If you changed the defaults, it was kept. If you never set a search engine, the shipped default was changed (and clearly mentioned as such in the release notes not to mention all over the press, so saying "behind my back" is quite funny).
Then he can switch it after having read the release notes pointing it out? The behind the back part was unwarranted, so the only thing that's remaining really is "I preferred the previous default" which doesn't quite jive with the "I'm skeptical regarding privacy" complaint that was made.
Then that's just bad design. If there was a possibility of them switching out the pre-determined defaults then the default choices should have been asked of the user from the beginning.
But then, it's hard to make money that way so I can understand why they wouldn't do that.
EDIT: you edited, but I agree the "behind the back" isn't quite right.
There's default settings, and then there's "default" settings. I think of Debian's debconf and how there are different levels of prompts when installing a package.
A good compromise would be to ask on use. The first time someone searches say "What service do you want to complete this with?" and have Yahoo/Yandex pre-selected. Then never ask again.
The never asking again is the key part. IE's setup dialog is a problem because it's either answer a bunch of annoying questions now or answer a bunch of annoying questions later. It should be a choice of setup now or don't bother me again (unless I activate the setup wizard myself).
I don't think I stated they should ask for every single setting in the app. Exaggerating to support your claim is not the way to go.
But, considering we're discussing a rather popular and commonly used feature that is front-facing in the browser; yes, they should ask up front which search engine provider you would prefer to use. Especially if they plan for the likelihood to change the default, which may be a user's preferred choice.
Also, since they were receiving money from Google to have it be the default search engine and they switched to Yahoo because they got another/better deal; it is about the money.
EDIT: another thought, if the choice provided has a high bounce rate then obviously it would just go with a determined default in that case. Hopefully it wouldn't prevent them from using the app because they declined to set preferences on first run. If they chose not to set the preference and the default later changes, then it's on them.
Internet Explorer 8 used to do this on first run - that is, prompting you to confirm your default search provider and whatnot. [1]
It sucked, because most people would open IE, expect the browser, instead get this dialog instead of the browser, and just click the "ask me later" button each time, thereby loading the browser with defaults. And then of course, it comes up again the next time you start the browser.
Back in my technician days, I dealt with a lot of tickets about this. Even a cursory glance at the window explains what it is and what it does, and it only takes like three clicks to finish the process and then never deal with it again. Most people didn't care, they just wanted the damn window out of their way so they could open the browser and do their job, so they select the option that leads to the lest friction - go away and ask me later.
The point being, what you suggest is not an improvement of the user experience. The number of people so invested in the default search engine that they make value judgments about what comes set by default is much lower than the people who would be annoyed by a prompt to set it.
Average users don't freaking read their screens. If they did, frontline tech support people would be nearly out of a job.
I'm not sure about the latest version since I rarely use it, but I'm fairly sure that feature existed beyond IE8. But that feature existed for those very people that complained about it, because they were also the types to complain about some setting or another that wasn't doing what they expected even though the browser asked for them to make that setting. It's you either get complaints at the beginning or the end. You will always, always have a percentage of people who not only don't understand how things work, they'll go out of their way to avoid learning how it works. You can't avoid that. The prompt is for people who may actually want to know how the software they are using actually works.
But hey, everybody has their opinion on the matter. I, for one, feel that if the app is going to have settings with defaults then the developers shouldn't be changing them at random times changing the experience of the user without prompting them. But if they are, then the user should be prompted at the beginning with an explanation that "hey! we may change this setting later so this is to make you aware of it" so that they can choose their own default that hopefully should never be changed again. My advocating for the prompt in the beginning isn't because I think it's a good idea, it's because I think changing settings that a user has been operating under without their consent is a bad idea. This is my proposed solution to what I feel is a bad idea.
I woke up one day (after clicking update) to find my default search engine set to Yahoo and ads in my new tab page. You can mention it all you want in the release notes, but users don't expect nor want those kinds of things to change.
The only thing more behind-the-back than that is Chrome yanking Java (well, NPAPI) with no warning in Update 42
I had it set to DDG prior. After upgrade it was Yahoo.
I know that Hanlon's Razor tells me to suspect it was just a bug. But the current environment of money and politics makes it hard to ignore the alternative.
