Making search private on Firefox takes under a minute. The default engine on Firefox 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 Firefox

  1. Open the menu and click Settings.
  2. Click Search in the sidebar.
  3. Under Default Search Engine, pick from the dropdown.
  4. Use Add more search engines to install one that is not shown.
good to know
Firefox also lets you set a different engine for private windows under the same Search settings.

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 Firefox on your Firefox is private by default.

If you change your mind

There is no risk. Firefox 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.