lively interface. Lastly, if you're more environmentally conscious, Ecosia is likely to be your preferred choice.

How to Select a Default Search Engine in Safari

So how do you let Safari know which search engine is your default preference? The following steps show you how it's done.

• Select the Search tab.

Note that if you check the box next to "Include search engine suggestions," Safari will Ask the search engine for search suggestions based on search terms you enter, but the search engine may record your search terms.

How to Switch Search Engines on the Fly in Safari

In Safari, it's actually possible to quickly switch between search engines from the address bar. Simply press the space bar before you type any words, and you'll get a dropdown menu where you can select from the browser's five search engine options.

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Safari User Guide

• Get started
• Go to a website
• Bookmark webpages to revisit
• See your favorite websites
• Use tabs for webpages
• Import bookmarks and passwords
• Pay with Apple Pay
• Autofill credit card info
• View links from friends
• Keep a Reading List
• Hide ads when reading
• Translate a webpage
• Download items from the web
• Add passes to Wallet
• Save part or all of a webpage
• Print or create a PDF of a webpage
• Interact with text in a picture
• Change your homepage
• Customize a start page
• Create a profile
• Block pop-ups
• Make Safari your default web browser
• Hide your email address
• Manage cookies
• Clear your browsing history
• Browse privately
• Prevent cross-site tracking
• See who tried to track you
• Change Safari settings
• Keyboard and other shortcuts

Choose a search engine for Safari on Mac

A search engine looks across the internet for webpages, based on the words and phrases you enter in the Smart Search field . You view the pages in the Safari browser.

You can also switch search engines in the Search pane of Safari settings. See Change Search settings .

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How to change the default search engine in Safari on iPhone, iPad and Mac

Updated on:

Search engines are integral to our web experience, helping us find information fast and effortlessly. On iPhone, iPad, and Mac, Safari has Googe as its default search engine.

However, if you wish to use some other search engine like Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo, you can easily change Safari’s default search engine on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Read along to find out how to do it.

How to change the default Search Engine in Safari on iPhone and iPad

• Launch the Settings app on your iPhone → Tap Safari . (In iOS 18, Go to Settings → Apps → Safari.)   

Remember, changing the default search engine on Safari will provide the same search engine in private browsing , too. 

How to change the default search engine in Safari on Mac

• Launch the Safari browser.  

• Now, choose the search engine of your choice. 

Additional tips to improve the Safari experience

Troubleshooting common issues on the Safari browser can be a daunting task. To make things easier, we have compiled some helpful  tips and tricks for the best Safari experience . Below are a few other hacks:

• Safari is regularly updated to fix bugs and add new features, so always install the latest version.  
• Clearing the Safari cache and cookies on your iPhone and Mac can help you resolve website loading issues, so make sure you clear them periodically.  
• Extensions and plug-ins can sometimes interfere with Safari. Try disabling them to see if they’re the cause of your issues.  
• If you’re having issues with webpages loading, try changing your DNS server to a different one.

Change is good

Now, you can easily change Safari’s default search engine to Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ecosia, or DuckDuckGo. With Apple’s diverse range of products, it’s important to ensure you’re always in control of what appears in your search results.   

Following the steps outlined in this article, you can replace Google with another search engine. Feel free to share your concerns, if any, in the comments below. 

Read More:  

• How to remove Search Marquis from Chrome and Safari on Mac  
• How to use Tab Groups in Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac  
• How to use Safari’s Distraction Control feature on an iPhone
• How to fix Escape key not working on Mac

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How to change Safari's default search engine

As you know, Safari was created by Apple and comes bundled into iOS and macOS, making it the go-to option for many Apple fans. If that sounds like you, you may find it useful to be able to customize your browsing experience by changing the default search engine used by Safari.

When you type a URL or search term in Safari's address bar, the browser uses a search engine to return your results. In this case, Google is the factory default, but it's super simple to switch things up to use your search engine of choice. This guide will walk you through a handful of quick steps to show you how to change Safari's default search engine on your iPhone or Mac.

How to change Safari's default search engine on iOS

How to change safari's default search engine on macos.

• Locate and launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
• Once in Settings, scroll down until you see the Safari icon.
• Tap Safari .

• Here, you'll find multiple ways to customize your web browsing experience, but right now you're looking for Search Engine , which is located under the SEARCH heading.
• Tap Search Engine .
• Finally, choose your preferred search engine.

• Open Safari on your Mac.
• Click the Safari drop down menu from the main menu bar at the top of the screen.
• Select Preferences , or use the "⌘," keyboard shortcut.

• Select the Search tab from the Preferences popup.
• Click the drop down menu next to Search Engine .

Safari currently allows you to pick one of four major search engines — Google, Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo. Once you've made your selection, the changes will be applied and you'll immediately be able to see the search results from the new default engine. Keep in mind, you can change your default at any time using the above steps.

