Hi everyone,
I'm Gayatri, the product manager for Firefox Search. With Firefox, you already have more choice in how you search the web than anywhere else. Now, we're giving you even more.
Starting April 21, we are running a 30-day experiment with Startpage, a privacy-focused search engine based in the Netherlands. If you're in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, or Switzerland, you may see it as an option in the address bar via the unified search button, which allows quick switching between search engines in Firefox.
Here's what makes this experiment particularly interesting: Firefox users already send over a billion searches a year through Startpage—mostly through extensions and direct navigation. Startpage has also become our number one requested search engine, dating back to early 2024. That kind of organic usage tells us there's real demand, and this pilot is our way of listening and exploring whether building that pathway directly into Firefox makes the experience better for people who are already seeking it out.
Why Startpage?
Startpage is a search engine built around a simple idea: you should be able to get high-quality search results without giving up your privacy. It acts as a privacy layer between you and the web—submitting your query to providers like Google while stripping out your IP address and personal identifiers, and returning results without logging your searches or building a profile on you.
It's especially useful when:
✅ You want Google-quality results without the tracking that typically comes with them
🔒 You'd rather not have your search history stored, profiled, or used for ad targeting
👁️ You want to preview a website privately — Startpage's Anonymous View opens pages through a proxy so sites don't see your real IP
What to Know About This Pilot
This is a focused, 30-day experiment available to a select group of Firefox users in five European markets (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland). A few important details:
- Your default search engine will not change unless you set it as your new default
- Startpage is added alongside your existing Firefox search options; the built-in engines like Google, DuckDuckGo, and Bing, plus any you've added yourself, all stay exactly where they are.
- You can try Startpage, ignore it, or switch back at any time in Settings → Search
The option will appear in the unified search button in the address bar, so you can quickly switch to Startpage when needed.
As with any search provider in Firefox, when you use Startpage you're also subject to their privacy practices. Startpage does not log IP addresses, store search history, or build user profiles—but when you click through to a website from any search engine, that site may collect data according to its own policies. If you're curious, you can review Startpage's privacy policy here.
How to Try It
If the pilot is available to you:
- Update to Firefox 150 or later
- Open the search menu in the address bar
- Select Startpage as your search provider
You can switch between search engines at any time depending on what you're looking for.
Help Us Get It Right
We'd love your feedback on how Startpage fits into your browsing.
- Are there types of searches where having tracker-free results matters most to you?
- Did Anonymous View change how you interact with search results?
- Are there features or privacy protections you expected but didn't find?
Your input will help us understand whether this adds real value—and what the right next steps should be after the pilot wraps up.
Thanks for being part of this with us. We can't wait to hear what you think!
— Gayatri and the Firefox Search Team
