Google Warns uBlock Origin Users: Upcoming Permanent Disablement

The company is engaged in a dual battle to undermine adblockers and content filtering tools, particularly on YouTube, by implementing server-side ads that may prove nearly impossible to block.

Additionally, the company intends to prevent the use of unsupported adblockers and other extensions on Chrome, including the immensely popular uBlock Origin. These outdated extensions rely on the Manifest V2 API, which is being replaced by the more advanced Manifest V3, aimed at enhancing privacy, security, and performance.

The organization is currently experimenting with methods to disable the use of unsupported browser extensions like uBlock Origin, restricting users to seek alternative solutions that are supported.

For those who might not be aware, Google Chrome’s extension manager currently has a feature allowing users to keep using unsupported addons such as uBlock Origin. However, an official support document has indicated that this allowance is temporary. The article states:

Important: You can only re-enable an extension for a limited period after it has been disabled. We advise finding an alternative extension before it is permanently removed.

Consequently, the ability to activate these extensions, which is presently available in the Canary version, will soon be disabled in the Stable version of Chrome as well.

When attempting to download MV2 extensions such as uBlock Origin from the Chrome Web Store, users will see a warning message indicating, “This extension may soon no longer be supported because it doesn’t adhere to the best practices for Chrome extensions.”

Consequently, Google expresses concerns about the suitability of uBlock Origin and similar MV2 extensions for computer systems, urging users to transition to MV3 alternatives. The creator of uBlock Origin officially suggests trying uBlock Origin Lite, which is built on the newer API and thus enjoys official support. To maintain access to uBlock Origin until June of next year, users can also consider utilizing a specific Windows Registry workaround.

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