It's also worth noting that, just because you've set a default search engine doesn't mean you can't still use the others. All you have to do is type the URL (google.com, yahoo.com, bing.com, etc.) in Safari and you can use any one you wish, whenever you want.

It's super easy to change your default search engine in Safari. If you have any questions, make sure to drop a line below!

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How to Change the Default Search Engine in Safari for iOS

Make Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Yahoo Search your Safari search engine

What to Know

• From your iOS device's home screen, tap Settings , and then scroll down and tap Safari .
• Then, to Search Engine , you'll see the current default search engine, likely Google. To make a change, tap Search Engine .
• Finally, choose a different search engine from four options: Google, Yahoo , Bing , and  DuckDuckGo .

This article explains how to change the Safari iOS search engine from the default Google to another option, such as Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo. Information applies to Safari on iOS devices with iOS 14 through iOS 10.

How to Change Safari's Default Search Engine

To change the default search engine used by Safari on iOS devices:

Open the Settings app on the Home screen of your iOS device.

Scroll down and tap Safari .

The current default search engine is listed next to the  Search Engine entry.   Tap Search Engine to make a change.

Choose a different search engine from four options: Google, Yahoo , Bing , and  DuckDuckGo .

Tap Safari in the top left corner of the Search Engine screen to return to Safari's settings. The name of the search engine you chose appears next to the Search Engine entry. 

Search Settings in Safari

The Safari Settings screen includes other options you may want to use with your new default search engine. You can toggle each of these options on or off:

• Search Engine Suggestions presents suggested search terms as you type, obtained from the default engine.
• Safari Suggestions offers suggestions as you type, derived from a combination of sources including iTunes, the App Store, and the internet as a whole. This option also sends some of your search data to Apple, including which suggestions you selected.
• Quick Website Search speeds up search results. When you search within a particular website, Safari stores that data for future use, allowing you to then search that site directly from the Smart Search Field in subsequent browser sessions.
• Preload Top Hit loads pages quickly. Safari attempts to determine the best search result as you type, preloading that page ahead of time so that it renders in an instant if you select it. The determination process combines your browsing history and saved bookmarks.

The Search Settings screen contains several other options related to Safari on iOS devices, although not all of them are search-specific. In this screen, you can:

• Enter or choose autofill information to fill in forms on websites.
• Activate frequently visited sites in Safari.
• Opt to block pop-ups .
• Block cookies.
• Prevent cross-site tracking.
• Enable fraudulent website warnings.
• Ask websites not to track you.
• Allow websites to check if you have Apple Pay up on your device.
• Clear your history and website data.

Google, Yahoo Search, and DuckDuckGo all have apps you can download to your iOS device for those times you don't want to use the default in Safari for searches.

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• Back up or Move Your Safari Bookmarks to a New Mac
• How to Enable the Safari Pop-up Blocker
• How to Check the Version Number of Apple Safari Browser
• How to Add Safari Shortcuts to an iPhone Home Screen

How to Change Default Search Engine in Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Paurush dabbles around iOS and Mac while his close encounters are with Android and Windows. Before becoming a writer, he produced videos for brands like Mr. Phone and Digit. On weekends, he is a full-time cinephile trying to reduce his never-ending watchlist, often making it longer.

The Safari browser is the default app to browse the web on Apple devices. To improve your browsing experience, you can create Tab Groups in Safari of your most visited websites to quickly access them when needed. By default, Safari uses Google as the default search engine.

But there are still a lot of users who prefer using a search engine other than Google Search. So if you want to change the default search engine in Safari, here’s how to do it on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Before you begin, ensure that your iPhone, iPad, or Mac run the latest version of the respective operating systems.

Change Default Search Engine in Safari on iPhone and iPad

There’s the option of opening the search engine’s website in a separate tab and using it to browse the web. However, changing the default search engine in Safari is way more convenient. If you prefer using Safari from your iPhone or iPad, here’s how to change the default search engine. The steps remain the same for both platforms.

Step 1:  Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.

Step 2:  Scroll down and tap on Safari.

Step 3:  Scroll down and select Search Engine.

Step 4:  Select your preferred search engine from the list of options.

After you select your preferred search engine, you can scroll down and change settings like opening links in a new tab, Search Engine Suggestions, or more. You can repeat the same steps to change your default search engine in Safari on your iPhone and iPad.

You can also read our post if Safari is not downloading files on your iPhone .

Change the Default Search Engine in Safari on Mac

You can use a different search engine to download and install a different web browser like Microsoft Edge or Firefox. But if your Mac is running low on storage, you don’t need to download a separate web browser to change your search engine. But one of the other main reasons behind changing the default search engine is the browser hijacking code or extensions.

The Safari browser on your Mac lets you change the default search engine and use it for internet browsing. Here are the steps.

Step 1:  Press Command + Spacebar keyboard shortcut to open Spotlight Search, type Safari,  and press Return.

