How to make Safari the Default Browser on my iMac and get rid of DuckDuckGo?

shar1144 wrote:

I switched New windows open with: > Homepage - when I opened a new window, it opened safari.com. It's a travel website to plan African safaris. I didn't expect that. Please share any explanation for why it's not just a new window.

The reason is that https://safari.com is a travel website to plan African safaris. That is what you designated as your Homepage.

• You can change your Homepage to anything you want, Apple for example, or anything else.

Since you were not expecting to research safari adventures in Africa, it led you to changing "new windows/tabs" open with > Empty Page instead. Nothing wrong with that either; you got a brand new completely blank page instead of https://safari.com.

Now, when you type some text in Safari's Smart Search Field and press the Return key, Safari will first attempt to load a specific web page, but if whatever you type is not immediately recognized as an address for a specific page on the Internet (also known as a URL) then Safari will perform an Internet search for the text you entered.

The Search Engine it uses to do that is whatever you designated in Safari's Settings. Apparently, you decided to use DuckDuckGo for that service, and DuckDuckGo is a fine choice. If you prefer to use something else though, Customize searching in Safari on Mac - Apple Support explains how to change it: Use Settings > Search and choose one the other four from the dropdown menu.

• Unlike at least one other browser Safari has no built-in search capability.

Complicated enough for you yet? 😄

shar1144 wrote:

In Safari Settings > General I chose the following:

Safari opens with: A new window

New windows open with: Start Page

New tabs open with: Start Page

Homepage: https://safari.com

Do those appear to be okay?

Sure — if that's what you want, but from your initial description is sounds as though you want new windows or tabs to open with your Homepage and not Safari's Start Page. If that's the case, change those two settings to indicate "new windows / tabs" open with: > Homepage ... or something other than Start Page.

It's been so long since I used Safari for my I don't know what an actual "a new window" looks like. I wish I could send a screenshot of what I see. One thing I see when, I scroll down is a box with a title above it "Privacy Report" the box reads: "Safari prevents trackers from profiling you." It also has in small blue text "Show More."

Should this box appear in "a new window"?

Yes, that's normal, if that's what you want, but your chosen Settings don't appear to be what you want. Try changing them.

On that same Settings window you will see Start Page Favorites, which can also be certain Bookmarks, Tab Groups... etc.

As you can see Safari has grown far more customizable in recent years.

To learn how to capture, edit (if necessary), and post a screenshot to this site refer to the Appendix in Writing an effective Apple Support Communities Question - Apple Community. Skip the entire first part and scroll down about half way.

Check your Safari's Settings > General.

New windows open with: > choose. If you chose Homepage, then read

• Homepage: The homepage you set in the Homepage field below.

Enter the URL of the webpage you want to use as your homepage, or click Set to Current Page to use the current active webpage.

Refer to Change General settings in Safari on Mac - Apple Support

What part of DDG remains? Did you change Safari's Search Engine to something other than it?