diff --git a/.npmrc b/.npmrc
index 95bd5da9108..ba2a102998a 100644
--- a/.npmrc
+++ b/.npmrc
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 runtime = electron
 target_arch = x64
-brave_electron_version = 8.0.9
+brave_electron_version = 8.0.10
 chromedriver_version = 2.38
-target = v8.0.9
+target = v8.0.10
 disturl=https://brave-laptop-binaries.s3.amazonaws.com/atom-shell/dist/
 build_from_source = true
diff --git a/app/browser/reducers/aboutNewTabReducer.js b/app/browser/reducers/aboutNewTabReducer.js
index fa5fa549881..0981b109c09 100644
--- a/app/browser/reducers/aboutNewTabReducer.js
+++ b/app/browser/reducers/aboutNewTabReducer.js
@@ -13,11 +13,17 @@ const { calculateTopSites } = require('../api/topSites')
 const aboutNewTabReducer = (state, action) => {
   switch (action.actionType) {
     case appConstants.APP_SET_STATE:
+      // only show private search engine override options if needed
+      // (ex: not shown if a region specific default is provided)
       const useAlternativePrivateSearchEngine = getSetting(settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE, state.get('settings'))
-      state = aboutNewTabState.mergeDetails(state, {
-        newTabPageDetail: {
+      let newTabPageDetail = {}
+      if (getSetting(settings.SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE, state.get('settings'))) {
+        newTabPageDetail = {
           useAlternativePrivateSearchEngine
         }
+      }
+      state = aboutNewTabState.mergeDetails(state, {
+        newTabPageDetail: newTabPageDetail
       })
       break
     case appConstants.APP_TOP_SITE_DATA_AVAILABLE:
@@ -30,11 +36,25 @@ const aboutNewTabReducer = (state, action) => {
       }
       break
     case appConstants.APP_CHANGE_SETTING:
-      if (action.key === settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE) {
-        state = aboutNewTabState.mergeDetails(state, {
-          newTabPageDetail: {
-            useAlternativePrivateSearchEngine: action.value
+      if (action.key === settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE ||
+          action.key === settings.SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE) {
+        const showAlternativePrivateSearchEngines = action.key === settings.SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE
+          ? action.value
+          : getSetting(settings.SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE, state.get('settings'))
+
+        const useAlternativePrivateSearchEngine = action.key === settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE
+          ? action.value
+          : getSetting(settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE, state.get('settings'))
+
+        let newTabPageDetail = {}
+        if (showAlternativePrivateSearchEngines) {
+          newTabPageDetail = {
+            useAlternativePrivateSearchEngine
           }
+        }
+
+        state = aboutNewTabState.mergeDetails(state, {
+          newTabPageDetail: newTabPageDetail
         })
       }
   }
diff --git a/app/renderer/reducers/urlBarReducer.js b/app/renderer/reducers/urlBarReducer.js
index 4017b88b613..2382983685d 100644
--- a/app/renderer/reducers/urlBarReducer.js
+++ b/app/renderer/reducers/urlBarReducer.js
@@ -43,7 +43,11 @@ const updateSearchEngineInfoFromInput = (state, frameProps) => {
     if (frameProps.get('isPrivate')) {
       // handle private tab search with default search provider
       const useAlternateDefaultPrivateSearchProvider =
-        getSetting(isTor(frameProps) ? settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE_TOR : settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE)
+        getSetting(settings.SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE)
+          ? getSetting(isTor(frameProps)
+            ? settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE_TOR
+            : settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE)
+          : false
       if (useAlternateDefaultPrivateSearchProvider === true) {
         // DuckDuckGo hard-coded as Private Tab default provider
         // if asked to use a privacy-centric 'alternative'
diff --git a/app/sessionStore.js b/app/sessionStore.js
index 83fd5695b4b..0ced30fa2a3 100644
--- a/app/sessionStore.js
+++ b/app/sessionStore.js
@@ -1016,15 +1016,40 @@ module.exports.runImportDefaultSettings = (data) => {
   return data
 }
 
