Google Chrome is killing the uBlock Origin ad blocker extension

An update in Google Chrome’s browser extension support is bad news for uBlock Origin.

According to PCWorld, Chrome’s shift from Manifest V2 to V3 is deprecating certain features that the popular ad-blocker relies on. The Chrome update “aims to… improve the privacy, security, and performance of extensions,” by changing the way it manages API requests. That means with the upcoming Chrome update, uBlock Origin will be automatically disabled.

Google has been cracking down on ad-blockers across many of its products, like YouTube. It’s a real buzzkill for the majority of internet users who try and curtail ads. But it also makes a lot of sense since that’s how the tech giant gets revenue by offering free services. That said, some ad-blockers aren’t safe or compliant with Google’s policies, so you can’t blame the company for enforcing that.

The popular ad-blocker, which has over 30 million users, reportedly still works. But a disclaimer at the top of extension page says, “This extension may soon no longer be supported because it doesn’t follow best practices for Chrome extensions.”

Developer Raymond Hill who makes uBlock Origin has scrambled to deploy a fix and now offers uBlock Origin Lite, which is compliant with Manifest V3. It already has 200,000 users, and still has standard ad-blocking capabilities, but is less dynamic in the sense that it requires the user to allow or block permissions on a “per-site basis.” In a GitHub post about the new extension, Hill explained that it isn’t intended to be a replacement for the original.

“I consider uBO Lite to be too different from uBO to be an automatic replacement,” said the developer. “You will have to explicitly find a replacement to uBO according to what you expect from a content blocker. uBO Lite may or may not fulfill your expectations.”

uBlock Origin still works on other browsers, so you could always switch to a Chrome alternative like Firefox or Edge. But if you want to stick with Chrome, you have to play by Chrome’s rules, and that means getting a different ad-blocker.