Android users in the European Economic Area see a browser choice screen and a search engine choice screen during device setup because European law requires it. The mechanism comes from two separate pieces of enforcement: a 2018 European Commission antitrust decision against Google over Android, and the Digital Markets Act, which took effect later and applies to Google as a designated gatekeeper. The screens are not a Google product decision, and they do not appear outside the covered countries.
The story is worth getting right because it is routinely described as Google voluntarily adding options, or as a one time European fine that Google paid and moved on from. Neither is accurate. What follows sticks to documented facts from the Commission and from Google’s own compliance pages.
Where this came from: the 2018 Android decision
On 18 July 2018 the European Commission fined Google 4.34 billion euros for imposing illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators in order to cement its dominant position in general internet search. The case, AT.40099, identified three distinct practices.
First, tying. Google required manufacturers to install the Google Search app and the Chrome browser app as a condition of licensing its app store. Second, exclusivity payments. Google paid certain large manufacturers and mobile network operators on condition that they exclusively installed the Google Search app on their devices. Third, obstruction of alternative Android versions. Manufacturers that wanted to install Google apps were prevented from selling even a single device running an alternative version of Android that Google had not approved.
The Commission ordered Google to bring the conduct to an end within 90 days, with the prospect of further penalties of up to 5% of Alphabet’s average daily worldwide turnover for continued failure to comply. That order is the origin of the choice screen idea. Google’s remedies in that period changed several times, which is one reason the screens people remember from a few years ago look different from the ones shipping now.
The Digital Markets Act took over
The current legal basis is not the 2018 decision. It is the Digital Markets Act, a general regulation rather than a single company enforcement action.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 18 July 2018 | Commission fines Google 4.34 billion euros in the Android case and orders the conduct stopped within 90 days. |
| 1 November 2022 | The Digital Markets Act enters into force. |
| 2 May 2023 | The Digital Markets Act becomes applicable. |
| 6 September 2023 | The Commission designates six gatekeepers, Alphabet among them, with a maximum of six months to comply. |
| March 2024 | Google begins showing the current choice screens on Android devices in the EEA. |
Eight Alphabet services are designated as core platform services under the regulation: Google Play, Google Maps, Google Shopping, Google Search, YouTube, Android, Google’s online advertising service, and Google Chrome. Having both Android and Chrome and Search designated is why the obligations land on the setup flow specifically. The regulation also prohibits gatekeepers from stopping users uninstalling software or apps that came with the device, which is the companion rule to the choice screens.
What the screen does
Google’s compliance documentation describes two separate screens shown during initial device setup on Android phones and tablets in the EEA. The list of providers may vary by country.
| Screen | What your selection does |
|---|---|
| Search provider | Sets the provider used in the home screen search box, sets the default search provider in Chrome if Chrome is installed, and installs the provider’s app if it is not already on the device. |
| Browser | Installs the chosen browser app if it is not already present, and sets it as the default browser for opening links from other applications. |
Google’s March 2024 update stated that the screens were available to all eligible Pixel users in the EEA and that device manufacturers were required to implement them on new devices distributed in the EEA. So the experience depends partly on who made your phone and when it shipped.
Changing your mind later
Neither choice is permanent, and the regulation’s whole point is that defaults must be changeable. On Android, defaults live in Settings under Apps, then Default apps, where the browser app and the digital assistant and similar defaults are listed. The exact wording and depth of that path varies by manufacturer skin and Android version, so search Settings for the word default rather than following a fixed path from an article.
Search inside a browser is a separate setting from the system default, which trips people up. Chrome keeps its own search engine list under Settings, then Search engine. Changing the system search app does not necessarily change what happens when you type into another browser’s address bar, and vice versa.
What actually changed
Here it is worth being careful. The mechanism is documented and verifiable: the screens exist, they are mandatory in the EEA, they install and set defaults, and the underlying regulation is public. The effect on market share is a different kind of claim, and published estimates vary considerably depending on who measured, over what period, in which countries, and whether they counted device setups or search queries.
What can be said without stretching is structural. Smaller search engines and browsers now get a placement they previously had to pay a manufacturer for, and they get it at the single moment when a user is actively configuring the device rather than months later when switching feels like a chore. Whether that translates into durable share is genuinely contested, and anyone quoting a confident number should be asked which dataset it came from.
The regulation also produced changes beyond the choice screens, including the ability to uninstall apps that ship with the device and various changes to how Google links its own services together in Europe. If you work on the search visibility side of this, our notes on the Search Console sitemap report and on how Google has handled URL parameter settings cover the tooling that changed alongside it.
Outside the EEA
None of this applies. The Digital Markets Act is European law and its obligations attach to designated gatekeepers in respect of the European market. A phone bought in the United States, Canada, India or Japan runs the same Android but does not get the setup screens, and the defaults are whatever the manufacturer and carrier arranged.
That geographic split is the practical reason a support article, a screenshot, or a friend’s description of their phone may not match yours. Before troubleshooting a missing choice screen, check where the device was sold and whether it was set up from scratch.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries does the choice screen cover?
The European Economic Area, which is the European Union member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Google’s compliance page refers to the EEA rather than listing countries individually, and it notes that the set of providers offered may differ from one country to another.
Why did I not see a choice screen on my phone?
The most likely reasons are that the device was set up before the requirement reached it, that it was restored from a backup carrying existing defaults, that it is an older device rather than a new one distributed in the EEA, or that it is not in a covered country. The screens appear during initial setup, not afterwards.
Did the 2018 fine cause the current screens?
Indirectly. The 2018 decision ordered Google to stop the tying and exclusivity practices, and choice screens were part of the response. The screens shipping today exist to comply with the Digital Markets Act, which is a separate and broader legal instrument that came later.
Can I still use Google after choosing something else?
Yes. The choice sets a default, it does not remove anything. You can install and use Google Search, Chrome or any other app afterwards, and you can switch the default back at any point through Android’s default apps settings.
Does this apply to iPhones?
Apple is also a designated gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act and has its own obligations, including browser choice on iOS in the EU. The rules come from the same regulation, but the implementation and the timing are Apple’s, so the flow does not look like Android’s.
The bottom line
The choice screens are compliance engineering. A 2018 antitrust decision established that Google’s arrangements with manufacturers were illegal, and the Digital Markets Act then turned the underlying principle into a standing obligation for designated gatekeepers. The screens are what that obligation looks like on a phone.
If you need the specifics for a policy document or a product decision, read the sources rather than coverage of them. The Commission’s 2018 Android press release sets out the three practices and the fine, the gatekeepers portal lists the designated services and dates, and Google’s own choice screen page describes exactly what each selection changes. For adjacent reading, see our explainers on how Google preview programs work and on why governments watch big technology AI.
