How to Change Safari iPhone 12 Default Search Engine

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This post shows how to change the iPhone 12 default search engine in Safari. Read on if you need help changing the default search engine on your new iPhone’s built-in browser application.

iPhone Safari Search Engine

A search engine is mainly designed to help users navigate the web. In layman’s terms, a search engine refers to a website through which Internet users can search web content by typing the desired search term or keyword into the search field. 

Once the keyword is entered, the search engine will start looking through its index for relevant websites and shows them in the form of a list or search result.

Among the widely used search engines in computers and mobile devices are Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, and Yandex, to name a few. 

In iOS devices, the Safari browser app’s default search engine is set to Google. Other options available are Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Ecosia. 

Ecosia is by far the latest addition to the search engine options in the iOS Safari browser. This started when Apple rolled out the iOS 14.3 update.

If you don’t prefer Google for your Safari searches, then you can alter the built-in browser settings then select your preferred search engine. And this is how it’s done on the new iPhone 12.

Easy Steps to Change the iPhone 12 Default Search Engine

The following steps are also applicable when altering the default search engine in Safari on other iOS devices with the same software version as the iPhone 12. Actual screens and menu options may vary between device models.

1. To get started, unlock your iPhone to access the Home screen and then tap Settings.

Doing so will launch the main settings menu that contains the list of all features of the phone.

2. Scroll down and then tap Safari.

The Safari browser settings will populate the next screen. Here, you can see the default values for searches, general settings, tabs and more.

3. Tap Search Engine under the Search section to continue.

A list of all available search engines will populate the next menu. The default selection is set to Google. This means that your web searches in Safari are processed by Google search.

4. To change the default selection and switch to other search engines, simply tap to mark your preferred search engine.

Among your choices include Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Ecosia. 

5. To proceed with this demo, just tap to select your preferred Search engine aside from Google. The check mark will then move from Google to your new selection.

This means that your next web searches in Safari will be carried out using the current search engine you picked.

6. To see the changes, exit settings and then launch the Safari app browser. Type in any search term or keyword then press Enter.

On the next screen, you should see relevant search results from your preferred search engine.

Should you wish to try other Search engines, just follow the same steps to go to the Safari Search Engine settings menu and then tap to mark your preferred Search engine from the list. You can always switch back to Google in case you don’t like the experience with other search engines.

And that’s all about switching between the Safari Search Engines on the new iPhone 12.

All search engines in Safari also have dedicated apps for you to use on your iPhone in case you don’t want to use the default apps in Safari for your future searches.

Aside from search engines, you can also configure other search settings in Safari including search engine suggestions, quick website search, preload top hit and Safari suggestions.

More Video Tutorials

To view more comprehensive tutorials and troubleshooting clips on different mobile phones and tablets, feel free to visit The Droid Guy channel on YouTube anytime. 

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