Step 2:  Click on Safari at the top-left corner.

Step 3:  Select Settings from the list of options.

Step 4:  Click the Search tab in the Settings window.

Step 5:  Select the drop-down next to Search Engine.

Step 6:  Select the new search engine of your choice for use in Safari.

You can repeat the same steps to change your default search engine once again in Safari on your Mac.

How to Change Homepage to Search Engine in Safari on Mac

In addition to changing the default search engine, you can change the default homepage to open with the search engine in Safari. The homepage loads up when you don’t have any specific website tabs opened in Safari. So you can set the web page of your default search engine as the homepage in Safari. Here’s how:

Step 4:  Select the General tab in the Settings window.

Step 5:  Type the web page link of the search engine you plan to use in the Homepage box.

If you opened the search engine web page in Safari, you can click on Set To Current Page.

After you close the tab, Safari will always open your selected search engine’s web page whenever you open a new tab on your Mac.

You can change this setting by clicking the dropdown menu next to ‘New Windows Open With’ and ‘New Tabs Open With.’

Use a New Search Engine

Using a new search engine as your default is very easy on Safari. You can choose from a list of options available on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Sometimes when you don’t get the desired results from one search engine, you can switch to another one. The ChatGPT is the new AI-driven technology that piques interest of many. Read our comparison of ChatGPT vs Google Search  to know more about them.

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Last updated on 12 April, 2023

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Home » Tech Tips » Mac » How to Change Default Search Engine in Safari Mac and Use Custom Site?

How to Change Default Search Engine in Safari Mac and Use Custom Site?

Mac comes with a Safari browser allowing users to search or view websites. The browser has an address bar called Smart Search Field which you can use for directly typing and searching. The results will be shown using the default search engine setup in the browser’s setting which is Google in most cases. The default search engine may vary based on the country from which you have purchased Mac. For example, Safari will use Baidu as a search engine if you purchase Mac in China. However, you can simply change the default search engine in Safari Mac as per your preference or use custom sites for searching.

Changing Default Search Engine in Mac Safari

Follow the below steps in macOS:

• Launch Safari app and open “Settings” from “Safari” menu. Alternatively, press “Command + Comma” shortcut keys to open Settings when you are in Safari app.

• Go to “Search” tab and check your “Search engine”.

• If you want to change the default item, click the dropdown and select from one of the available services. Check “Include search engine suggestions” box if you want to get recommendations when searching .

As you see, I can select from Bing, Baidu, Sogou, 260 Search, Google, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and Ecosia. You may see different search engines in the list depending upon your country.

How Default Search Engine Works?

After selecting your search engine, go back to Safari type your query in the Smart Search Field. For example, I selected Bing as search engine and type “iphone 14 price” in the address bar. Safari will show “Search Bing” in the address bar along with a recommendation in dropdown from Bing Search . The recommendations are showing because I have selected “Include search engine suggestions” option.

Without suggestions enabled, you will only see the search option like below.

Simply press enter key to get search results from Bing for your query.

Custom Website Search in Safari Mac

Though there are limited search engines in the default list, you can create a custom shortcut for any website that has a search function. This is useful if you want to search directly on sites like Quora, Stack Exchange, etc.

• Open Safari app and go to “Settings…” from “Safari” menu.
• Go to “Search” tab and check “Enable Quick Website Search” options showing under “Smart Search Field:” section.
• This will enable “Manage Websites…” button and click on it.

• Since I did not use any sites with search option, the list will show empty as below. Click “Done” button and close the Settings pop-up.

• For adding custom search engine from any site, back to Safari and open your site. Simply do a search using the site’s search box. For example, let me do a search in this website webnots.com using the search box from top navigation menu.

• After that, go back to “Manage Websites…” section in Safari settings and you will see the site is added. When you search with a custom website, Safari browser will automatically detect and add the site name in the list for using in Smart Search Field.

• Click “Done” button and close the Safari Settings.

Using Custom Search Engine in Safari Mac

Now that custom search engine is added, you can use it directly in the Smart Search Filed.

• Simply type custom search engine’s site name that you have added and the query in address bar. For example, I type webnots.com iPhone . Safari will show “Search webnots.com for “iphone”” and click on that option to directly get the search results from webnots.com.

Remember, pressing enter key will still use the default search engine as per your settings. This means you can use custom site search as an additional option along with you default search engine settings.

Note: The above steps are for the Safari browser in macOS Ventura or later versions. On macOS Monterey or earlier versions, you will see “Preferences…” instead of “Settings…” in Safari menu. All other steps and functions work exactly same.

Final Words

Since Safari is a smart browser, you need not open Google or Bing every time for searching your queries. You can change the default search engine as per your preference in Safari settings and use the Smart Search Filed without opening search engine website. You can also add any custom search engine and search that site directly from Smart Search Field.

