How to change search engine? (Clara)

RodRiquez · 02-21-2022, 09:42 AM

On Kobo Clara when I highlight a word in a book I can view a dictionary definition or click the WEB icon & search online for the term.

When I choose WEB it goes to Google & I have to do the 'accept cookies' rigamarole.
- I dont want to use google, can I change Kobo to another Search Engine?

davidfor · 02-21-2022, 05:27 PM

I frequently use the web search on my devices and I have no idea what you mean by "'accept cookies' rigamarole".

But, Kobo doesn't have a way to change the search engine. There might be a patch to do it, but, I don't remember.

RodRiquez · 02-21-2022, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

I frequently use the web search on my devices and I have no idea what you mean by "'accept cookies' rigamarole".

Google goes to a page where you have to agree to terms & accept cookies before you can access the results ~ or I get a message saying "please upgrade to a supported browser"
So its troublesome to be able to use.

RodRiquez · 02-21-2022, 06:42 PM

kobo support told me the browser is a trial feature & I should use a computer to search. The ereader is just for reading. So it seems this issue is beyond the scope of their support.

davidfor · 02-21-2022, 07:39 PM

Yes the browser is one of the "Beta features". They are not strictly supported. Kobo does fix problems with them, but, at a lot lower priority than the main parts of the device. And the browser will never have the features of a PC or tablet based browser.

For me, the search goes straight to the google search page. I don't know what the difference could be. It could be regional or that you have a proxy of some sort in place. Or a VPN could be making Google see you differently. You could try editing the config file and removing the "Browser" section in case one of the cookies is triggering this. Do you have any issues when using the Wikipedia search? Or the browser directly?

Also, you posted this in the wrong section. The "Kobo Tablets" is for the old Android based Kobo devices that are no longer supported. It would get more attention in the main Kobo area. I have asked the moderators to move it.

RodRiquez · 02-22-2022, 04:46 AM

OK David, thanks for your advice.

I have had Clara HD for about 18 months.
Google did used to work fine & this dictionary/web feature worked fine, but recently (few months) I kept seeing a cookie page, so I changed my beta browser home preference to use duckduckgo & that has worked well when using the browser directly.
However, the built-in search, in book reading, is only google.

Wikipedia & duckduckgo work fine, its just google I have this problem with.

After I posted here initially I then started getting the Google 'upgrade browser' message - i dont know if this was because I had failed the cookie questionnaire to their liking.
The cookie page shows a long page of google terms & conditions & you have to either 'sign in' or 'customise' - customise give a long page of opt-in / opt-out options for adverts & sharing data etc etc - I couldnt get through this task because the check boxes etc didnt work on the page using Clara.

This morning the "upgrade browser" page I was stuck with yesterday has gone back to the cookie-page. (I think they blacklist your IP if you fail the cookie page answers )
This time I chose to log-in with Google & then the search went through normally.
However, if I search for another word, even immediately, I have to go through the process again of logging-in or answering the cookie questions.

I moved from Japan to the UK a few months ago, im not sure when the problem started but it was certainly not the case in Japan. I dont have VPN but I am using my mobile phone as a wifi hotspot.

RodRiquez · 03-31-2022, 03:59 AM

I believe this affects everyone in UK (maybe all Europe) due to Google tracking privacy policies.
The only hope is for KOBO to just allow users to change the default Search Engine.
For me, a major feature of choosing this device has now been crippled.

Quoth · 03-31-2022, 05:42 AM

Google still tracks anyway and now promotes what you've visited before & also paid results. It's got poor.

Baffles me TVs and gadgets having no user setting for sharing, search, streaming service etc. Did netflix PAY to be on remotes? Also Google's Android TV is disaster compared to many other GUIs apart from privacy issues.

All those sites with google fonts, apis, tags, trackers & analytics are NOT made legal in EU by a Cookie acceptance banner. There is a day of reckoning coming. I use uMatrix instead of AntiVirus for malicious script blocking and privacy.

