14 DAY TRIAL // Firefox is currently one of the best browsers out there, and it is often considered the only worth alternative to the invasion of Chromium-powered apps.
In theory, this is pretty much true, as Mozilla is the only company offering an advanced browser that’s not running on the Chromium engine.
At the same time, the company just keeps improving Firefox more and more, and as it turns out, Mozilla wants to further refine the browser not only in terms of features but also as part of the services that are bundled by default are concerned.
More specifically, it looks like Mozilla could end up replacing Google with Bing as the default search engine in Firefox, with the company now conducting a limited experiment to see how everything works.
Switch could take place next year
At this point, Mozilla has an ongoing partnership with Google, so most likely, Bing wouldn’t become the recommended search engine on all instances of the browser until the existing deal comes to an end.
As per a report, this is projected to happen next year, so there’s a chance Mozilla is actually getting ready for this important switch in advance.
Most recently, the company has enabled Bing as the default search engine for a very small number of Firefox users, presumably as it wants to see how everything works without Google.
“From Sept 6, 2021 1% of the Desktop user base will be experimenting with Bing as the default search engine. The study will last into early 2022, likely wrapping up by the end of January,” the company said.
No further specifics have been provided, but for Microsoft, this is clearly a big win. It remains to be seen, however, how many users would end up sticking with Bing as their browser search engine.