A Google plan to change the way Chrome handles third-party browser extensions is generating worries it'll cripple several popular ad-blockers.
The change is actually designed to prevent a hacker-controlled Chrome extension from ever interfering with the browser's internet traffic. In the event you do download a bad extension, it'll only be able to observe the network traffic, not modify it over Chrome's webRequest API.
The only problem is that the same change threatens to affect a number of ad-blocking extensions for Chrome, including uBlock Origin, Ghostery and AdGuard, which have millions of users.
On Tuesday, the worries were expressed in a Chromium bug report when the developer of uBlock Origin, Raymond Hill, warned that the upcoming restriction to Chrome extensions would render his software useless. According to Hill, the change will prevent his blocker from detecting and then filtering out online ads.
The senior technologist for Amnesty international also chimed in with the same worries. "These proposed changes to Chrome's webRequest API, while they have their reasons, will make many extensions' life a lot harder, if not impossible," said Claudio Guarnieri in a tweet.
In response, Google told PCMag that the proposed change has not been made final. "We want to make sure all fundamental use cases are still possible with these changes and are working with extension developers to make sure their extensions continue to work while optimizing the extensions platform and better protecting our users," the company said in an email.
Although Chrome browser extensions can be quite useful, they can also present a serious security threat if under the control of a hacker. This happened last year when a Chrome extension from Mega.nz, a cloud storage provider, was tampered with to steal passwords from people's accounts.
The potential security danger is why Google needs to crack down on the broad API access, according to Chrome security head Justin Schuh."The alternative is that any extension can steal all your cookies and manipulate any content on every page you visit. Unfortunately that's how any API with the capability of the webRequest API must work," he said in a tweet on Wednesday.
"Ad blockers will still work, but certain types of content manipulation that some ad blockers rely on for specific features will have to be done differently in the future," Schuh added in a separate tweet.
However, Google may have a tough time convincing developers the proposed change is merely a security-based decision. That's because the company earns most of its revenue from selling online ads.
The proposed change to Chrome will also probably carry over to Microsoft's Edge browser. Last month, Microsoft revealed that the company's browser was not only going to switch over to Google's Chromium rendering engine, but will also support Chrome browser extensions in the future.