How can I get rid of "Trending Searches" in Google when using FF?

[krs]

"Trending Searches" has to be one of the most annoying features being thrust down ones throat.
Can't figure out to get rid of that and go to what I had before, when Google was launched (I use that as my Firefox homepage) and when I just selected the search field in Google, I would get a list of my previous searches.
Now I get a list of Trending Searches which I find totally useless.
This change seems to have happened when I deleted cache and cookies in FF when the Mac was supposedly 'Hijacked'. That action got rid of the hijack but may have created this issue....or it was coincidence.
I don't really see how deleting cache and cookies would set FF to "Trending Searches"

I have tried numerous "google" suggestions to get rid of Trending Searches but none actually worked.
People can't even agree where this setting is controlled - some say Firefox, others say Google.

Anyway, I hope that perhaps someone in this group has had that issue as well and can give me some hints where to look and what preference settings to change.

2012 Mini, Mojave, FF Latest Extended Support Release

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Use a different search engine..like DuckDuckGo (which I've been using for many years)

 

[Rod]

"Trending Searches" is a part of Google Trends as you may already know. Google have invested a lot of time into their collection of "hot" searches and packaged it into a social media styled "service" to let users know what lots of other people (influencers) search for. Just a further attempt by Google to turn us all into a mindless bunch of consumer sheep (my personal opinion).
It is not so much a feature of your browser as a feature of the Google Search Engine. It works in exactly the same way on Edge, Opera, Firefox and Chrome. As you have already mentioned you use Google as your Firefox Home Page so Auto Complete and Auto Complete with Trending Searches will be turned on by default in your Google settings.

The catch here is you can only change your Google Search Settings from your Google Home page on Google Chrome.

Have a look at these instructions;
If you want to remove Google trending searches on a desktop:

1. Open google.com in your browser.
2. At the bottom right-hand side of the webpage, select Customize Google Chrome:
   
3. Click on Settings:
   
4. Select Search Settings from the pop up menu.
5. Find the Autocomplete with Trending Searches settings. Select Do not show popular searches.
   

The giveaway is in the second step, "Customise Google Chrome".
If you attempt to follow these steps in Firefox you'll find there is no "Customize Chrome" in the bottom right corner, just "Settings".
You can also achieve the same result in iOS if you have the mobile Chrome app but the method is slightly different. Here is the web site with the full instructions as per the above extract. Google Autocomplete: How to Get Rid of Trending Searches

My thinking is that once turned off in your Google account via Chrome browser the effect will be universal on any browser.

Alternatively, as already suggested, stop using Google as your search page/engine. Even if you successfully remove the feature from your searches you're still contributing your data to their data base.

 

[krs]

Use a different search engine..like DuckDuckGo (which I've been using for many years)

I tried DuckDuckGo quite a few years ago and foor some reason, can't remember, decided it wasn't for me.
But I can certainly try it again.

 

[krs]

"Trending Searches" is a part of Google Trends as you may already know. Google have invested a lot of time into their collection of "hot" searches and packaged it into a social media styled "service" to let users know what lots of other people (influencers) search for. Just a further attempt by Google to turn us all into a mindless bunch of consumer sheep (my personal opinion).
It is not so much a feature of your browser as a feature of the Google Search Engine. It works in exactly the same way on Edge, Opera, Firefox and Chrome. As you have already mentioned you use Google as your Firefox Home Page so Auto Complete and Auto Complete with Trending Searches will be turned on by default in your Google settings.

The catch here is you can only change your Google Search Settings from your Google Home page on Google Chrome.

Have a look at these instructions;
If you want to remove Google trending searches on a desktop:

1. Open google.com in your browser.
2. At the bottom right-hand side of the webpage, select Customize Google Chrome:
   
3. Click on Settings:
   
4. Select Search Settings from the pop up menu.
5. Find the Autocomplete with Trending Searches settings. Select Do not show popular searches.
   