About Nagasundaram Arumugham

Naga is the founder and chief content editor of WebNots. He has over 20 years of experience in technology field and published more than 2000 articles.

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How To Change Default Search Engine in Safari (iOS and macOS)

If you use the Safari browser on your iOS devices (iPhone, iPad or iPod touch) and on your Mac; you can easily change your default search engine; so that when you search something, your results will come from the search engine you select.

In this post, you will learn how to set a search engine as your default search engine in Safari with a few quick steps.

Safari has four search engines as built-in options. You can make any of them as your default search engine.

Safari (Mac or iOS) comes with the following search engines:

• Google , the largest search engine
• Bing , owned by Microsoft and the second largest search engine
• Yahoo , the third-largest search engine 
• DuckDuckGo , a search engine that does not track searchers 

You can choose a default search engine for searching the web. For example, you may want to use DuckDuckGo if you want to protect your privacy.

macOS (OS X) – Desktop Safari

There are two ways you can do this:

• Launch Safari and open a new blank window or tab.

• Launch Safari

• Click the Search tab

• If you use this method, you can change more settings. You can enable or disable if you want your default search engine to show you suggestions.
• Now you can close the Preferences window

iOS Safari (iPhone, iPad or iPod touch) – Mobile Safari

You can choose your search engine in iOS also. Here is how:

• On your iPad or iPhone, tap Settings

• Then you may exit by pressing the Home button
• How to close all tabs
• How To Recover Lost Safari Bookmarks – iCloud

Dr. Serhat Kurt worked as a Senior Technology Director specializing in Apple solutions for small and medium-sized educational institutions. He holds a doctoral degree (or doctorate) from the University of Illinois at Urbana / Champaign and a master’s degree from Purdue University. He is a former faculty member. Here is his LinkedIn profile and Google Scholar profile . Email Serhat Kurt .

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Google is the default search engine for Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but users can easily change that to Bing , DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, etc. Search engines are typically the first site people open up when surfing the net, making them an integral part of the web-surfing experience. While Google is the world's largest search engine ahead of competitors like Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo, the company is expected to get stiff competition from Bing in the near future after Microsoft integrated ChatGPT into its fledgling search provider.

To change the default search engine in Safari on iPhone or iPad from Google to something else, launch the Settings app on the device and then select 'Safari.' Now tap 'Search Engine' and then select the default search engine for Safari on that device. Apart from Google, the other available options are Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Ecosia. Once the default search engine is selected , it will be applicable for all searches done on Safari on that device, irrespective of whether the browser is in normal mode or private mode.

Related: How macOS Ventura's Shared Safari Tab Groups Will Change Your Workflow

Change Safari's Default Search Engine On Mac

To change the default search engine in Safari on Mac, launch the browser and then click on the ' Safari ' tab on the menu bar at the top. Now select 'Settings' if running macOS Ventura or 'Preferences' on devices running macOS Monterey or earlier. Next, click on the 'Search' tab and hit the drop-down menu next to the 'Search Engine' option. Safari will now offer 5 default search engine options, including Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Ecosia. Once an option is chosen, it will be automatically saved, and will be the default search provider for Safari on that device.

Apple does not allow users to set a default search engine that's not listed within the Safari settings . The only way to search using other search providers would be to navigate directly to that site and then performing a search as usual. Another way to do that would be to replace Safari as the default browser and set a more customizable option like Chrome or Firefox as the default browsing software. Third-party web browsers have been available for the iPhone for quite a few years, but Apple only started allowing users to replace Safari as the default web-browser with iOS 14 in 2020.

There are a plethora of search engine options available for users, and many of them are custom-built for specific use-cases. Privacy-conscious users have the option to use DuckDuckGo, Startpage or Swisscows, while environment-friendly folks could opt for Ecosia , which claims to use its profits to plant trees around the world. Users wanting an AI-powered search engine can use You.com, while those looking for results from other parts of the world could also benefit by setting Baidu (China), Yandex (Russia) or Naver (South Korea) as the default search engine .

More: The Easiest Way To Switch Tabs In Safari For iPhone

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How to dump Google as your default Safari search engine on iPhone and Mac

There has been a lot of talk of late about Apple’s default search engine, which is Google (and for a time, Bing would power Siri/Spotlight search requests). Recent court documents have shown just how much Google pays Apple to be the default search engine across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Microsoft reportedly pitched selling Bing to Apple back in 2020, but with Google paying Apple billions of dollars a year to remain the default, Apple decided against it.

There have also been reports of Apple building its own search technology, with crawlers indexing the web to provide answers to common Siri questions and such. It fueled further speculation (yet again) that Apple would launch its own search engine, though that doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon. Apple’s new next-generation search technology is allegedly code-named “Pegasus” and it is already in use to index and find content within some Apple apps (like TV or Maps), and may soon extend to other apps or services, like the App Store.

