As DMA takes place, Google set to tweak its search engine, browser experiences

Google is set to tweak a few things on how its popular search engine works, as the European Digital Market Act (DMA) comes into place this week. 

The Mountain View tech giant said in an announcement on Tuesday that they acknowledged implementing numerous changes to adhere to new regulations. These changes, however, come at the cost of removing some helpful features from their search results, such as the Google Flights unit, which previously assisted users in finding businesses.

Android users can look forward to a simpler way to switch their preferred search engine or browser. Google is introducing new choice screens, building upon the successful testing done with insiders recently. This feature will also be available on Chrome for desktop and iOS users shortly.

You can also opt out of linking your Google services altogether if you prefer not to share your data across different Google products and services. This option will be available alongside the new consent banners asking for your explicit approval for linking.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has been designated as one of the gatekeepers, a term used by European authorities to describe companies with a large impact in the market and have a monopoly potential due to their powerful sizes. 

Microsoft, ByteDance (TikTok owner), Amazon, Apple, and Meta (formerly Facebook) are also gatekeepers.