Hi, running Brave Release v1.75.178 on Debian Linux. I wanted to change the search engine from Brave to DuckDuckGo but the only search engine offered is Brave, no other search engines are available.
I know how to do it because I’m running Brave on other computers as well, on Windows as well as Linux, and on those machines I made the change. Really weird, right ? Is it a change in this release and can I expect the same problem on my other machines when I upgrade ?
@User1307 all platforms have choices of search engines. Though Android version doesn’t let you add custom search engine at this time, but still have multiple choices and will add as you visit some places.
Anyway, guess big thing to ask you is how you installed Brave on your Linux. Such as which of the options seen at https://brave.com/linux/ did you use or did you grab it from even somewhere else entirely?
Hi ! Thanks for the follow-up. I used the command the codes from https://brave.com/linux page. The only detail I left out in my initial post (and I’m not sure if it matters) is that I only have the issue with Brave on Debian running in a virtual machine. Where I run Linux natively I have not come across this issue but on those machines, I’m running a slightly older version of Brave…
I’d say it probably matters. However, I’d need to tag in @Mattches to try to help, as he’ll know more on things to check.
Just checked and I’m able to change it in settings on same version (fresh install on ubuntu 24.10). Have you tested on another profile or reinstall? I can’t imagine VM would affect it.
Running Brave on the VM should not affect the ability to add or change your Search Engines. Can you please share a screenshot what it looks like on your end when you go to brave://settings/searchEngines?
@User1307 tagging as it’s been a few days, not to mention Mattches from Brave had tried to respond asking for some details. Can you confirm if you have yet updated to 1.75.180 and, if so, whether the issue was resolved or still a thing?
While we may not know what happened for them to be deleted, it may just be a case of having to add search engines manually and use them from there.
[How to i make google my default search engine v2](https://same issue - check this thread)
check this thread i am facing the same issue, unable to change the default search engine or add any other search engine. I am using Opensuse Tumbleweed as os, previous i was using brave but i have not faced the same issue with brave.
brave version: Version 1.75.178 Chromium: 133.0.6943.98 (Official Build) (64-bit)
The result i got from brave search after querying : “unable to change default search engine in brave Version 1.75.178 Chromium: 133.0.6943.98 (Official Build) (64-bit)”
Changing Default Search Engine in Brave
Brave Browser version 1.75.178 has removed the option to add custom search engines, which prevents users from changing the default search engine.23 This change was implemented as part of the browser’s design to prioritize privacy and control user experience by limiting the addition of external search engines.23
If you need to use a different search engine, you might consider using a different browser that allows for customization or using an extension that provides search functionality through a different engine.