Firefox Sheds Google for Yahoo

In what could be something of a coup for Yahoo, Mozilla has sloughed off Google as the default search engine for its Firefox browser. Yahoo now has that honor, which could invigorate a business it appeared to have abandoned and give it a shot at siphoning off some of Google's advertising revenue. Mozilla is likely a winner too, as it was rumored Google planned to sharply reduce its funding.

zilla on Wednesday announced that Yahoo would replace Google as its global default search option, in a move that has set the tech media abuzz.

Pointing out that Google has been the Firefox global search default since 2004, Mozilla painted the move as seizing the opportunity to review its competitive strategy and explore its options when the agreement came up for renewal this year.

"In evaluating our search partnerships, our primary consideration was to ensure our strategy aligned with our values of choice and independence, and positions us to innovate and advance our mission in ways that best serve our users and the Web," said Mozilla CEO Chris Beard.

Although the various partnership options available "had strong, improved economic terms reflecting the significant value that Firefox brings to the ecosystem," he noted, one strategy was head and shoulders above the others -- the move from a single global default provider to having a more local and flexible approach.

Mozilla's New Strategy

Yahoo will be the Firefox browser's global default for search in the United States for the next five years.

In Russia, Yandex Search will be Firefox's default search engine; in China, it will be Baidu.

However, the relationship with Google isn't completely over: Google will be built into the Firefox browser as an alternative search option for the U.S., Russia and China.

Further, Firefox will retain Google's Safe Browsing and geolocation features.

In all, Firefox will offer 61 search engines preinstalled across 88 different language versions. These engines will be local by country. They will include Bing, DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia and Twitter in the U.S.; DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia and OZON.ru in Russia; and Bing, Youdao, Taobao and other options in China.