Do you think it's possible to Setup about:: Config without google
Dear moz://a team Support, For my personal use but also professionally I use Firefox for a long time. But recently our customers have refused US contracts because Firefox uses Google. We must understand that it is not Firefox our worries but the fact that Firefox uses Google. Do you think there is a possibility to edit about:: Config to change this situation. Otherwise we will lose our customers and that is not possible. Thank you for your help with the answer you can give me. Kind regards Ron Kernoa
Chosen solution
Hi kevren, I'm not sure which Google service you mean.
Is it the Play store and the automatic updating through Play services? It's possible to sideload apps like Firefox without going through Play, or another app store or similar service, but then you would need to update each app manually. Mozilla doesn't recommend that.
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (10)
Hi Ron, Firefox connects to Google for a number of things:
- Google is the default search engine in much of the world. This is easy for the user to change: Change your default search settings in Firefox. There might be a way to preset this to something else, for example using policy files with Firefox Enterprise Edition, but I don't think this has been in about:config for the past couple of years.
- Firefox connects to Google servers for SafeBrowsing data for malware and phishing protection. Users can disable this feature. See: How does built-in Phishing and Malware Protection work? and How to stop Firefox from making automatic connections.
- Firefox connects to Google servers for the Widevine plugin needed to play DRM-protected media. Users can disable this feature. See: Watch DRM content on Firefox.
Are those the concerns your customers have, or something else?
What "uses Google" is the issue?
jscher2000 said
Hi Ron, Firefox connects to Google for a number of things:
- Google is the default search engine in much of the world. This is easy for the user to change: Change your default search settings in Firefox.
For some locales to be more specific.
Google has no longer been the global default search engine ever since November 2014. This is when Yahoo and some other search engines became the new defaults depending on locale as Mozilla was trying to get more away from Google.
https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2014/11/19/promoting-choice-and-innovation-on-the-web/
As of Firefox 57.0 and later any locales of Firefox that had Yahoo as the search engine default was changed back to Google as the default ...reluctantly and Yahoo was completely removed from Fx 59.0 and on. https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2017/11/14/firefox-features-google-as-default-search-provider-in-the-u-s-canada-hong-kong-and-taiwan/
Some of the known reasons for the change is in https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2017/12/05/mozilla-files-cross-complaint-against-yahoo-holdings-and-oath/ and https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/contributors/712925
As said if the Google search engine is the issue then either change to another one or remove it.
Modified by James
Hello guys, Thank you so much for you replies. At first I would like to apologize for the bad writing of my question. When I talked about Google it was not the search engine that I thought of but the fact that the browser uses the Google service.
Thanks anyway.
Kevren
Chosen Solution
Hi kevren, I'm not sure which Google service you mean.
Is it the Play store and the automatic updating through Play services? It's possible to sideload apps like Firefox without going through Play, or another app store or similar service, but then you would need to update each app manually. Mozilla doesn't recommend that.
Hi, might find this interesting : https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2018/03/13/it-pros-and-cios-sign-up-to-try-firefox-quantum-for-enterprise/
kevren said
the browser uses the Google service.
'Not sure if this is what you are talking about :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Google_services
The purpose of a browser is to fetch information resources and display them on the user's device.
If users are not trying to access any of these Google services, the browser won't connect to them in any way.
jscher2000 said
Hi Ron, Firefox connects to Google for a number of things:
- Google is the default search engine in much of the world. This is easy for the user to change: Change your default search settings in Firefox. There might be a way to preset this to something else, for example using policy files with Firefox Enterprise Edition, but I don't think this has been in about:config for the past couple of years.
- Firefox connects to Google servers for SafeBrowsing data for malware and phishing protection. Users can disable this feature. See: How does built-in Phishing and Malware Protection work? and How to stop Firefox from making automatic connections.
Are those the concerns your customers have, or something else?
- Firefox connects to Google servers for the Widevine plugin needed to play DRM-protected media. Users can disable this feature. See: Watch DRM content on Firefox.
jscher2000 said
Hi Ron, Firefox connects to Google for a number of things:
- Google is the default search engine in much of the world. This is easy for the user to change: Change your default search settings in Firefox. There might be a way to preset this to something else, for example using policy files with Firefox Enterprise Edition, but I don't think this has been in about:config for the past couple of years.
- Firefox connects to Google servers for SafeBrowsing data for malware and phishing protection. Users can disable this feature. See: How does built-in Phishing and Malware Protection work? and How to stop Firefox from making automatic connections.
Are those the concerns your customers have, or something else?
- Firefox connects to Google servers for the Widevine plugin needed to play DRM-protected media. Users can disable this feature. See: Watch DRM content on Firefox.
Sorry to have taken so long to answer you, I thank you for the interest you have found in my question. With all the information provided I understood where my problem was.
The answer was given to me by jscher2000 in: "Firefox connects to Google servers for SafeBrowsing data for malware and phishing protection. Users can disable this feature. See: How does built-in phishing and Malware Protection work? and How to stop Firefox from making automatic connections. "
Thank you very much for your help at all and for the time spent helping me find a solution to my problem. Kind regards. Ron
None of this is helpful as everything I do now Yahoo opens up except when I click on a saved site. If I click on the home symbol & a blank search box with "search the web" appears in it with no Google or any name on the page as only a B&W Firefox symbol in top left is there which will colorize only when I put arrow over it. I uninstalled FF & re-installed it & going to try it again but nothing I do/did will get rid of Yahoo.
Jimheo9a
This thread was about a specific issues with Google services and not a Search engine like Yahoo! Search.
Please stay with your own thread here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1234758
Thank You It is fixed! Sorry but I got a bit confused/pissed there as Yahoo still kept popping up & was useless so I had to go to history & reopen pages. I guess it was a 'Honey' coupon app that wormed in after I bought something from Sears or Amazon recently. I really appreciate the help thanks again. Laid off all Summer, I go back to work on Monday & can make a donation. See Ya!