You now can’t delete default search engines in Chromium-Based browsers

Have you ever wanted to stop using Google as your default search provider in Chromium-based browsers, such as Opera or Vivaldi?

Nowadays, when you install a new browser, it typically offers a list of default search engines to choose from. However, you can no longer delete any and all of these included engines.

Well, it turns out that some Chromium-based browsers — those using the open-source version of the Google Chrome browser as a base — will no longer allow users to remove search engines from the default list.

In October 2021, a proposal was made to remove the ability to remove certain search engines, or at least make it more difficult. 

It seems developers wanted to do away with it completely as it is no longer available.

No more deleting default search engines

The Chromium team has decided against allowing you to delete default search engines. Although the idea of making it harder or impossible to delete Google as a search engine was discussed, the Chromium team decided to do neither and keep the feature.

For users, the list of search engines that comes pre-installed with a new browser can only get longer. However, it’s unlikely you’ll ever visit the list again after setting up your browser.

Firefox users exempted

Of course, Firefox users needn’t worry—Mozilla’s browser isn’t based on Chromium and so isn’t impacted by this change. 

Mozilla Firefox offers two choices for deleting search engines from its list of default options. The first is to remove them completely from view, the second to keep the search engine but hide it from the list.

Will you be switching to Firefox or does the new update not affect your browsing? Share your comments down below.