“Choose a browser and search app“. This is the title of a notification that many Pixel users have been receiving in the last few hours. The invitation is to select “an app for viewing web pages and opening links, and a search engine app“, and is a direct consequence of the DMA recently in force in Europe.
Choose your browser and search engine
“The browser displays pages when you browse the web, tap a link, or enter a web address. The search engine allows you to search the web.” After clicking on the notification, Google continues to explain in simple words what is happening, and what choices the user is asked to make.
At this point the options for the browser, and they are actually numerous. You can find all the screenshots in the gallery, where you can see that next to each browser there is also a small explanation. For convenience we are going to list, in order, all the browsers offered, with the understanding that everyone is free to install others via the Play Store (or manually).
- Google Chrome. Chrome is the fast and secure browser made by Google.
- Firefox. Choose a fast and privacy-friendly browser, with over 600 extensions.
- Opera Browser. A European browser with privacy features, free LA and a VPN with more security.
- samsung Internet. Samsung’s secure, private, and optimized mobile web browser.
- Mi Browser. Mi Browser is a full-featured, fast and secure web browser for mobile devices.
- Taktak. Lightweight and fast browser for Android.
- Well done. Fast Internet Browser with Adblock! Secure and secret search engine.
- Internet Browsers. Surf the Internet and discover the fun here.
- Qwant. With Qwant, do your searches in private mode.
- DuckDuckGo. Private. Fast. Fewer ads. DuckDuckGo never tracks you.
- Ecosia. Plant trees while you do your research. We have already exceeded 200 million.
- Microsoft Edge. Fast and secure browser, powered by Al e Copilot.
As you can see, the choice is quite wide, and the famous names are all there.
We could then discuss some coincidenceslike the fact that Chrome is in first place While Microsoft Edge at the latestbut then the two companies are quite at loggerheads on the matter.
But it doesn’t end here, because after the browser it’s the turn of the default search engine. Here are the available options, again confirmed by the screenshots below.
- Google. Find what you need with the most used search engine in the world.
- Ecosia. Plant trees while you do your research. We have already exceeded 200 million.
- Microsoft Bing. Powered by ChatGPT’s GPT-4.
- DuckDuckGo. Private. Fast. Fewer ads. DuckDuckGo never tracks you.
- Well done. Fast Internet Browser with Adblock! Secure and secret search engine.
- Mojeek. Mojeek, the truly alternative search engine that cares about your privacy.
- Yahoo search. Browse the Internet and answer everyday questions with Yahoo.
- KARMA. Protect animals and biodiversity: make every research count!
- PrivacyWall. A search engine that protects your privacy.
- WWF Panda Search. Your research generates money for projects that make the world a better place.
- OceanHero. Let’s save our oceans by surfing the web.
- Qwant. With Qwant, do your searches in private mode.
In the case of search engines the choice is even wider, and we are sure that there are some names you have never heard of.
Bing is relatively at the top in this case, so we can put conspiracy theories aside.
Once this second choice has been made, the browser and/or search engine that may not be present on the device will be installed and set as default. Obviously none of these choices are immutable: at any time the user can change browser or search engine, as has always been possible.
All these options should then be available, for European users, in the configuration phase of a new Android device. At the moment, as already mentioned at the beginning of the article, the notification inviting you to choose the default search engine and browser seems to appear only on Google Pixels, but it cannot be ruled out that it may also arrive on other devices in the near future.