-module.exports.setDefaultSearchEngine = (immutableData) => {
-  const defaultLocale = locale.getDefaultLocale(true)
-  let defaultSearchEngine = config.defaultSearchEngineByLocale.default
+const getCanonicalCountryName = () => {
+  const countryName = (app.getCountryName() || '').replace(/\0/g, '')
+  switch (countryName) {
+    case 'US':
+    case 'Vereinigte Staaten':
+    case 'en_US.UTF-8':
+    case 'es_US.UTF-8':
+      return 'USA'
+
+    case 'France':
+    case 'Frankreich':
+    case 'FR':
+    case 'fr_FR.UTF-8':
+      return 'France'
+
+    case 'Germany':
+    case 'Deutschland':
+    case 'Allemagne':
+    case 'DE':
+    case 'de_DE.UTF-8':
+      return 'Germany'
+  }
+  return countryName
+}
 
-  for (let entry in config.defaultSearchEngineByLocale) {
-    if (entry === defaultLocale) {
-      defaultSearchEngine = config.defaultSearchEngineByLocale[entry]
-      break
-    }
+module.exports.setDefaultSearchEngine = (immutableData) => {
+  let defaultSearchEngine = config.defaultSearchEngineByCountry.default
+  const countryName = getCanonicalCountryName()
+  const countrySpecificEntry = countryName && config.defaultSearchEngineByCountry[countryName]
+
+  if (countrySpecificEntry) {
+    defaultSearchEngine = countrySpecificEntry
+    // don't promote private tab engine override if region specific default search engine is set
+    immutableData = immutableData.setIn(['settings', settings.SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE], false)
   }
 
   return defaultSearchEngine
@@ -1098,13 +1123,13 @@ module.exports.loadAppState = () => {
 
     locale.init(immutableData.getIn(['settings', settings.LANGUAGE])).then((lang) => {
       immutableData = setVersionInformation(immutableData)
-      app.setLocale(lang)
 
       // Set default search engine for locale (if not already set)
       if (immutableData.getIn(['settings', settings.DEFAULT_SEARCH_ENGINE]) == null) {
         immutableData = module.exports.setDefaultSearchEngine(immutableData)
       }
 
+      app.setLocale(lang)
       resolve(immutableData)
     })
   })
diff --git a/js/about/newprivatetab.js b/js/about/newprivatetab.js
index 8ef505c5f31..21ed2b021c8 100644
--- a/js/about/newprivatetab.js
+++ b/js/about/newprivatetab.js
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ class NewPrivateTab extends React.Component {
           }
           {
             isTor &&
+            this.props.newTabData.hasIn(useAlternativePrivateSearchEngineDataKeys) &&
             <div className={css(styles.privateSearch)}>
               <div className={css(styles.privateSearch__setting)}>
                 <p>
diff --git a/js/about/preferences.js b/js/about/preferences.js
index 2cde5a14653..227fd1fe6ef 100644
--- a/js/about/preferences.js
+++ b/js/about/preferences.js
@@ -277,6 +277,9 @@ class SearchTab extends ImmutableComponent {
   }
 
   hoverCallback (rows) {
+    if (!getSetting(settings.SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE, this.props.settings)) {
+      this.props.onChangeSetting(settings.SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE, true)
+    }
     this.props.onChangeSetting(settings.DEFAULT_SEARCH_ENGINE, rows[1].value)
   }
 
