Making search private on Chrome takes under a minute. The default engine on Chrome was chosen for you, often because someone paid for the spot. Here is how to replace it with one that does not track you.

Step by step on Chrome

  1. Open the three-dot menu and click Settings.
  2. Click Search engine in the sidebar.
  3. Choose your engine from the dropdown, or click Manage search engines to add one by its search URL.
  4. Set it as default.
good to know
Chrome syncs this setting across your signed-in devices, so changing it on one can update the rest.

What to set it to

For the switch to actually mean something, point the default at an engine that keeps no account and stores no history. Bare is built for exactly this: your query passes through our server only to fetch results, so the index sees our network rather than your address, and nothing is kept once the page loads. Set it once, and every search from Chrome on your Chrome is private by default.

If you change your mind

There is no risk. Chrome lets you switch back through the same menu in seconds, and nothing about your bookmarks or history is affected. Try a private default for a week, most people never switch back.