uBlock Origin will lose compatibility with Chrome

O Google is warning that the uBlock Originone of the most widely used ad blockers, will soon no longer be compatible with the company’s browser.

Visitors to the blocker’s Chrome Web Store page will see a message saying that the extension may stop working in the browser soon, but with no specific date. This is because Google will stop accepting extensions that use the old Manifest V2 system.

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Manifest V2 is the previous version of the extension creation system. The new Manifest V3, which started in 2022, brings stricter rules that affect ad blockers. Since V3 was released, the Chrome Web Store no longer accepts new extensions in V2, but has kept the old ones for now.

Raymond Hill, creator of uBlock Origin, said that Google will no longer support Manifest V2. With the recent Google’s measures against adblocks on YouTube and the changes in Manifest V3, it seems like they really want to limit these blockers.

Not all Chrome users will see the warning about uBlock ending support, but when it does appear, it says that the extension “may end soon.” The use of the word “may” indicates that Google may still allow V2 extensions for some time. However, the end of support is a given.

Google has already delayed the end of support for Manifest V2. According to the 2022 timeline, this would have happened in January 2023. Other extensions on V2 are also being warned that they will no longer work in Chrome, even if they are not ad blockers.

The notification recommends that users remove uBlock or look for other options in the Chrome Web Store. However, these alternatives are generally less effective than uBlock. Even after Google made it harder to use adblocks on YouTube, uBlock remained the best choice for those looking to avoid ads on the platform.

Source: BleepingComputer