It looks like, for searching the web, Apple users that use Safari (which is most of them) are going to be stuck with Google as the default search for quite some time.

But you don’t have to use Google if you don’t want to! Buried within settings, where 99.9 percent of the users will never look, is the option to change search engines. Here’s how you can change your Safari search default on iPhone/iPad and Mac.

• Time to complete: 2 minutes
• Tools required: none
• Materials required: iPhone, iPad, or Mac

Change search default on iPhone or iPad

To change your default search engine in Safari on iPhone or iPad.

• Open Settings.
• Tap Safari .
• Tap Search Engine.
• To select a different search engine for use in private browsing windows, tap Private Search Engine .

You should have several to choose from, but they may vary by region.

Change search default on Mac

To change the search default on Mac, you’ll need to access Safari’s preferences.

• Launch Safari.
• In the menu bar, select Safari and then Settings .
• Select the Search tab.
• Select the Search engine drop-down box to see and change between available search engines.
• Select the Private Browsing search engine drop-down if you wish to use a different search engine when in a private browser window.

As with iOS and iPadOS, the available search engines may vary by region.

It’s actually possible to change search engines on the fly in Safari on macOS. When you put the cursor in the search/address box, simply hit space bar first to see a drop-down list of available search engines.

Author: Jason Cross , Senior Editor, Macworld

Jason has written about technology for more than 25 years - first in the gaming press, then focusing on enthusiast PCs and general technology. He enjoys learning how complicated technology works and explaining it in a way anyone can understand.

Recent stories by Jason Cross:

• iOS 18.1 beta 3 is out now, adding ‘Clean Up’ AI tool in Photos
• Apple updates AirPods Pro 2 firmware to add iOS 18 features
• iOS 18 beta: Release Candidate available now, wide release set for September 16

How to Change Default Search Engine in Safari for Mac

Written By Chloe Turner

Last updated: March 18, 2024

Technical Writing Specialist who creates different types of articles, from reviews to how-to types of articles for Mac.

Safari is already a browser that has full features, just like other browsers it has its security features like private browsing, an anti-phishing filter, and its most advanced feature is the pop-up blocking.

Safari’s default browser is Google, but you can change safari search engine easily since it also has yahoo, Bing, and DuckDuckGo.

Here are some guides to follow if you want to:

• Change your safari’s default browser if you are not satisfied with its default browser
• Also, if you would like to use multiple search engines to have some options every now and then
• If Google, Yahoo, Bing, and DuckDuckGo is not part of your preference on how to use a different browser
• Plus, some additional good to know information about browsers and basic troubleshooting in case of errors

Contents: Part 1. How Do I Change My Default Search Engine in Safari? Part 2. How to Fix Safari Search Engine Changed by Itself and Other Problems Part 3. Top 5 Other Browsers to Consider on Mac Part 4. Conclusion

Part 1. How Do I Change My Default Search Engine in Safari?

As above mentioned, there are a couple of things that you could do on your Safari and here is the list of what you could do and how to do it.

Change the Default Search Engine in Safari on Mac

If you would like to experience the other search engine available in Safari you may try these steps below:

• Launch Safari
• Select Safari from the menu bar
• Select Preferences
• It will show the Settings then select the Search icon
• Click Search Engine , open the Menu then a list will show Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yandex
• If your current default browser is Google you will see a checkmark beside it, to change it just select the other browser on the list
• Close the screen since it already saved your changes

To do a test run, you can close your Safari and then re-launch it, if it did not work on the first try do the steps again and make sure to close opened safari before opening testing the new one.

Use Multiple Search Engines

Each of the different search engines its functions are almost the same, but some of the search engines have some additional features that others may not have. If you don't want to just change the default search engine in Safari but would like to browse using more than one search engine you can do so.

It's also a way of not compressing all your browsing in one search engine, also some websites work better on different browsers.

If changing your settings seems a long cut, what you could do is to simply launch the homepage of your preferred search engine then start browsing there.

Adding Search Engine in Safari

On the preferences on Mac, we won’t be able to add a new browser on the list, but there is always a workaround, what you can do is to use the URL bar

• You can use a different browser like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox it’s a bit more user-friendly to support your searches.
• Add the Chrome or Firefox extension on Safari.
• Go to the search engines homepage, this could be an extra step but what you can do is to set the search engine of your choice as your homepage, so when you open your safari its already in there.

Here’s how to do it:

• Launch Safari > Get the URL by searching it on the browser > Select Safari Tab > Open Preferences
• Select the General icon > On the Menu List change the homepage to your preferred URL browser > Click Set to Current Page
• Close the tab, It will be saved automatically

Part 2. How to Fix Safari Search Engine Changed by Itself and Other Problems

Now that you have known how to change the default search engine in Safari, you might experience some glitches on your browser, especially if you haven’t done a deep clean on your Mac for quite a while.

