Customize your Ecosia Search through settings

Ecosia has a range of settings that can help improve your search experience. This article explains the Ecosia search settings you can change on the Ecosia website. It does not cover:

  • your browser’s own settings (cookies, default search engine, etc.), or
  • settings in the Ecosia mobile apps

In this article: 

Note: Your Ecosia search settings are stored in your browser using cookies. They are not synced between devices or browsers, even if you are logged in to an Ecosia account.

How to access your Ecosia settings

On desktop

  1. Go to https://www.ecosia.org.
  2. Click the profile icon at the top right of the Ecosia homepage.
  3. Select Settings from the dropdown menu.

Screenshot access point on desktop

On mobile (browser)

  1. Open your mobile browser and go to https://www.ecosia.org.
  2. Click on the profile icon.
  3. Select Settings from the dropdown menu.

Ecosia mobile app users

Some settings in this article may look different or be controlled directly by your device (for example, language and theme). App‑specific settings are covered in separate help articles.

How to customize your Ecosia search experience through settings

Once you open Settings on ecosia.org/settings, you’ll see several options you can adjust.

Screenshot Ecosia Settings

Search region

What it does

The Search region setting changes the region from which your search results originate. This helps you get results that are more relevant to a particular country or region.

We recommend choosing:

  • the region where you are currently located, or
  • the region you want results for (for example, where a service operates).

Ecosia’s list of regions is based on what our search partners provide, so the selection can be limited.

Changing the search region does not automatically change the language of the Ecosia website. That is controlled by the Website language setting.

Website language

What it does

The Website language setting changes the interface language of Ecosia (menus, buttons, messages).

  • It controls the language of the Ecosia website, not necessarily the language of your search results.
  • Search results are mostly influenced by your search region and the languages of the websites available on the web.

Ecosia mobile app users

The language of the Ecosia app is determined by your device’s language settings.

Preferred search provider

Ecosia is a multi‑provider search engine. Depending on your region and setup, you may be able to select a preferred search provider.

  • You can choose a provider only after setting your cookie preferences.
  • The providers available to you depend on:
    • your region/market
    • your device and browser
    • local partnerships and regulations

If multiple providers are available, a Preferred search provider option will appear in your Ecosia settings. If there is only one option for your region, this setting will not be displayed.

If you don’t see the provider selector, we are currently not offering multiple providers in your region, you are automatically using the default search provider for your region.

For more details about how search providers and search results work on Ecosia, please see our dedicated article on Search providers.

Safe search

What it does

Safe Search helps filter adult or explicit content from your search results.

In Ecosia’s settings, you can set SafeSearch to:

  • Moderate

    or

  • Strict

Customizable Safe Search is not available in all countries. If the Safe Search option is not visible in your settings, Safe Search is automatically set to Strict in your region and cannot be changed.

Overviews

What it does

Overviews show AI-generated summaries, highlighting useful information above your search results for certain queries. They appear only when our systems detect that an overview is likely to be helpful and reliable for your search.

  • Overviews do not appear for every search.
  • You will only see the Overviews setting if this feature is available for your selected region and search provider.

For more information about how Ecosia’s AI features work, including environmental impact and privacy, please see the article about generative AI on Ecosia.

Theme

What it does

Ecosia supports both light and dark modes.

  • By default, Ecosia follows your browser or system theme.
  • You can override this in your Ecosia settings and choose:

    • Light mode

      or

    • Dark mode

Ecosia mobile app users

The theme of the Ecosia app normally follows your device’s theme settings. Depending on your platform, you can adjust this in your device and/or app settings.

New tab

If you enable the New tab option:

  • Searches you type in your browser’s address bar will open in a new tab, instead of reusing the current tab.

If you prefer searches to stay in the same tab, you can turn off this option.

Auto suggestions

If you enable Auto suggestions:

  • Ecosia will show suggested queries as you type in the search bar (for example, popular searches or completions of what you’re typing).

If you find this distracting or prefer a cleaner search bar, you can turn Auto suggestions off.

Notifications

If you enable Notifications:

  • Ecosia can send you notifications about our tree planting projects, such as milestones or planting updates.

The way notifications appear may depend on your browser and whether you use an Ecosia account. They may show up, for example, as browser notifications or in‑product messages.

How to save your Ecosia Search Settings permanently

Ecosia saves your settings in a cookie in your browser. If your browser is set to block or delete cookies (for example, when you close the browser), your Ecosia settings may reset each time.

To keep your settings, make sure your browser allows cookies from ecosia.org.


Browser-Specific Instructions:


General steps for other browsers:

If your browser is not listed above, you can generally follow these steps:

  1. Open your browser Settings.
  2. Go to the section for Privacy & security, Cookies, or Site data (wording may vary).
  3. Make sure your browser is allowed to save cookies for https://www.ecosia.org, and that these cookies are not deleted automatically when you close the browser.

  4. If your browser supports site‑specific exceptions, add:

    https://www.ecosia.org

    as a site that is always allowed to save cookies.

  5. Go back to https://www.ecosia.org, open the menu (☰), and select Settings.
  6. Choose your preferred settings and click Save.

Why some settings may not appear

You might not see all of the options described in this article. This can happen if:

  • A feature is not yet available in your region (for example, Overviews or adjustable Safe Search).
  • There is only one available search provider for your region, so Preferred search provider setting is not shown.
  • You are using a specific device, browser, or app version where some settings are not supported.
  • Your browser is blocking or deleting cookies, preventing Ecosia from saving your settings.

If a setting is not visible, it usually means the default option for your region and provider is being applied automatically.

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