Mozilla Firefox drops Google as default search engine, choses to use Yahoo instead

Mozilla Corp. said Wednesday it will drop Google as the global default search engine for the open-source Firefox browser.

Mozilla Corp. CEO Chris Beard said the choice of default search engine will be by country, after Mozilla decided not to renew its agreement with Google. Yahoo said it would launch a "clean, modern and immersive design" search engine for Firefox users starting in December.

"Today we are announcing a change to our strategy for Firefox search partnerships. We are ending our practice of having a single global default search provider. We are adopting a more local and flexible approach to increase choice and innovation on the Web, with new and expanded search partnerships by country," Beard said.

The change will come to Firefox users in the US in December, and later Yahoo will bring that new "clean, modern and immersive search experience" to all Yahoo search users. In another part of the deal, Yahoo will support the Do Not Track technology for Firefox users, meaning that it will respect users' preferences not to be tracked for advertising purposes.

Mozilla released the screenshots to illustrate what Firefox users will see if they use the new default search experience:

Users will still have the option to use Google as their search engine, but they will have to manually change that in settings. 

Firefox has a 16 percent market share for desktop Web browsers in the United States, trailing Chrome and Internet Explorer, according to analytics firm StatCounter. Chrome controls about 39 percent of that market. 

Along with ending its partnership with Google in the US, Mozilla is also directing Firefox to Baidu's search engine in China and Yandex in Russia.

"Our new search strategy doubles down on our commitment to make Firefox a browser for everyone, with more choice and opportunity for innovation," said Mozilla chief executive Chris Beard.