The multi-year transition of Google Chrome extensions to Manifest V3 is entering its final phase, and one of the biggest victims of that change could be uBlock Origin, probably the most popular ad and content blocker on the Internet.
As The Next Web reports, Google has begun removing the last mechanisms that allowed users to keep older Manifest V2 extensions, effectively ending the era where full uBlock Origin could work in Chrome.
At the heart of the whole story is Manifest V3, a new standard for Chrome extensions that Google has been developing for years. The company claims that the new architecture brings better performance, greater security and less risk of misuse of extensions. Indeed, research shows that Manifest V3 removes a large number of APIs used by malicious extensions and significantly reduces the scope for certain types of attacks.
However, the same mechanisms that make it difficult for malicious extensions to work are also a problem for the most advanced ad blockers.
The key change involves restricting the use of an API known as webRequest, which allowed extensions like uBlock Origin to analyze and block network requests in real-time before content is loaded. Manifest V3 introduces a more restrictive system called declarativeNetRequest, which is more efficient from a performance perspective, but provides significantly less flexibility.
This is why the original uBlock Origin never got the full Manifest V3 version
Its author Raymond Hill warned earlier that it is not possible to transfer all the functionality of the extension to the new system without significant compromises. Instead, uBlock Origin Lite was developed, a simplified version that works within Manifest V3 limitations, but does not offer the same level of control and advanced filtering capabilities.
uBlock Origin has become one of the most important tools for protecting privacy on the Internet over the years. In addition to blocking ads, the extension is used to prevent user tracking, remove unwanted scripts, and protect against certain security risks. Because of this, critics argue that Manifest V3 affects not only advertisements but also the ability of users to control what is loaded in their browser.
Google rejects accusations that the change is motivated by protecting its own advertising business. The company points out that the vast majority of actively maintained Chrome extensions have successfully adapted to the Manifest V3 standard and that the goal of the project is to improve the security of the entire ecosystem.
However, the perception of part of the users remains different.
Google is the world’s largest digital advertising company, so the fact that its browser introduces restrictions that affect the most effective ad blockers inevitably raises doubts. Critics argue that it is difficult to completely separate security arguments from business interests.
At the same time, competing browsers are trying to take advantage of the situation
Mozilla has repeatedly emphasized that Firefox continues to support the more powerful APIs needed for advanced content blockers to work. This is precisely why some users who do not want to give up the original uBlock Origin are already migrating to Firefox. Some other Chromium browsers, like Brave, try to maintain a certain level of compatibility, but they too depend on the changes coming from the Chromium project in the long run.
This change has wider significance than the fate of a single extension.
Manifesto V3 is an example of an increasingly pronounced conflict between platforms that want more control over their ecosystem and users who want more freedom of customization. Just as Apple and the European Union are fighting over the openness of mobile platforms, there is also a debate in the browser world about how much control users should have over the content they see on the Internet.