Google's move to the Manifest V3 platform in Chrome (technically a change to Chromium, so it will affect all web browsers that use that browser engine) is reportedly going into effect soon, as Chrome users are being warned that this is the case.
The move from Manifest V2 to the new V3 version of the platform (which regulates how browser extensions work) has been a process that has been a long time in the making and promises to bring significant changes on many fronts.
As Ars Technica reports, this appears to be actually happening right now, with Chrome users seeing warnings that “this extension may soon end support” for some V2 extensions (as these will need to be updated to V3, once the platform is fully implemented in Chrome).
One type of extension that will be most affected is ad blockers, due to the way V3 restricts some extensions’ capabilities and how they interact with a web page. And as Bleeping Computer discovered, some Chrome users who have uBlock Origin installed have started seeing notifications warning them that this particular ad-blocking extension will soon no longer be supported. The pop-up warning also apparently offers advice suggesting they “remove or replace it with similar extensions” from the Chrome Web Store.
A final farewell to Manifest V2
In short, Google appears to be wrapping up the process of removing existing Manifest V2 extensions, though as noted, it’s been a very slow process (in fact, Manifest V3 was first revealed six years ago). More recently, Google stated that V2 extensions would no longer be supported in test builds of Chrome starting in June 2024, and this process now appears to be picking up steam (in the release version of the browser, Chrome 127 to be precise). In fact, if you head over to the extensions page in Chrome, you’ll see warnings attached to any extensions built in V2.
Ars Technica further notes that Google has previously said that Chrome users will be able to manually re-enable V2-powered extensions for a “brief period,” but that this option will be removed in the future.
Google is clearly convinced of the merits of Manifest V3, stating that the new platform was designed for better “security, privacy, performance, and reliability of the extension ecosystem,” but other stakeholders are less enthusiastic about it.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending civil liberties in the digital world, is not convinced that Manifest V3 will offer greater security. In addition, Mozilla, the nonprofit best known for developing the Firefox browser, is maintaining support for version 2 extensions, although it will introduce version 3 support for Firefox in order to maintain cross-browser compatibility.
Others, including ad blocker developers themselves, are very unhappy with the move to version 3, and in particular the change that prevents the ability to use any remotely hosted code. This security measure has the side effect of ad blockers not being able to (remotely) access the filtering lists they need, which are updated periodically, without going through the Chrome Web Store review process, as Ars Technica points out. In other words, it will mean that this update process, which is crucial for ad blocking, will slow down considerably, hampering the overall effectiveness of such extensions.
According to Google's reviews of ad blockers, published on its security blog, this is not the case. The company insists that it is “not removing ad blockers” and is in fact “making them safer,” we are told.
Google further maintains that the move to V3 won't be that disruptive, stating earlier this year that 85% of actively maintained extensions in the Chrome Web Store already have Manifest V3 versions ready.
Clearly, that's not the case with uBlock Origin, and this ad blocker apparently won't be getting a full version that supports Manifest V3 at all – instead, a “lite” variant of the extension will be released as a V3 version, but it won't have the same capabilities as the existing full version.
It's true that Google probably has bigger issues on its plate right now, such as the recent antitrust ruling in the US. However, this is a major change for Chrome, which is by far the most dominant web browser (and I'm sure Google would like to keep it that way). For this reason, Google should first be very careful with changes like this, which can significantly change the user experience.
