Mozilla and Google team up and leave Yahoo behind

When you open your Mozilla Firefox, you can notice that Google is the default search engine and not Yahoo. When Mozilla launched Firefox Quantum, it marked an important update to the browser in many years to come. And part of the change is that Google will be the default search engine.

“As part of our focus on user experience and performance in Firefox Quantum, Google will also become our new default search provider in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan. With over 60 search providers pre-installed as defaults or secondary options across more than 90 language versions, Firefox has more choice in search providers than any other browser,” said Denelle Dixon, Chief Business and Legal officer at Mozilla.

Way back in 2014, Mozilla had made a deal with Yahoo as the default search engine in the US with other options like Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo. With the default search engine as Yahoo, people began to move away from Mozilla. However, with the launch of Firefox Quantum, Mozilla has kept the best interests of users in mind and made Google as the default search engine.

“We exercised our contractual right to terminate our agreement with Yahoo! based on a number of factors including doing what’s best for our brand, our effort to provide quality web search, and the broader content experience for our users. We believe there are opportunities to work with Oath and Verizon outside of search,” Dixon added.