A lot of people outside of the US don't want to use translated software. I grew up on English software and prefer it that way, so I never download the Danish translated version of Firefox.

This is not uncommon at all.

So given the broad usage of the US version of Firefox around the globe there need to be some level of localization in the services that are more sophisticated than simply assuming that a Yahoo search from the search bar must originate from the US.

I never thought of that, very interesting. Obviously it's not ideal but you could download the GB/UK edition. English language and outside the US so the search engine should still be Google.

You could of course change your default back to being Google, which is easy to do in Settings => Search (or just click the "Change Search Settings" in the new search bar). It's a problem for Mozilla though, since they are updating users that they haven't indented to update.

But then, going back to my original problem - does Mozilla get credit for my searches? I always felt good about using Firefox and recommending Firefox to my peers, because Firefox usage brings them nickels that add up.

So is the deal with Google over, on a global scale, or just for the US? And if I'm using the en_US version, while in Europe, does that bring them anything? That's what I'd like to know.

Maybe, but if it works out in the US they could expand. Also, my desktop browser remained with its settings intact after the update, but my Android Firefox converted to Yahoo as the default, even though I'm not in the US - maybe it has something to do with Google Play, I don't know.

It's fine for me, as converting back to Google as the default is easy. But as I've said, I hope they'll still struck a deal with Google for non-US markets that do not have an alternative to Google (like China or Russia do). Because that way users like myself can keep supporting them indirectly.