Firefox will display search results directly in the address bar in the future

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Mozilla is working on a feature for Firefox that will display search results directly in the address bar in the future—users will bypass the classic search engine results page. This will not only save users time but also strengthen their independence from centralized search engines. However, this comes at the cost of accepting sponsored results.

A Few Less Inputs

While conventional search suggestions in browsers merely provide suggestions for search queries that then lead to the search engine's results page, Firefox will display relevant answers directly in the future. This can include flight status information, website addresses, or local business recommendations. Mozilla argues that browser address bars today largely serve only as a detour to search engines, which is good for the providers of the latter but not for the users.

The technical challenge for Mozilla lay in data protection: an earlier attempt at the feature failed: Mozilla could not find a way where the company itself would not learn who is searching for what. Search engine providers would have an interest in exactly this user data, but Mozilla does not.

The architecture now developed uses the Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP) encryption protocol, in whose development Mozilla was involved. The procedure systematically separates knowledge of the user's identity from knowledge of the search content: when Firefox makes a search query, it is encrypted via OHTTP and sent to a relay server operated by the US cloud provider Fastly. This relay server can see the user's IP address but not the encrypted search text.

Three-Party Model Prevents Assignment

The relay server forwards the encrypted request to Mozilla servers, where it is decrypted. Mozilla can read the search text but does not know the sender's IP address. Mozilla can then directly provide an answer or retrieve it from specialized search services. No single party can assign a search query to a specific person; at least that is the plan.

Firefox will continue to display traditional search suggestions for all queries and will only display direct results when there is a high match with the presumed user intent. Similar to search engines, some of these results may be sponsored to fund Firefox. However, Mozilla emphasizes that neither the company nor the sponsor will know who the results are displayed to, and sponsored content will only be displayed at all if there is high relevance.

Initially Only Available in the USA

The rollout will initially be exclusively in the United States, as Mozilla needs to test the feature on a large scale, according to announcement. The system requires sufficient server capacity and a geographically distributed infrastructure to avoid noticeable latencies. An expansion to other regions will be evaluated based on the experience gained; accordingly, there is no information yet on availability in Germany.

Since the feature is still under development, it will be gradually introduced over the course of next year. Users can disable the feature in Firefox settings under “Search” by deactivating the option “Get suggestions during typing.” Those who want to disable the feature before it is available in the settings can set the parameter browser.urlbar.quicksuggest.online.enabled to false via about:config.

(fo)