Sometimes I'm surprised when someone asks me a tech question that I just assumed everyone knew the answer to, like recently when I was asked about changing the default Internet search engine on the iPhone. It's an easy switch, and as I was reminded, if you don't ask you won't learn.
iOS includes Google, Yahoo!, and Bing as built-in search engine options for Mobile Safari and other iOS-based Web browsers that look to Safari's settings for your search engine choice. The default is Google, and it only takes a few taps to change that to Yahoo! or Bing. Here's how:
You can choose which Internet search engine Mobile Safari uses
- On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, tap Settings
- Scroll down the settings list and tap Safari
- Tap Search Engine
- Tap the search engine you want to set as your default. The default always has a check next to its name.
iOS lets you choose between the three big Internet search players
Now any time you use the search field in Mobile Safari, it'll use your favorite Internet search engine -- as long as that engine is Google, Yahoo!, or Bing. It's any easy change, and something your new-to-the-iPhone friends may not know.