Brave replaces Google with its own privacy-centric Brave Search as the default search engine in its browser
As part of its ongoing push to eliminate Google as much as possible from our daily web experiences, Brave is removing Google Search as its default search engine. Source: Brave Browser .
Context & Ripple Effects
Brave first acquired the open-source search technology behind Cliqz, then introduced a non-tracking Brave Search beta as an all-in-one alternative to Google Search and Chrome. Making that product the browser default turns a separate service into part of Brave’s core browsing experience.
The move goes beyond the choice Google gave Chrome users through privacy-search options in Chrome: Brave is setting its own search product as the preselected path rather than merely offering an alternative.
First-order effects
- Brave browser users’ default search queries now go to Brave Search, removing Google Search from that position within Brave.
- Brave gains a built-in distribution channel for the search engine it developed from the Cliqz search-engine acquisition, while Google loses one browser’s default placement.
Second-order effects
- Brave Search must support the broader range of queries generated by default use, making search quality and feature coverage central to whether Brave retains users who can switch engines.
- Privacy-focused search competitors face a browser maker that can pair private browsing and search by default, rather than relying only on users to change settings.
Third-order effects
- If browser vendors increasingly own or tightly bundle search, default placement becomes a lever for independent search services to challenge Google’s distribution advantage.
- The episode points toward privacy browsers competing as vertically integrated browsing-and-search products, with user choice increasingly shaped by defaults rather than search-engine menus.
The trend: Privacy-oriented browsers are using control of the default search setting to build independent alternatives to Google-centered web discovery.