There may be some cookies and extensions that are causing it. Here are some errors that may happen and how you can do basic troubleshooting to fix the problem:

Search Engine Has Been Changed

Once you modified it or its set-on default there should be no reason for the safari to change by itself, but other triggers can cause it like plug-ins or extensions. Remove extensions using the following steps:

• Launch Safari > Safari Tab > Click on Preferences
• Go to Extensions icon, it will give you a list of extensions that are currently installed. If there is anything that you are not aware of you may remove it and Uninstall
• Close your Safari Browser > Re-Launch Safari and do a quick test
• In case it did not work, redo the steps then Reboot your Mac

Browser Not Working

Its quite frustrating when you do a search it just doesn’t work, mostly if you are in a rush. Before it gets into your nerves and ruins the day try these basic steps first:

• Check if cables are properly connected
• If using a Wi-Fi check the connectivity, try using other apps see if it will connect to the internet
• Try to reboot Router

Issues with Plug-Ins

If the website that you visit is showing some error with plugins you can try fixing them by clicking on the placeholder button that will describe the issue. Examples can be a Plug-in is blocked, missing or broken.

The website not Opening in Safari

If you already conducted basic troubleshooting like done checking your connectivity but still the website that you are trying to open is not working, you may now consider the following tips below:

• Safari can prompt a message of why it's not working, it will also have a guide on how you can fix it.
• Be keen on entering the URL or website, make sure there are no spaces and characters that are missing.
• Check if the website that you are trying to visit doesn’t require a VPN if it does make sure your VPN is enabled.
• Try reloading the page.
• Check on your network administrator, if you are using a company’s network, they might have some firewall that’s preventing some websites to be accessed.
• You may contact the web developer of the website to see if it’s their server that’s having an error, or it's not compatible with your browser.
• See if your Mac’s software is updated.

You might encounter a lot of issues with your browser alone and most of the triggers could be extensions, plug-ins, cache, and cookies. Rather than trying to find out what is causing the trouble, you can use an all-in-one tool that can clean up everything for you like iMyMac PowerMyMac .

Fix Your Safari Issues Using PowerMyMac

Since we have learned about changing the Search Engine Default in Safari everything should work smoothly not unless if you have some issues to fix before Safari would allow you to do that.

It has always been best recommended before doing some modification to perform a deep-clean to make sure nothing will block your way to your customization.

iMyMac PowerMyMac can detect and uninstall unwanted plug-ins, clean up cookies and cache, extension barriers and make your Mac perform faster. Here’s how to use it:

• Download and Launch PowerMyMac from imym ac .com
• Once it's installed open it then a list of its features will show on the left-hand side of the screen
• First select Junk Cleaner to clean up Junk Files on your Mac then do the SCAN
• When completed, it will give you a list of junk files that need to be removed click on CLEAN button
• The screen will show you a summary of how much junk files were deleted and your available storage
• Then you may proceed to App App Uninstaller then follow the similar steps as outlined above and so on.

Keep in mind though that whatever browser or search engine that you are using all of them need to be clean up since browsing on the web is also like collecting trash on your Mac and can slow down your computer.

So rather than going the general cleaning by yourself its always best to have PowerMyMac installed on your Mac to help you declutter and improve the performance of your Mac.

Part 3. Top 5 Other Browsers to Consider on Mac

Just in case that you are wondering what the best search engine for you could be to use before making a modification to your preferences on Safari, here is the list of the Top 5 best browsers that you may use if you want to change the default search engine in Safari.

Google Chrome

Next to Safari this has been the most popular search engine, we think that it has been made prioritizing the comfort and easy to use for people, its homepage could attest to that since it looks very minimalistic.

Also, besides the address bar, you can locate its settings and lets you modify your preferences in just one place to go.

Its usefulness is wide. Other than showing sites, Torch additionally enables the client to share sites by means of informal communities. It additionally can download Instagram and other applications. If you are the type of person who’s making some downloads more often then this browser is for you.

What's more, the designers offer Torch Music, free assistance that helps in sorting out video recordings. Torch presents an easy to understand interface, which permits the client to redo a lot of accessible topics.

Show's most significant highlights with pop-up blocking, browse privately, selected browsing, bookmarks, and a download director.

Show's users can also work in turbo mode, which packs website pages before sending them, and as a result, lesser waiting time. Likewise, this program checks sites against phishing and malware.

Users of Opera with its numerous inventive highlights responds to the inquiry on "What is the best program for Mac".

Mozilla Firefox

Its fundamental highlights are tabulated browsing, spell checker, live bookmarking, Smart Bookmarks, downloading management and private browsing

As an addition, another cherished component is its ability to include new topics, taking into consideration increasingly customized use. Firefox has been applauded for being protected. Its security perspectives depend on the Sandbox Security Model, solid encryption, and a steady bug search dependent on a bug abundance.