@@ -289,11 +292,15 @@ class SearchTab extends ImmutableComponent {
         onClick={this.hoverCallback.bind(this)}
         tableClassNames={css(styles.sortableTable_searchTab)}
       />
-      <SettingsList>
-        <DefaultSectionTitle data-l10n-id='privateTabsSearchSettingsTitle' />
-        <SettingCheckbox dataL10nId='useDuckDuckGoForPrivateSearch' prefKey={settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE} settings={this.props.settings} onChangeSetting={this.props.onChangeSetting} />
-        <SettingCheckbox dataL10nId='useDuckDuckGoForPrivateSearchTor' prefKey={settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE_TOR} settings={this.props.settings} onChangeSetting={this.props.onChangeSetting} />
-      </SettingsList>
+      {
+        getSetting(settings.SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE, this.props.settings)
+        ? <SettingsList>
+          <DefaultSectionTitle data-l10n-id='privateTabsSearchSettingsTitle' />
+          <SettingCheckbox dataL10nId='useDuckDuckGoForPrivateSearch' prefKey={settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE} settings={this.props.settings} onChangeSetting={this.props.onChangeSetting} />
+          <SettingCheckbox dataL10nId='useDuckDuckGoForPrivateSearchTor' prefKey={settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE_TOR} settings={this.props.settings} onChangeSetting={this.props.onChangeSetting} />
+        </SettingsList>
+        : null
+      }
       <DefaultSectionTitle data-l10n-id='locationBarSettings' />
       <SettingsList>
         <SettingCheckbox dataL10nId='showOpenedTabMatches' prefKey={settings.OPENED_TAB_SUGGESTIONS} settings={this.props.settings} onChangeSetting={this.props.onChangeSetting} />
diff --git a/js/constants/appConfig.js b/js/constants/appConfig.js
index 3bf67ec2a52..b4f657020c4 100644
--- a/js/constants/appConfig.js
+++ b/js/constants/appConfig.js
@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ module.exports = {
     'general.spellcheck-languages': Immutable.fromJS(['en-US']),
     'search.default-search-engine': null,
     'search.offer-search-suggestions': false, // false by default for privacy reasons
+    'search.show-alternate-private-search-engine': true,
     'search.use-alternate-private-search-engine': false,
     'search.use-alternate-private-search-engine-tor': true,
     'tabs.switch-to-new-tabs': false,
diff --git a/js/constants/config.js b/js/constants/config.js
index 859b6a8f33d..2d764c815eb 100644
--- a/js/constants/config.js
+++ b/js/constants/config.js
@@ -42,12 +42,12 @@ module.exports = {
     defaultSearchSuggestions: false,
     maxHistorySites: 10
   },
-  // NOTE: names here correspond to `name` field in:
+  // NOTE: values here correspond to `name` field in:
   // js/data/searchProviders.js
-  defaultSearchEngineByLocale: {
+  defaultSearchEngineByCountry: {
     // Example entries look like this:
-    // 'en-US': 'GitHub',
-    // 'es-MX': 'YouTube',
+    // 'Germany': 'YouTube',
+    // 'France': 'GitHub',
     'default': 'Google'
   },
   defaultOpenSearchPath: 'content/search/google.xml',
diff --git a/js/constants/settings.js b/js/constants/settings.js
index 589e764be78..c8abfb5cc38 100644
--- a/js/constants/settings.js
+++ b/js/constants/settings.js
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ const settings = {
   SPELLCHECK_LANGUAGES: 'general.spellcheck-languages',
   // Search tab
   DEFAULT_SEARCH_ENGINE: 'search.default-search-engine',
+  SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE: 'search.show-alternate-private-search-engine',
   USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE: 'search.use-alternate-private-search-engine',
   USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE_TOR: 'search.use-alternate-private-search-engine-tor',
   OFFER_SEARCH_SUGGESTIONS: 'search.offer-search-suggestions',
diff --git a/js/contextMenus.js b/js/contextMenus.js
index de5d969e9d4..e9f2b6d78b2 100644
--- a/js/contextMenus.js
+++ b/js/contextMenus.js
@@ -51,8 +51,11 @@ const isLinux = platformUtil.isLinux()
  */
 const getSearchUrl = (activeFrame, searchTerms) => {
   const searchUrl = (
-    (getSetting(settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE_TOR) && frameStateUtil.isTor(activeFrame)) ||
-    (getSetting(settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE) && activeFrame.get('isPrivate'))
+    getSetting(settings.SHOW_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE) &&
+    (
+      (getSetting(settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE_TOR) && frameStateUtil.isTor(activeFrame)) ||
+      (getSetting(settings.USE_ALTERNATIVE_PRIVATE_SEARCH_ENGINE) && activeFrame.get('isPrivate'))
+    )
   )
   ? 'https://duckduckgo.com/?q={searchTerms}'
   : appStoreRenderer.state.getIn(['searchDetail', 'searchURL'])
diff --git a/js/settings.js b/js/settings.js
index f0c468d5d71..bbe96862038 100644
--- a/js/settings.js
+++ b/js/settings.js
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ const getDefaultSetting = (settingKey, settingsCollection) => {
       return contributionDefaultAmount(settingKey, settingsCollection)
     // >> locale is intialized (which determines default search engine)
     case settings.DEFAULT_SEARCH_ENGINE:
-      return config.defaultSearchEngineByLocale.default
+      return config.defaultSearchEngineByCountry.default
   }
   return undefined
 }
diff --git a/test/unit/app/browser/reducers/aboutNewTabsReducerTest.js b/test/unit/app/browser/reducers/aboutNewTabsReducerTest.js
index 6a370672637..bb130be9685 100644
--- a/test/unit/app/browser/reducers/aboutNewTabsReducerTest.js
+++ b/test/unit/app/browser/reducers/aboutNewTabsReducerTest.js
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ describe('aboutNewTabReducerTest', function () {
   })
 
