Goodbye uBlock Origin: Chrome drops support for popular ad blocker and other apps soon
Users of uBlock Origin, one of the most popular ad blockers, will soon have to bid farewell to it. Google is changing the Chrome manifest from V2 to V3, which will deactivate uBlock Origin and many other apps. The manifest is a technical specification that regulates the permissions and functions of browser extensions. Manifest V3 severely restricts the possibilities of extensions, especially ad blockers.
The deactivation of uBlock Origin affects almost 40 million users. The Chrome Web Store is already showing a warning that uBlock Origin may soon no longer be supported.
It's no secret that Google is not a fan of Chrome users using adblockers to get rid of profitable advertising. However, the company has no way of banning them completely. According to the opinions of some Reddit users, Google at least wants to curb them by switching to Manifest V3. The technology giant justifies the switch with improvements in security and data protection.
Google points to alternatives like uBlock Origin Lite, which are compatible with Manifest V3 but do not deliver the same level of performance. The change seems unavoidable for Chrome users. Those unwilling to give up uBlock Origin will need to move to alternative browsers like Firefox or Brave.
Source(s)
Chrome Webstore (uBlock Origin)