To sum things up, for some individuals Firefox is the best program for Mac, because of its ability to include outsider advancements and its natural well-being.

Probably the best program for Mac, Maxthon has a decent interface on the home screen of the program

Outstanding amongst other things about Maxthon is that it keeps the PC's working condition upgraded while chipping away at it and doesn't hoard the framework's presentation. It helps up the web association with a degree and it attempts to open the website page quicker.

Maxthon is not dependent on operating systems just as the gadget itself as it is cloud-based with all OS interlocked to one another.

It has a decent element that doesn't let you fill the data on sites you visited in the past when you visit it for whenever as it spares the data for you.

Part 4. Conclusion

The ability to modify almost everything nowadays has been increasingly accessible. The comfort of the users has always been the top priority of the product generators, just like Safari has been created as a powerful browser but some developers focus on the needs of the other percentage of users just like streamers and fans of downloading.

Always remember that it is very important to always perform a deep clean prior to doing any modification on your Mac to avoid any barriers to achieve what you want to work on your Mac.

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (based on 92 ratings)

Clean up and speed up your Mac with ease

People Also Read:

Comment( 10 )

doesn't work 2022-04-03 12:11:01

Setting your homepage to another search engine doesn't add it to the list of available search engines

paulos 2022-01-28 19:44:57

really wonderful, I was tired of duck duck go and had no way to get rid of it for a month. thank you very much

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How to Change Search Engine in Safari on iPhone and Mac

Google pays Apple billions of dollars to become the default search engine on Apple devices. Apple users don’t mind this as Google is the best search engine on the market, that is when it’s not showing you ads. Today, the first three to four search results in Google are ads. Not to mention, the vast amount of tracking data it’s collecting on you to serve relevant ads. Thankfully, there’s an easy to change the default Safari Search engine. Here’s how you can change the search engine in Safari on iPhone and Mac.

Change search engine in Safari on iPhone and Mac

Apple allows you to change the default search engine in Safari and set it to a different search engine. Here are all the search engine options you get.

Depending on what device you are using, you can use the table of content below to move to the relevant section

Change search engine in Safari on iPhone and iPad

Change the default search engine in safari on mac.

To change the default Safari search engine on iPhones and iPads, we will use Safari settings . Below are the steps you can follow;

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2. Scroll down to find Safari and tap on it.

3. Tap on Search engine .

4. Google will be the default selection. You can tap on the other search engines to make them the default choice. For example, we have set DuckDuckGo as the default search engine.

5. As you can see, now we search in Safari, it’s using DuckDuckGo.

While the Safari extension store is still lacking, it makes up for the deficit by providing users with a fast and private browsing environment. Many users don’t know that Safari on Mac is a highly customizable browser that also lets you change your default search engine. Here’s how to do it.

1. Use Spotlight (⌘+space) to launch Safari on Mac.

2. Use the Safari menu to open the Preferences or Settings ( macOS Ventura has changed Preferences to Settings).

3. Select the Search option and click on the drop-down menu next to Search engine .

4. Click to select the search engine you want.

5. As you can see, now Safari is using DuckDuckGo for the search results.

Change default Safari search engine

That’s how you can use DuckDuckGo, Bing, Yahoo, or Ecosia as the default search engine in the Safari browser. If you use Safari as your primary browser , don’t forget to check out our list of favorite Safari extensions that will help you get the most out of this browser.

Also, Safari is getting several new features, including pinned tabs , extension sync , and more, with macOS Ventura and iOS 16 updates, so make sure to check them out.

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How-To Geek

How to add any search engine to your web browser.

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Quick Links

Google chrome, mozilla firefox, microsoft edge, apple safari, internet explorer.

Web browsers include a few search engines for you to choose from, but you can easily add more. Even if a website doesn't offer an official search plugin, you can add any custom search engine you like with a few tricks.

Google Chrome makes this pretty easy. First, visit a search engine (or a website with a search feature). Chrome will automatically detect and add the search engine, if that site supports this feature.

Next, right-click in Chrome's location bar and select "Edit Search Engines".

Search engines from websites you've visited will appear in the "Other search engines" box. Mouse over a search engine and click "Make default" to make it your default search engine in Chrome.

You can also use keywords to search using a specific engine that isn't your default. For example, with the settings above, you could type

 into the location bar and press Enter to search DuckDuckGo for "search terms".

You can shorten these keywords to make searching websites faster---for example, change the keyword to ddg and you can type “ddg example” to search DuckDuckGo more quickly.

If the search engine you want to add doesn’t appear in the list, you can try adding it yourself. Perform a search on the website for a query like TEST, then copy and paste the address of the search page into the URL field, replacing the TEST query in the URL with

For example, when you search DuckDuckGo for "TEST", you get the following address:

http://duckduckgo.com/?q=TEST

Therefore, the address you need to add the search engine in Chrome is:

http://duckduckgo.com/?q=%s

In Firefox, click the search icon in the search box and select "Change Search Settings". You can also head to Firefox's Menu > Options > Search.

