Mozilla has decided to remove all Russian search engine providers from its Firefox browser. The move comes after several claims that Yandex and Mail.ru are endorsing Russian state-sponsored content in the results.
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Here, we’ll look at when Mozilla is removing these search engines and why the company is removing them.
When is Mozilla Removing Russian Search Engines?
After the release of Firefox 98.0.1, patch notes revealed that Yandex and Mail.ru are no longer alternate search providers in the drop-down search menu in Firefox.
Not only are the three options disappearing from the search menu, but all the customization that comes from the search engine has been removed, including add-ons and bookmarks. Essentially, it’s like search engines never existed!
Why is Mozilla removing Russian search engines?
In light of the war in Ukraine, Russian state media sources have been blocked on several social media platforms, while big tech has removed related apps from the App Store.
While Mozilla doesn’t mention the conflict at all, it’s hard not to see the connection given the other actions taken against Russian companies.
What’s going to happen now?
Previously, Yandex was the default search engine in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkey. From now on, however, after the search engine has been removed by default, people will need to find an alternative. This is not to say that Yandex or Mail.ru are no longer accessible through Firefox; They are simply no longer the default option.
Anyone who wants to access them in Russia, or any other country, can still type in the website’s address and use them to search for content. Easy searching directly in the address bar is off the table for now.
This change does not affect previous Firefox versions. Therefore, those who do not run the update can, if they wish, keep their default settings as Yandex.