02-21-2022, 09:42 AM	#1
RodRiquez Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2020 Device: Clara HD	How to change search engine? (Clara) On Kobo Clara when I highlight a word in a book I can view a dictionary definition or click the WEB icon & search online for the term. When I choose WEB it goes to Google & I have to do the 'accept cookies' rigamarole. - I dont want to use google, can I change Kobo to another Search Engine? Last edited by RodRiquez; 02-21-2022 at 09:44 AM.

02-22-2022, 04:46 AM	#6
RodRiquez Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2020 Device: Clara HD	OK David, thanks for your advice. I have had Clara HD for about 18 months. Google did used to work fine & this dictionary/web feature worked fine, but recently (few months) I kept seeing a cookie page, so I changed my beta browser home preference to use duckduckgo & that has worked well when using the browser directly. However, the built-in search, in book reading, is only google. Wikipedia & duckduckgo work fine, its just google I have this problem with. After I posted here initially I then started getting the Google 'upgrade browser' message - i dont know if this was because I had failed the cookie questionnaire to their liking. The cookie page shows a long page of google terms & conditions & you have to either 'sign in' or 'customise' - customise give a long page of opt-in / opt-out options for adverts & sharing data etc etc - I couldnt get through this task because the check boxes etc didnt work on the page using Clara. This morning the "upgrade browser" page I was stuck with yesterday has gone back to the cookie-page. (I think they blacklist your IP if you fail the cookie page answers ) This time I chose to log-in with Google & then the search went through normally. However, if I search for another word, even immediately, I have to go through the process again of logging-in or answering the cookie questions. I moved from Japan to the UK a few months ago, im not sure when the problem started but it was certainly not the case in Japan. I dont have VPN but I am using my mobile phone as a wifi hotspot. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by RodRiquez; 02-22-2022 at 04:52 AM.

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02-21-2022, 05:27 PM	#2
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	I frequently use the web search on my devices and I have no idea what you mean by "'accept cookies' rigamarole". But, Kobo doesn't have a way to change the search engine. There might be a patch to do it, but, I don't remember.

02-21-2022, 06:42 PM	#4
RodRiquez Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2020 Device: Clara HD	kobo support told me the browser is a trial feature & I should use a computer to search. The ereader is just for reading. So it seems this issue is beyond the scope of their support.

02-21-2022, 07:39 PM	#5
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	Yes the browser is one of the "Beta features". They are not strictly supported. Kobo does fix problems with them, but, at a lot lower priority than the main parts of the device. And the browser will never have the features of a PC or tablet based browser. For me, the search goes straight to the google search page. I don't know what the difference could be. It could be regional or that you have a proxy of some sort in place. Or a VPN could be making Google see you differently. You could try editing the config file and removing the "Browser" section in case one of the cookies is triggering this. Do you have any issues when using the Wikipedia search? Or the browser directly? Also, you posted this in the wrong section. The "Kobo Tablets" is for the old Android based Kobo devices that are no longer supported. It would get more attention in the main Kobo area. I have asked the moderators to move it.

03-31-2022, 03:59 AM	#7
RodRiquez Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2020 Device: Clara HD	I believe this affects everyone in UK (maybe all Europe) due to Google tracking privacy policies. The only hope is for KOBO to just allow users to change the default Search Engine. For me, a major feature of choosing this device has now been crippled.

03-31-2022, 05:42 AM	#8
Quoth Still reading Posts: 13,935 Karma: 103895653 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	Google still tracks anyway and now promotes what you've visited before & also paid results. It's got poor. Baffles me TVs and gadgets having no user setting for sharing, search, streaming service etc. Did netflix PAY to be on remotes? Also Google's Android TV is disaster compared to many other GUIs apart from privacy issues. All those sites with google fonts, apis, tags, trackers & analytics are NOT made legal in EU by a Cookie acceptance banner. There is a day of reckoning coming. I use uMatrix instead of AntiVirus for malicious script blocking and privacy.

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