You'll see a list of "One-click search engines" here. Click the "Add More Search Engines" link at the bottom.

Firefox will take you to the Mozilla Search Add-ons site , where you can browse for and install your preferred search engines. Search for and install whichever search engine you want, if it's available in the gallery,

Search engines you add will be an option when searching from Firefox's search box. You can also select your default search engine from any of the installed search engines on the Search settings page.

You can create quick keywords for a search box on any web page by right-clicking in that search box and selecting "Add a Keyword for this Search". For example, you can do this with the search box on How-To Geek's website.

Assign whatever keyword you want to search the website. For example, you might want to assign "htg" if you were adding a How-To Geek search engine.

You can type that keyword into the search bar, press the space bar, and type a search to search that website.

However, this feature doesn't allow you to add the keyword search engine to your search box.

Install the Add to Search Bar add-on  to gain this feature. You can then right-click any search box and select "Add to Search Bar" to add any search engine to Firefox's search bar. You'll be able to search that search engine from the search box and even make it your default search engine, if you like.

Related: How to Change Microsoft Edge to Search Google Instead of Bing

Microsoft Edge allows websites to add their search engines to the browser when you visit them. If you visit a website that offers an OpenSearch plugin, it will become an option in Edge.

For example, visit Google.com  or  DuckDuckGo.com , and these search engines will become options in Edge.

After visiting websites, click Menu > View Advanced Settings > Change Search Engine to  choose your default search engine .

There's currently no way to add custom search engines or search engines that aren't your default using Edge.

Safari only allows you to choose from among its four integrated search engines by default: Google, Yahoo, Bing, and DuckDuckGo. To choose your default search engine, head to Safari > Preferences > Search.

To use other search engines, install the AnySearch extension for Safari from Apple's Safari extensions gallery website. The link to install this extension only works in Safari on macOS.

After installing the extension, head to Safari > Preferences > Extensions > AnySearch. Choose your preferred search engine from the list or provide the address to a custom search engine. The search engine you choose here will be used whenever you search from Safari's address bar.

To add a custom search engine here, perform a search on the website for a query like TEST. Copy and paste the address of the search page into the Custom Search Engine box here, replacing "TEST" with "@@@".

Therefore, the address you need to add the search engine in AnySearch is:

http://duckduckgo.com/?q=@@@

To add a search engine to Internet Explorer, click the down arrow to the right of the current web page's address in the address bar. Click the "Add" button at the bottom right corner of the menu box that appears.

You'll be taken to the Internet Explorer Gallery page . If the search engine you want to add is available in the gallery, locate it and click the "Add" button to add it to Internet Explorer.

To search an search engine you've added, type your search into the address bar and click the search engine's icon at the bottom of the search menu box that appears.

To choose your default search engine, click Menu > Manage Add-ons > Search Providers. Select the search engine you want to make your default and click the "Set as Default" button at the bottom of the window.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Gallery website previously contained a feature that allowed you to create your own custom search providers, but this feature has been removed. Instead, try this third-party IE Search Provider Builder Tool , which works similarly.

Follow the instructions on the page to create your custom search provider and add it. You’ll need to visit your search engine, search for the word “TEST”, copy the address of the search results page from the address bar, and paste it into the box on the page.

Click the Install button and your new search provider will be installed. The tool will automatically select the appropriate icon for the search engine.

This tool creates an OpenSearch XML file. You could write it yourself by hand, but that would be more time consuming.

• Installation

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Can I add search engines to Safari (beyond the 5 that are selectable in settings)?

I want to use different search engines other than Duckduckgo, Google, Yahoo, Ecosia and Bing, but I can't see how this is possible in the Safari settings as there doesn't appear to be a way to add my own search engine. I would like to use a Searx instance as my default, for example. Or even Startpage, but it doesn't seem possible to change this in Safari's settings. I'm on macOS Big Sur.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.4

Posted on Aug 24, 2021 4:14 PM

Posted on Aug 24, 2021 4:29 PM

I really don't think that's it. None of the search engines included in the Safari settings are Apple products (Apple doesn't have a search engine as far as I know). So it's a question for Apple.

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Aug 24, 2021 4:29 PM in response to ckuan

Aug 24, 2021 4:37 PM in response to fearofbirds

That's correct. Apple do not have a own search engine (yet).

FYI: This is a user to user forum for Apple products, why don't you ask Searx if Safari is supported?

Aug 24, 2021 4:27 PM in response to fearofbirds

Searx is not an Apple product, best you ask the app developer on their website/forum for support.

Aug 24, 2021 4:57 PM in response to ckuan

I'm just going to wait and see if someone else shows up to help with this.