What you need to know
- Google has finally dropped support for Manifest V2, ending compatibility with many older Chrome extensions.
- Popular ad blockers such as uBlock Origin may stop working after Chrome completes the transition.
- Newer Manifest V3 compatible blockers like uBlock Origin Lite will continue to work in Chrome.
- Chromium-based browsers such as Edge and Opera may also be affected by the shutdown of Manifest V2.
An upcoming update to Google Chrome could mark the end of some of the most popular ad blockers currently available.
Since 2019, Google, a A new browser extension framework called Manifest V3. The transition resulted in a few delays along the way, but the official retirement of Manifest V2 extensions began in 2024. Now it looks like Google is finally nearing the end of that transition, and it could have big consequences for popular ad-blocking extensions.
As seen CybernewsGoogle has been phasing out Manifest V2 support in Chrome for some time now. However, the company now seems ready to complete the transition with the upcoming Chrome releases, version 150 or 151, where Manifest V2 support will be completely removed.
Once this happens, extensions built in Manifest V2 will no longer work in Chrome. It includes several older and quite popular ad blockers, notably uBlock Origin.
The biggest problem is that Manifest V3 limits some of the advanced filtering techniques that older ad blockers rely on. Under Manifest V2, extensions can perform more dynamic filtering and run more freely in the background. Manifest V3 introduces a more rigid framework that significantly changes how extensions interact with web traffic.
This does not mean that ad blockers will disappear completely. Extensions such as uBlock Origin Lite and similar alternatives built specifically for Manifest V3 will continue to work. But once Chrome completely removes support for Manifest V2, many older ad blockers will stop working.
The change may also affect other Chromium-based browsers, including Microsoft Edge and Opera, although individual browser vendors may choose to handle Manifest V2 support differently.
Chrome version 150 is expected to arrive later this month and may remove much of the remaining Manifest V2 functionality. Any residual support is expected to disappear entirely with Chrome 151, which is expected to arrive shortly after.
Android Central’s Take
As someone who works in publishing, I’d be lying if I said this didn’t feel like a positive change. Ads ultimately pay for the content we consume. However, I completely understand why users turn to ad blockers in the first place and how annoying this change can be for them.
