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If you’re a fan of uBlock Origin, don’t be surprised if it stops functioning on Chrome. The Google-owned browser has started disabling the free ad blocker as part of the company’s plan to phase out older “Manifest V2” extensions.
On Tuesday, the developer of uBlock Origin, Raymond Hill, retweeted a screenshot from one user, showing the Chrome browser disabling the ad blocker. “These extensions are no longer supported. Chrome recommends that you remove them,” the pop-up from the Chrome browser told the user.
In response, Hill wrote: “The depreciation of uBO in the Chrome Web Store has started.”
This occurs when the Chrome Web Store has already been discouraging users from downloading uBlock Origin, or even delisting the extension, with a warning that says “it doesn't follow best practices for Chrome extensions.” That said, PCMag was still able to download and use the extension over Chrome. So the disabling and delisting may not be wide-scale at the moment. Google didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Still, the phase out has been a long time coming, stretching back to 2019, when Google began work on limiting the capabilities of third-party Chrome extensions from being used for hacking purposes. A year ago, the company then decided it’d begin phasing out Chrome extensions built with the older Manifest V2 system to push software developers to adopt the more secure Manifest V3 framework.
The phase out officially began this past June, and since then Google has been ramping up the effort to eventually disable all V2 extensions, including uBlock Origin, despite its sizable user base at over 39 million downloads. As a result, some Chrome users have been criticizing Google and plan on ditching Chrome for alternative browsers, such as Brave or Firefox, that still support uBlock Origin.
“Chrome's Manifest V3 update will break uBlock Origin, putting advertiser's needs above long term users like myself. This was inevitable, that time has finally come,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.
But in response to the concerns, Google notes its Manifest V3 framework can still allow developers to create ad blockers for Chrome. “Over 85% of actively maintained extensions in the Chrome Web Store are running Manifest V3, and the top content filtering extensions all have Manifest V3 versions available,” the company said back in May.
This includes uBlock’s own uBlock Origin Lite, which uses Manifest V3 and has received positive reviews on the Chrome Web Store. Still, the ad blocker’s developer Raymond Hill has said the Lite version can’t match the full capabilities of the original uBlock Origin. Hill has created an FAQ going over the differences.
In the meantime, the Brave browser is using the controversy to urge users to switch to its own browser.
UPDATE: In a statement, Google merely said: "Now, over 93% of actively maintained extensions in the Chrome Web Store are running Manifest V3, and the top content filtering extensions all have Manifest V3 versions available —with options for users of AdBlock, Adblock Plus, uBlock Origin and AdGuard."