Google's Chrome Web Store is warning that the ad blocker uBlock Origin and other extensions may soon be blocked, as part of the company's removal of the Manifest V2 extension specification
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“This extension may soon be unsupported because it does not follow best practices for Chrome extensions,” the Chrome Web Store page for uBlock Origin states.
The warning includes a link to a Google support bulletin that states that the browser extension may be disabled to better protect user privacy and security.
The new warnings were first reported by users on X, who saw a different message in the Chrome Web Store saying that the extension was no longer available.
The new notice recommends that users switch to a different ad blocker that supports Manifest V3, such as uBlock Original Lite and other ad blockers. Many Chrome users are now saying that they will switch to other browsers if uBlock Origin is blocked.
There is nothing unsafe about uBlock Origin and possibly other extensions displaying this warning. Rather, this warning appears as part of Google's, which uBlock Origin uses.
In August, Google began warning users directly in the browser that the extension might soon be disabled and that they should find alternatives. At the time, uBlock Origin's lead developer and maintainer, Raymond Hill, explained that these warnings were a result of Google dropping support for the Manifest V2 (MV2) extension platform in favor of Manifest V3 (MV3).
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These versions of the Chrome Manifest are specifications for creating Chrome extensions that describe the rules, permissions, and APIs that developers.
In 2019, Google announced that Manifest V2 would be deprecated in favor of a Manifest V3 extension specification, which first began shipping with Chrome 88 in December 2020. However, the new Chrome Manifest V3 introduced significant technical challenges for extension developers, especially those requiring greater control over web browser features, such as ad blockers, forcing them to create new extensions with limited features (such as Hill's uBlock Origin Lite).
While uBlock Origin Lite may work well for some users, those who need advanced filtering or visit specific websitesmay find that they have a more limited experience. The developer of uBlock Origin has created an FAQ explaining the differences between the uBlock Origin Manifest V2 and the new uBlock Lite Manifest V3.
Even after Manifest V2 is removed, users can continue to use the Manifest V2 extension until June 2025 using the ExtensionManifestV2Availability. This policy allows businesses and other users to control the availability of the Manifest v2 extension on Linux, Mac, Windows , and ChromeOS.
As uBlock Origin continues to work as usual in Firefox, both Brave Browser and Vivaldi say they will continue to support Chrome Manifest V2, users can still find both Chromium-based browsers and alternatives that support the popular content filter and ad blocker.
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uBlock Origin is a powerful and versatile ad blocking tool that has won the appreciation of many users worldwide. It is available as an extension for various browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Edge, and offers the ability to block not only ads but also many types of unwanted content, such as trackers and pop-ups. Using filter lists, it gives users control over the content they want to visit, improving page loading speed while protecting their privacy online.
Source: bleepingcomputer
