Many of the settings on your iPhone can be adjusted in one way or another.
This includes many of the settings for the default Safari browser.
So if you want to know how to change the default search engine in Safari on an iPhone 13, then you can navigate to the Safari settings menu and make the adjustment there.
How to Switch to a Different Search Engine on an iPhone 13
- Open Settings.
- Select Safari.
- Choose Search Engine.
- Tap the search engine to use.
Our guide continues below with more information on how to change the default search engine in Safari on iPhone devices, including pictures of these steps.
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When you perform a search in the Safari browser on your iPhone 13 you might go directly to the search engine. That would mean navigating to the page for that search engine, then typing your search term into the search field.
But you can actually perform a search by simply typing the term into the address bar that appears at the top or bottom of your screen.
This method saves you a couple of extra seconds since you don’t need to visit a new website.
Once you start doing this, however, you may notice that Safari is using a search engine that might not be one that you prefer.
Luckily you can change Safari’s default search engine by going to Settings > Safari > Search Engine > then choosing from one of the listed options.
Now the searches that you perform from the address bar will occur in the search engine you chose.
Our tutorial continues below with more information on changing this setting, as well as some other default and search options for Web browsing on your iPhone.
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How to Set Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, or Ecosia as the Default Safari Search (Guide with Pictures)
The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 13 in the iOS 15.4.1 operating system.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Scroll down and choose the Safari option.
Step 3: Select the Search Engine option.
Step 4: Tap the search engine that you want to use.
Now that you have an answer to the question of how to change the default search engine in Safari on your iPhone, you will be able to update this setting in your Safari browser whenever you decide that you want to use something other than what is currently set as the default.
Our tutorial continues below with additional discussion about changing defaults in the Safari browser on your iPhone.
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More Information On How to Use a Different Search Engine on an iPhone 13
Once you change the default search engine in Safari, any search that you perform by typing a search phrase into the address bar at the top or bottom of the screen will occur in the default search engine.
You can still use other search engines by going directly to them. For example:
- Google – https://www.google.com
- Bing – https://www.bing.com
- Yahoo – https://www.yahoo.com
- Ecosia – https://www.ecosia.org
- DuckDuckGo – https://duckduckgo.com
Making the change to the default search engine won’t affect other browsers that you use, such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. If you want to use a different search engine in those browsers then you will need to change their settings as well. For both of those browsers that means opening the browser, going to Settings, and choosing the Search option.
Note that there are some other settings concerning search that you will find in the “Search” section on the Safari menu. These settings include:
- Search Engine – this is the default search engine setting that we discussed above.
- Search Engine Suggestions – when you start typing a search term into the search field you will get suggestions based on what you are typing from the search engine.
- Safari Suggestions – you can get suggestions from Safari in addition to or instead of the search engine
- Quick Website Search – you can specifically search a website if you type the name of the site before the search term.
- Preload Top Hit – you can have Safari automatically preload the first result for your search terms.
You can change your default Web browser by going to Settings, then selecting the browser, and choosing the Default Browser App option. The Web browsers that you can pick from are those that are installed on your device.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make Google my search engine Safari default?
If you go to Settings > Safari > then click Search Engine, you will be able to choose your desired search engine from the options shown there.
The top option on this list in iOS 16 is Google. You can select that option, then any search term that you type into the address bar in Safari will begin a Google search.
Can I make DuckDuckGo my search engine iPhone option?
Yes, the DuckDuckGo option is one of the search engine options that you will see after clicking the Search tab within the Safari menu. You are able to choose it if you want your Safari searches to go through the DuckDuckGo search engine.
What is the default Safari search engine on an iPhone 13?
The default search engine in the Safari Web browser on an iPhone 13 that is using the iOS 16 operating system is Google.
If you have never made a change to this, then Google is used for any search from the address bar in Safari.
What are the different search engines I can use in Safari on my iPhone?
In iOS 16, the options that you have for your default search engine include:
– Google
– Yahoo
– Bing
– Ecosia
– DuckDuckGo
Unfortunately, you are currently unable to use any other search engines as the default option for the iPhone Safari browser.
If you want to use another search engine, then you will need to navigate to that search engine’s web page and execute the search there.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to change the default search engine in Safari on iPhone 13, you can either start using your favorite one or try out a couple of new options that you hadn’t considered before.
Many people may only ever think of Google as an option when it comes to search, but many of the other options have improved substantially and can provide different results that might better suit your own browsing behavior.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing technology how-to articles and tutorials for over a decade. He has extensive experience in information technology both in small business and as a consultant.
His articles have appeared on dozens of websites and been read millions of times.
He covers many different topics concerning technology, but focuses primarily on smartphones, consumer software, and consumer electronics.
You can read his full bio here.