Google has been phasing out popular ad blocking extensions on its Chrome browser for several years, and it appears that the kill switch might finally be flipped with an update coming this summer. As 9to5Google reports, Chrome 150 and 151 are expected to finalize the transition to Google’s Manifest V3 extensions platform, effectively ending support and workarounds for continued use of MV2 extensions like uBlock Origin.
Reporting suggests that Chrome 150 is expected to be released on June 30, with Chrome 151 to follow sometime in July. If your ad blocking extension stops working entirely in the coming weeks, these updates are why.
Why Google is killing ad blockers
As we’ve written, this change has been in the works for Chrome since 2019. The move to Manifest V3 was intended to make extensions more secure, but it also severs access to the Web Request API that ad blockers use to block traffic to and from malicious sites. The resulting restrictions on developers are expected to make ad blockers’ content filtering capacity worse on MV3 compared to MV2, which is why some users relied on workarounds to turn disabled extensions back on for as long as possible.
Other Chromium-based browsers like Microsoft Edge and Opera have been expected to follow suit, as they run on the same underlying technology as Google Chrome. However, Opera representatives told Neowin that the platform intends to continue supporting MV2 extensions for “as long as it’s technically reasonable,” with the potential to phase out “less-used MV2 extensions” eventually while transitioning to MV3.
What to do if your Chrome ad-blocking extension dies
One possible solution: Switch to an updated version of an older ad blocker. Popular options with Manifest V3 versions include uBlock Origin Lite, Adblock, Adblock Plus, Adguard, and Ghostery. These may not meet everyone’s needs, but you’ll have to try them out to be sure.
Alternatively, you could leave Chrome (and Edge) altogether. Firefox, which has its own engine called Gecko, is a more privacy-focused browser that still allows extensions, though it’s not without a few downsides. Brave, meanwhile, has a built-in ad blocker and other solid privacy features, and DuckDuckGo is a solid option too.
A reminder that while ad blockers have plenty of benefits, they’re not perfect. In addition to cutting revenue for creators you might want to support, they can actually come with their own privacy concerns. To mitigate this, make sure you know what data is being collected by your chosen extension and how it is used.
