Ecosia becomes a default search provider in Brave browser

Gandalf_The_Grey · Jan 28, 2021

The green search provider Ecosia has announced that Brave browser’s 24 million users will be able to select its search engine from the default offerings. Although Ecosia funds its tree-planting efforts using search result ads, which Brave may block, Ecosia insists that you don’t have to alter any settings.

According to the latest data, Ecosia has around 15 million active users who have funded the planting of over 118 million trees through search ads since its inception in 2009. The search engine says that it anonymises all searches within one week, doesn’t sell your data to advertisers, encrypts search, doesn't use external tracking tools, and tracking can be turned off completely. With these privacy measures, the search engine may appeal to Brave users looking for a more private search experience.

As you start searching with Ecosia, the tree counter in the top right will start to increase. Once this counter hits 45, it means that you’ve done 45 searches which is enough to fund the planting of one tree. A fully-grown tree, over a year, sequesters around 22kg of CO2. While 45 searches may seem a lot, once the novelty of Ecosia wears off and you go about your day-to-day searches, the counter gets very high, very quickly.

Explaining why Brave users should pick Ecosia, the firm said:

“Why pick Ecosia? By using our profits for the planet instead of ourselves, we’ve been able to plant over 115 million trees. They remove thousands of tons of CO2 from the air while protecting wildlife, communities, and ecosystems. We steer clear of big monocultures, and look after the trees after they’ve been planted. And like Brave, Ecosia protects your privacy.”

To change your search provider in Brave, press the Menu button, navigate to Settings, and then go to Search Engine. If you’re on the latest version of the browser, you should see Ecosia listed as an option.