The giveaway is in the second step, "Customise Google Chrome".
If you attempt to follow these steps in Firefox you'll find there is no "Customize Chrome" in the bottom right corner, just "Settings".
You can also achieve the same result in iOS if you have the mobile Chrome app but the method is slightly different. Here is the web site with the full instructions as per the above extract. Google Autocomplete: How to Get Rid of Trending Searches

My thinking is that once turned off in your Google account via Chrome browser the effect will be universal on any browser.

Alternatively, as already suggested, stop using Google as your search page/engine. Even if you successfully remove the feature from your searches you're still contributing your data to their data base.

Thanks,
I had seen and tried these instructions (along with others) before I posted here.
Worked for a day or so and then today "Trending Searches" were back.

I just changed that setting again - let's see what happens.

 

[ferrarr]

Turn Firefox "Auto Update" off, that may help. Or maybe it has to do with google?

 

[pm-r]

"Trending Searches" has to be one of the most annoying features being thrust down ones throat.
Can't figure out to get rid of that and go to what I had before,

My apologies if I missed reading that you found a solution, but if not maybe this would help if you haven't tried it already:

How to Disable Google Trending Suggestions on iPhone, iPad, and Mac?

Turn Off Google Trending Searches on iPhone, iPad and Mac

blog.pcrisk.com

Or maybe:

How to remove suggested search results in the address bar? - Google Chrome Community

- Patrick
=======

 

[krs]

I tried DuckDuckGo quite a few years ago and foor some reason, can't remember, decided it wasn't for me.
But I can certainly try it again.

OK,
Went to DuckDuckGo
Offered me a download link
So I downloaded and went through the verification steps and the install to the Application folder.
So far so good.
I then launch DuckDuckGo and get the message that the macOS I'm on is too old - that I need macOS 10.15 (I'm on 10.14)
WTH - Every crappy website knows I'm on macOS 10.14 but DuckDuckGo doesn't and makes me go through a download and install of an incompatible version?
Lost all confidence that they know what they are doing.

 

[krs]

My apologies if I missed reading that you found a solution, but if not maybe this would help if you haven't tried it already:

How to Disable Google Trending Suggestions on iPhone, iPad, and Mac?

Turn Off Google Trending Searches on iPhone, iPad and Mac

blog.pcrisk.com

Or maybe:

How to remove suggested search results in the address bar? - Google Chrome Community

- Patrick
=======

Thanks Patrick,
The suggestions in the link you posted actually don't work if followed verbatim since there is no "settings" in the top left corner - The "Settings" option is in the bottom left as Rod had indicated.

 

[krs]

Thanks,
I had seen and tried these instructions (along with others) before I posted here.
Worked for a day or so and then today "Trending Searches" were back.

I just changed that setting again - let's see what happens.

So far so good - "Trending Searches" are gone, but now I get a set of unrelated suggestions of some random list.
I have to see if I can find some other settings that gets me back to where I was originally.
The way this used to work is that it remembered the last set of search terms I had used and brought those up when I just clicked on the Google search field.
Now I get nothing when I do that and if IO type the first letter of a previous search, like "m" for mail.com, I get a list of suggestions that start with "m" that don't even include 'mail.com'.
There is probably a setting somewhere on Google that I need to change.

 

[IWT]

WTH - Every crappy website knows I'm on macOS 10.14 but DuckDuckGo doesn't and makes me go through a download and install of an incompatible version?
Lost all confidence that they know what they are doing.

I take your point without doubt.

But one explanation may be that DDG takes privacy as its top priority and is far less likely to know which macOS you have and they're very fussy about downloading it discretely - if I can put it that way.

Nevertheless, there's no excuse for not intimating the Operating Systems that it will serve. It should have clearly indicated that Mac OS 10.15 or later was a prerequisite for installation.

Ian

 

[MacInWin]

OK,
Went to DuckDuckGo
Offered me a download link
So I downloaded and went through the verification steps and the install to the Application folder.
So far so good.
I then launch DuckDuckGo and get the message that the macOS I'm on is too old - that I need macOS 10.15 (I'm on 10.14)
WTH - Every crappy website knows I'm on macOS 10.14 but DuckDuckGo doesn't and makes me go through a download and install of an incompatible version?
Lost all confidence that they know what they are doing.

