Google finally signs new Firefox search deal

Mozilla has avoided a potential financial crisis by signing a new search deal with Google.

Google will remain the default search engine in Firefox, after the pair’s previous deal expired at the end of last month. The search partnership accounted for almost 85% of Mozilla’s revenue last year.

Google Search will continue to be the default search provider for hundreds of millions of Firefox users around the world

The terms of the new deal have not been disclosed, but with Google’s own Chrome browser overtaking Firefox in the global browser rankings, the search giant will have been in a much stronger negotiating position than it was three years ago, when the previous deal was reached. That deal was struck in August 2008, months before the existing deal expired and just before Google launched its own browser.

The new deal will last for “at least three additional years”, according to Mozilla. “Under this multi-year agreement, Google Search will continue to be the default search provider for hundreds of millions of Firefox users around the world,” said Gary Kovacs, Mozilla’s CEO.

Kovacs said Mozilla wouldn’t be revealing the precise financial terms of the deal because of “traditional confidentiality requirements”, meaning it won’t become clear whether the terms of the deal have worsened until Mozilla publishes its financial results next year.

The deal will ensure that hundreds of millions of searches made via the Firefox browser will still be largely diverted to Google, staving off the potential threat of Mozilla working with the search leader’s chief rival, Microsoft Bing. “Mozilla has been a valuable partner to Google over the years and we look forward to continuing this great partnership in the years to come,” said Alan Eustace, senior vice president of search at Google.