   describe('useAlternativePrivateSearchEngine', function () {
-    const initialState = Immutable.fromJS({
+    let initialState = Immutable.fromJS({
       settings: { },
       about: {
         newtab: { pinnedTopSites: [] }
diff --git a/test/unit/app/sessionStoreTest.js b/test/unit/app/sessionStoreTest.js
index 192f8dd921f..f98988b6a18 100644
--- a/test/unit/app/sessionStoreTest.js
+++ b/test/unit/app/sessionStoreTest.js
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ describe('sessionStore unit tests', function () {
     }
   }
   const fakeConfig = {
-    defaultSearchEngineByLocale: {
+    defaultSearchEngineByCountry: {
       default: 'MetaCrawler'
     }
   }
@@ -1987,26 +1987,26 @@ describe('sessionStore unit tests', function () {
   })
 
   describe('setDefaultSearchEngine', function () {
-    let getDefaultLocaleSpy
+    let getCountryNameSpy
 
     beforeEach(function () {
-      getDefaultLocaleSpy = sinon.spy(fakeLocale, 'getDefaultLocale')
+      getCountryNameSpy = sinon.spy(fakeElectron.app, 'getCountryName')
     })
 
     afterEach(function () {
-      getDefaultLocaleSpy.restore()
-      if (fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByLocale['en-US']) {
-        delete fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByLocale['en-US']
+      getCountryNameSpy.restore()
+      if (fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByCountry['USA']) {
+        delete fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByCountry['USA']
       }
-      if (!fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByLocale.default) {
-        fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByLocale.default = 'MetaCrawler'
+      if (!fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByCountry.default) {
+        fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByCountry.default = 'MetaCrawler'
       }
     })
 
-    it('calls getDefaultLocale with true', function () {
+    it('calls app.getCountryName', function () {
       const input = Immutable.fromJS({settings: {}})
       sessionStore.setDefaultSearchEngine(input)
-      assert(getDefaultLocaleSpy.calledOnce)
+      assert(getCountryNameSpy.calledOnce)
     })
 
     it('defaults to `default` entry', function () {
@@ -2016,14 +2016,14 @@ describe('sessionStore unit tests', function () {
     })
 
     it('matches a locale specific entry (if present)', function () {
-      fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByLocale['en-US'] = 'Yahoo'
+      fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByCountry['USA'] = 'Yahoo'
       const input = Immutable.fromJS({settings: {}})
       const output = sessionStore.setDefaultSearchEngine(input)
       assert.equal(output.getIn(['settings', settings.DEFAULT_SEARCH_ENGINE]), 'Yahoo')
     })
 
     it('does not change input if there is no default in config', function () {
-      delete fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByLocale.default
+      delete fakeConfig.defaultSearchEngineByCountry.default
       const input = Immutable.fromJS({settings: {}})
       const output = sessionStore.setDefaultSearchEngine(input)
       assert.deepEqual(input, output)
diff --git a/test/unit/lib/fakeElectron.js b/test/unit/lib/fakeElectron.js
index e7af97252c6..c10c7e87a2d 100644
--- a/test/unit/lib/fakeElectron.js
+++ b/test/unit/lib/fakeElectron.js
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ const fakeElectron = {
     getPath: (param) => `${process.cwd()}/${param}`,
     getVersion: () => '0.14.0',
     setLocale: (locale) => {},
+    getCountryName: () => { return 'US' },
     quit: () => {},
     exit: () => {}
   }),
diff --git a/tools/cibuild.py b/tools/cibuild.py
index 62ceaa9674e..9cc3f270694 100755
--- a/tools/cibuild.py
+++ b/tools/cibuild.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 import subprocess
 import sys
 import os.path
-MUON_VERSION = '8.0.9'
+MUON_VERSION = '8.0.10'
 CHROMEDRIVER_VERSION = '2.38'
 SOURCE_ROOT = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(__file__)))
 TARGET_ARCH= os.environ['TARGET_ARCH'] if os.environ.has_key('TARGET_ARCH') else 'x64'