Use Firefox for search engine in search bar

[rogerl50]

Android 13, Pixel 6, running the Nova launcher. I have the search bar set up as persistent, if that matters. It opens some search engine that is neither Firefox nor Chrome.

I would like it to open Firefox. Is that possible? If not, is it possible to make it so the search results from Google do not include ads?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Google is the default search engine on Firefox, so if you're talking about a search bar widget on your homescreen, I don't believe there's an option for Firefox (since there is no Firefox search engine). Do you mean that you want the results to open in Firefox rather than Chrome?

Please register on this forum, which will allow you to engage in discussion more easily, as well as post images. https://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/409154-join-android-central-community.html

 

[rogerl50]

I've explored some more, and I'm not certain. When I type my search string into Chrome (by opening Chrome on my phone and typing into the search bar there), I get the same results as typing into the search bar widget; that includes ads. When I type the same search string into my Firefox browser, I do not get the ads. What I want is that when I enter a search string into the search bar, it opens (I don't care where, though I'd prefer Firefox) and does not include ads. This is all easy on a desktop by just installing ublock for example.

 

[B. Diddy]

Since you already installed Firefox, what about using the Firefox search bar widget (instead of Google's)? Or is that what you're using?

 

[smvim]

Mozilla Firefox is web browser, not a search engine. There are search engine services like Google, MS Bing, DuckDuckGo, and several others.
You need to differentiate between the two before you can fix your own problem. There are plenty of other web browsers too, like Chrome, Edge, Brave, and plenty more and with almost off of them you can dig into the app's Settings/Options/Preferences menu to set which search engine you prefer. Note this is a browser app option you need to look into, by default Android will use Google as a system-wide preference, unless you change that in the Settings menu.
You also need to pay attention to setting which web browser app is the default, which is different than the search engine you choose. Again by default, the Android OS will use Chrome so you need to intentionally choose a different web browser to change that.

 

[B. Diddy]

Since it's possible to block ads on Firefox, I suspect that when the OP doesn't see ads in the Google search results, that's when they're actually using Firefox to browse, whereas using the Google Search bar will show the typical ads that Google serves up.

OP, I made you the owner of the original guest post to make it easier for you to find.

 

[rogerl50]

Thanks. Yes, I understand this. Firefox is my default browser, and I have it set up to use StartPage as my search engine. AFAIK this engine actually uses Google, but anonymizes the search. Firefox removes the ads from the results.

Perhaps my entire post has not been clear. The issue is that the search bar that Nova provides, which is persistent across multiple home pages, provides its results using the Google engine and the Google browser. That search bar doesn't appear to give me the option of using a different browser to display the results. Additionally, the search bar is crammed into the home pages using half a row at the top.

I can solve the problem, I just figured out, by configuring Nova with an extra row and manually putting the search bar on each page, telling Nova not to include one itself. So I guess I've solved this problem; I was looking for a more automated solution.

 

[B. Diddy]

Ah, I see now. I tested it myself, and also found that the persistent search bar only can show results in Google's own browser. Your best bet would be to use Firefox's own search bar widget.

 

[rogerl50]

That's exactly what I did - removed the Nova-provided search bar and installed the Firefox search bar on each of my home pages. While Nova squeezes its search bar into the existing icon arrangement, I was forced to add a new row to hold the new search bar. So I guess the problem is solved, but not as nicely as I would have liked. Thanks for the help.