en.Wedoany.com Reported - Google will begin phasing out support for Chrome extensions built on the older Manifest V2 system later this month, transitioning to the more secure Manifest V3 framework. This process has actually been underway for two years, but once completed, it will mean that extensions based on the old framework, such as uBlock Origin, will no longer work on the Chrome browser.

Google engineer Devlin Cronin stated on the Chromium review site that Manifest V2 extensions will no longer be allowed in any supported version of Chrome, and support for them will be removed. He explained that due to the complexity and technical debt brought by such extensions, along with the associated security risks, Google cannot maintain this feature indefinitely, but other browsers can continue to support these extensions as they see fit.

Google disabled Manifest V2 extensions in Chrome 138 last year, but workarounds were still available at the time. However, with the release of Chrome 150 and 151 this summer, the browser will fully transition to Manifest V3. According to The Next Web, Manifest V3 does not explicitly ban ad blockers, but it limits the number of filtering rules extensions can apply and eliminates dynamic blocking capabilities, which are key to tools like uBlock Origin effectively countering rapidly evolving ad delivery systems.

For uBlock Origin users on Chrome, there is an alternative: uBlock Origin Lite. According to AllAboutCookies.org, this lightweight version only allows partial tracking blocking, its blacklist is just a fraction of what the original version blocks, and it cannot perform the dynamic filtering that makes the original version effective.

On the uBlock Origin subreddit, Reddit user RraaLL wrote in late May that Firefox has stated it currently has no plans to remove the Manifest V2 framework, and uBlock Origin will continue to receive full support on that browser, adding that the extension performs best on Firefox and migrating to Firefox will improve the overall user experience. In a recent interview with PCMag, Mozilla's new Firefox head Ajit Varma emphasized this support. Firefox uses its own Gecko engine, while most other browsers, such as Edge, rely on Google's Chromium engine. Varma noted that the two major engines, WebKit and Chromium, are controlled by companies that benefit from using app stores, and many companies exist because there are no gatekeepers preventing them from entering.

Opera told Neowin that its browser will temporarily continue to support Manifest V2 extensions, though it previously stated last fall that it would not allow new Manifest V2 extension uploads and would not accept downloads of "older and less-used" extensions.

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