Chrome Web Store Begins Warning That Ad Blockers Like uBlock Origin Will Be Removed

Google is currently pushing the Manifest v3 protocol in Chrome, which indeed offers significant security improvements. However, a downside is that it will impair the effectiveness of ad-blocking and other extensions.

The iconic open-source ad blocker, uBlock Origin, has been warned by Google. When users search for this extension on the Chrome Web Store, Google displays a message indicating it does not comply with best practices and will subsequently be removed.

It's not just ad blockers that are receiving warnings from Google; in fact, all extensions based on the Manifest v2 protocol will be flagged and eventually removed from the browser store by Google.

Once removed, users will not be able to install or update through the browser store online but can still manually install them by downloading the CRX package. However, this offline installation method won't support updates and its future usability is uncertain.

Previously, Landian.news mentioned that Google had reserved a one-year transition period for enterprises. Ordinary users can continue using uBlock Origin by modifying Chrome's enterprise policies, but Google will also remove it after one year.

Meanwhile, Google has been sending out notifications through Chrome, warning that extensions based on Manifest v2 will soon be disabled. Users are encouraged to look for alternative extensions, though all v2-based extensions will ultimately be disabled regardless.

Enterprises must migrate their internally used extensions to the Manifest v3 protocol within this year or they will become unusable, potentially forcing a switch to other browsers.

In terms of browser support, browsers like Firefox and Brave are also gradually adopting the Manifest v3 protocol. However, some popular extensions like uBlock Origin will continue using the v2 protocol, essentially being whitelisted.

For users of uBlock Origin, the development team has already released a Manifest v3-based uBlock Origin Lite version that can still be used on Chrome, albeit with potentially reduced blocking effectiveness. uBlock Origin and uBlock Origin Lite are two different extensions, so users with uBlock Origin installed will not be automatically updated to the Lite version and must manually install it.

uBlock Origin Lite Version: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/ublock-origin-lite/ddkjiahejlhfcafbddmgiahcphecmpfh