User level: Level 1 (5 points)I recently had my Safari search engine on my IPad Pro switch to Yahoo. I’ve since switched it back, but I was curious on how this would’ve happened without me having done it myself? I have no extensions or profiles that may have done this. Is this a bug or something to be concerned about?
Posted on Oct 29, 2026 4:57 PM
User level: Level 10 (105,996 points)Oct 30, 2026 8:06 AM in response to ParanoiaKo
I just have not seen that on an iPad without an Extension showing in the Safari settings or a Profile installed at Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, and you have already confirmed there are none.
That can happen on a Mac with a browser hijacker, but not on the iPad since there is no way for that to be installed in the System folders like it can on the Mac.
A glitch/bug in the OS may have caused it, but I still have not seen any reports of that with the current iPad OS or any previous one
The other thing I considered was if there is a new feature that synced the Safari Search Engine to other devices using the same Apple account, but I tested that as well on my devices and the Search Engine is still device dependent even though browsing history, tabs, and other Safari data can be synced to other devices. I wasn't even sure if you had any other devices using your Apple Account where that would be a possibility, but still wanted to rule it out.
Personally I would probably take the wait and see approach to determine if it happens again, but there is no harm in doing the full erase and restore from a backup either.
User level: Level 9 (64,078 points)Oct 30, 2026 9:33 AM in response to ParanoiaKo
Please follow this path,
iPad > Settings > scroll down > Apps > Safari > Search > Select from choice of Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia
If you updated iPad iOS recently (iPad OS 27.2) settings on rare occasion may be altered.
User level: Level 10 (105,996 points)Oct 29, 2026 5:06 PM in response to ParanoiaKo
I would change your Passcode. Anyone that knows it could be using your iPad.
User level: Level 1 (5 points)Oct 29, 2026 5:10 PM in response to Mac Jim ID
I understand the concern, but I am doubtful of that. Not too often I have the device idly sitting by. If there is no other answer aside from physical tampering would I be better off doing a full erase and restore?
User level: Level 1 (5 points)Oct 30, 2026 11:34 AM in response to Mac Jim ID
That's pretty spooky. I appreciate you going into such detail about the situation. I do have other apple devices connected, but I have never used a Yahoo search engine that could've synced over. I've read about a hijacker and have zero clue how that would've happened on an unjailbroken ipad. I only ever used it for netflix, youtube, and procreate. Never really using safari more much (I mainly use do research for school on my macbook)
The entire situation caught me by surprise and made me feel a little uneasy about my devices security. I've opted to do a full erase and set up as new in case of any compromises, but it's unfortunate how little information there is on this. Regardless, thank you for the feedback.
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256385607