I've never needed an app for DDG. I just replaced the default search engine in the browser with DDG and it works.

 

[Rod]

OK,
Went to DuckDuckGo
Offered me a download link

I think you may have misunderstood the suggestion. What you have downloaded I think is DuckDuck Go the web app. Much the same as the Google home page in the way it works but you don't need to do that.
In Firefox Search settings, like every web browser you can choose your default search engine. My suggestion was that you change that to DDG, it may well be Goigle at the moment. You can use the Address bar or add a Search bar in the same section but the idea is that you no longer use Google's search page, you don't login to Google, you don't need the DDG webpage, you search from the address bar of Firefox using the DDG search engine.

 

[pm-r]

Nevertheless, there's no excuse for not intimating the Operating Systems that it will serve. It should have clearly indicated that Mac OS 10.15 or later was a prerequisite for installation.

Unfortunately, at least for many of us not running or not being able to run the "latest and greatest" MacOS versions, there are far too many Developers offering their applications without providing the minimum basic Mac System Requirements. Very annoying and sloppy.




- Patrick
=======

 

[Jimmysb]

If I understand this correctly you are using Firefox for your browser I am using "115.0.3 (64-bit)@ and Google is your search engine:


Which I am, so where is this "Trending Suggestions", I don't ever remember seeing it on my Mac or my Win PC.

 

[krs]

I've never needed an app for DDG. I just replaced the default search engine in the browser with DDG and it works.

That's what I expected as well.

Turns out the issue is really my issue.
When I changed the home page on FF to DDG, I got the page I posted below.
The field to enter the search term was so much lighter that the link to download DDG below that that I automatically focussed on that.

So I trird the DDG search again - two questions:
1. I thought DDG brings up the same search results that Google but without the tracking. Doesn't seem like that.
2. Can I set up DDG to remember my current previous searches and show those automatically so that I can just click on them again? Or does their privacy prevent that?

 

[krs]

I think you may have misunderstood the suggestion. What you have downloaded I think is DuckDuck Go the web app. Much the same as the Google home page in the way it works but you don't need to do that.
In Firefox Search settings, like every web browser you can choose your default search engine. My suggestion was that you change that to DDG, it may well be Goigle at the moment. You can use the Address bar or add a Search bar in the same section but the idea is that you no longer use Google's search page, you don't login to Google, you don't need the DDG webpage, you search from the address bar of Firefox using the DDG search engine.

Yes,
Part of the problem also was that just changing the "Google" to "DDG" in FF didn't do the trick (as I expected). Google still showed up as the default.
One had to shut down and relaunch FF for the default search engine to change.

 

[IWT]

@krs
I have a feeling that I misled you in my post #11.

Try this, although it may be different with your macOS:

Open Safari > use "command plus comma" to enter Safari Preferences > click on Search > then click on Search Engines:

Do you see this?




That's how I got to DDG and, I suspect Jake too in hist post #12.

Because your OS is an earlier one, the above may not show.

Ian

 

[krs]

If I understand this correctly you are using Firefox for your browser I am using "115.0.3 (64-bit)@ and Google is your search engine:
View attachment 38528

Which I am, so where is this "Trending Suggestions", I don't ever remember seeing it on my Mac or my Win PC.

It shows up as soon as you select the search field in Google.

But it's an option that can be disabled which is what I'm trying to do.
I have no idea how it got enabled in the first place, I definitely didn't do it.

 

[krs]

@krs
I have a feeling that I misled you in my post #11.

Try this, although it may be different with your macOS:

Open Safari > use "command plus comma" to enter Safari Preferences > click on Search > then click on Search Engines:

Do you see this?

View attachment 38530


That's how I got to DDG and, I suspect Jake too in hist post #12.

Because your OS is an earlier one, the above may not show.

Ian

Thanks,
I explained in post #16 and #17 what happened.