Mozilla has opted Google as the default search engine for its latest internet browser, Mozilla Firefox Quantum and will no longer use Yahoo.
Mozilla released the Firefox Quantum and added to it a crucial update which may act as a deciding factor in increasing the browser’s users. Mozilla has opted Google as the default search engine for the internet browser. Earlier versions of Mozilla Firefox featured Yahoo as the default search engine which supposedly repelled away users.
Mozilla used Yahoo as the default search engine under a deal signed in 2014. However, the deal was signed for five years.
Mozilla Chief Business and Legal Officer Denelle Dixon said in a statement, „We exercised our contractual right to terminate our agreement with Yahoo! based on a number of factors including doing what’s best for our brand, our effort to provide quality web search, and the broader content experience for our users. We believe there are opportunities to work with Oath and Verizon outside of search. As part of our focus on user experience and performance in Firefox Quantum, Google will also become our new default search provider in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan. With over 60 search providers pre-installed as defaults or secondary options across more than 90 language versions, Firefox has more choice in search providers than any other browser.“
A clause in the Mozilla deal states that the potential Yahoo buyer will have to pay $375 million per year through 2019 if Mozilla did not find the buyer suitable enough to work with. It is still not clear if Mozilla invoked this clause to terminate the agreement, but it is not unlikely.
