In 2020, Google will let you choose a search engine on Android.In 2018, the European Commission imposed a fine of 4.34 billion euros on Google, for abuse of a dominant position. From now on, the firm must offer the choice of the search engine for Android devices.
To comply with the measures required to ensure free competition in the European Union, Google is currently testing its search engine selection screen, which must be deployed in 2020. This one recalls the “ballot screen” of Windows, that Microsoft had to add during the installation of its OS to offer all users a browser competing Internet Explorer.
In each country, a choice among four search engines
This new feature will come into force in 2020 for all Android devices delivered in the European Economic Area, where the Google search application is preinstalled. The company Mountain View has already announced that to be part of the proposed alternatives, search engines will participate in an auction system. This information had led the Frenchman Qwant to step up to the niche by justifying that free competition was directly distorted by such a measure.
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The first screenshot of this window of choice has been published on the XDA-developers site. The search offers a choice between Qwant, Ecosia, Google, and Yahoo. These options will be displayed in random order and may vary depending on the country of activation of the Android device.
Google seems to have begun to test the screen of choice of the search engine in Android. A new version of Chrome mentions a “Search Engine Choice” setting that is not yet possible to test. However, this indicates that Google is actually preparing for implementation in 2020.
To not wait and change the search engine in Chrome on Android, you have to go to the browser settings. The basic options allow defining a search engine among Google, Bing, Yahoo! And Qwant.