Is Switch My Search safe?
Switch My Search sends default search queries to switchmysearch.com through its search provider and redirect rules.
The extension sets switchmysearch.com as the browser's default search URL, so default-search terms are included in requests to that domain. Its background worker also installs a redirect rule that rewrites matching search navigations to switchmysearch.com/ext/search with the selected search engine source and original query parameters.
Who publishes itVPP Technologies L.L.C. - 12 other listings from the same operator, 2 of them carrying a finding
VPP Technologies L.L.C. - 12 other listings from the same operator, 2 of them carrying a finding
What this publisher told the store about itself, and the other listings that told it the same thing.
Same store account
2 other listings published from this account, 16k+ users between them, none of them carrying a finding.
Same operator - 10 listings
Published under a different store account, but sharing the registered address, contact or declared legal entity this one gave the store.
AI-generated. Findings may contain errors. Those marked Verified have been manually reviewed.
Publishers can request a review.
Findings
Switch My Search routes every search through switchmysearch.com
The extension makes itself your browser's default search engine, then a background rule redirects every address-bar search to switchmysearch.com with your full query in the URL, continuing on to a third-party ad-dispatch domain.
- Severity
- Medium unwanted
- Type
- Unexpected
- CWE
- CWE-359
- Source
- Dynamic sandbox
You perform a search from the browser's address bar using the default search engine.
The extension set this engine at install time, without a separate consent prompt.
The search is sent to switchmysearch.com with your exact query text in the URL.
A background rule then rewrites the request to a variant of the same destination chosen in the extension's popup.
- Your search textbest noise cancelling headphones 2026
The exact phrase you searched for, carried in the q= parameter to switchmysearch.com and on to the next hop.
- Selected-engine flagsrc=yahoo
Tells switchmysearch.com's backend which redirect variant to use next: default, google, bing, or yahoo.
Observed during dynamic analysis: a chain of redirects (307, then 302, then 301, ending in a 200 response) that rewrites src=default to a chosen-engine variant on the same host, then continues to a third-party ad-dispatch domain. The search text remained present in the URL at every hop.
Search provider override and the redirect rule
Same code; the file already ships unminified
manifest.json"chrome_settings_overrides": { "search_provider": { "encoding": "UTF-8", "favicon_url": "https://switchmysearch.com/favicon.ico", "is_default": true, "keyword": "search", "name": "Engine", "search_url": "https://switchmysearch.com/ext/search?src=default&q={searchTerms}" }}Same code; the file already ships unminified
background.jsfunction generateDynamicRule(src) { const ruleId = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000); const dynamicRule = { "id": ruleId, "priority": 1, "action": { "type": "redirect", "redirect": { "regexSubstitution": `https://switchmysearch.com/ext/search?src=${src}&\\1` } }, "condition": { "regexFilter": ".*src=default&(.*)", "resourceTypes": ["main_frame"] } }; return [dynamicRule];}function applyDynamicRules(src = "yahoo") { removeAllDynamicRules(); const dynamicRule = generateDynamicRule(src); chrome.declarativeNetRequest.updateDynamicRules( { removeRuleIds: [0], addRules: dynamicRule }, function () { /* ... */ } );}chrome.runtime.onInstalled.addListener(function() { applyDynamicRules(); chrome.storage.sync.set({ selectedButton: "yahooBtn" });});- switchmysearch.com
Installed as your default search provider; receives the full query text on every address-bar search and issues the onward redirect.
- axt.iadispatcher.com
Ad-dispatch domain reached via a downstream redirect from switchmysearch.com; the query text is still present in the URL at this hop.
What it can do
Permissions this extension asks for, as declared in version 1.1.3. Asking for a permission is not a finding on its own - it is what the extension can do if it chooses to.
Read and change your data on switchmysearch.com
https://switchmysearch.com/*
Store data in your browser
storage
Block and redirect the requests your browser makes
declarativeNetRequest
Where it sends data
Destinations our analysis observed Switch My Search contacting. Sending data somewhere is not a finding on its own - an extension that syncs your settings has to talk to its own server - but it is where your data can go, and who else it goes to.
- switchmysearch.com
Switch My Search sends data to switchmysearch.com. No other extension we have analysed sends data here.