Google is postponing the end of Manifest V2 extensions in Chrome again
Google has, once again, postponed the end of Manifest V2 extensions support in the company's Chrome web browser and in its open source core Chromium.
Google published an early draft of Manifest V3 for Chrome extensions in January 2019. Manifest files define the capabilities of browser extensions, and any changes made to them can make or break extensions.
In Google's case, Manifest V3 was clearly intended to limit content blockers. Several extension developers stated back then that if Manifest V3 would roll out like initially intended, it could mean the end of content blocking in Chrome.
Google tweaked and changed the draft and postponed testing and the rollout of Manifest V3, and the retirement of Manifest V2 support, several times.
In 2021, for instance, Google announced that it would stop accepting new Manifest V2 extensions by January 2022 and would disable these extensions in June 2023 in Chrome. Google planned to disable support for running Manifest V2 extensions by January 2023, but announced in December 2022 that it would postpone the change.
In December 2022, Google announced that it would postpone the January 2023 changes and all following changes.
Now, three months later, Google provided a bit of clarity in a post on the official mailing list. Google admits that it is "still working on the timeline of the MV2 phase-out plan" and that it plans to publish a new timeline in the coming months.
Chrome extension developers will have "sufficient migration time" before any changes are made to Manifest V2 support in Chrome. Google will give developers at least 6 months "of heads-up" before it will even start experimenting with turning of Manifest V2 support in the browser.
It appears that Manifest V2 support will be removed sometime in 2024 now at the earliest, but it is still possible that the change will be delayed again.
The official Manifest V2 sunset page on the Chrome Developer website was updated already to reflect the decision.
Google states that it remains "committed to the rollout of MV3 to improve security, privacy, and performance" for users of Chrome. The company wants to phase out support for Manifest V2 in a timely manner, but that did not work out too well up until now.
Closing Words
Most Chromium-based browsers will follow Google in ending support for Manifest V2 extensions, once the changes land in Chromium. Mozilla, maker of Firefox and one of the few browser makers not dependent on Chromium, will support Manifest V2 and V3 extensions in the Firefox browser.
Google's Manifest V3 implementation remains highly controversial, that is for sure.
“In Google’s case, Manifest V3 was clearly intended to limit content blockers.”
Wow, that’s a change in editorial line suddenly. Such a statement, as obvious as it is, is censorable as conspirational in quite a lot of mainstream places. I remember Raymond Hill having to quote some standard line of a Google business meeting saying they like profit from ads before feeling allowed to “speculate” like you just did about their motivations.
Interestingly, “content blocker” is originally a terminology introduced by Apple when they introduced their own version of the manifest v3 before Google did, to designate what would remain after that. So while it sounds bolder than the usual term of adblocker because of the implied generality, it’s not quite so. uBlock origin uses somewhere the “wide spectrum blocker” term, and I like the better “nuisance blocker”, which keeps generality while being more clear about what’s being blocked. Unfortunately it’s also what qualifies in the uBO user interface blocked stuff that is not in other categories such as ads, tracking and other malware. So maybe the wise path to follow consists in reappropriating the “content blocker” term from Apple.
“Several extension developers stated back then that if Manifest V3 would roll out like initially intended, it could mean the end of content blocking in Chrome.”
The uBO author has already prepared a draft of the castrated version that will survive on Chrome, “uBO Lite”:
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/blob/master/platform/mv3/description/en.md
“Google states that it remains “committed to the rollout of MV3 to improve security, privacy, and performance” for users of Chrome”
Really glad that you’re openly calling them full of shit on that now. Better late than never.
Nobody wants MV3 with its limitations, which is designed to increase crime, ads, and tracking. FBI has stated you need to use an adblocker in chrome, which significantly reduces online crime.
I really don’t care.
I got rid of Google Chrome.
This is delaying strategy, making users who want to quit reconsider many times, then slowly kill their resistance. That’s a classic Google strats, like how they make Google websites like Youtube slower on Firefox, and slowly force Firefox users to switch to Chrome if they want to watch Youtube.
You’re goddamn right
They’re the lords of cunning and manipulation in the name of the security and privacy
I’m using opera and chrome, every day. MV3 is far from google purposes; but I dont have problems
updating my extensions to this new mv3 thing. btw, I use 2 ad-blockers (adblockPlus , uBlock),
EFF privacy badger, history trends unlimited (I have an full control and backup from my browser history), & a discogs site enhancer, and more.. on my opera, also many others.
…all of this working 100% good and is trustworthy on mv2 script, at least.
Because they know the end of mv2 extensions will be the beginning of the end of chrome. Just like the end of xul extension support for tens of thousands of extensions was the beginning of the end of Firefox. You don’t get to destroy the workflow of your users by crushing their extensions more than once.
When and if this MV3 becomes law and spreads to other chromium-based browsers, I will just switch to one still MV2-capable. For now, I am using Edge. I just hope the latter doesn’t follow suit. I know that this is highly unlikely (for Edge), but I will be the one with the final say.
I wholeheartedly despise Adoogle, having done so for almost two decades.
Time for investors to dump $GOOG stock, and only then will Sundar Pichai, CEO of Adoogle, do an about-turn on terminating support for Manifest V2 extensions.
Please just put a stop to this project and fire the group that came up with this ridiculous idea. Manifest V2 has been operating flawlessly. If something isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
“committed to the rollout of MV3 to improve ad revenue, privacy violations and advertising performance”
Or, screw Google and use Brave. Brave Shields already uses the same default filter lists as uBlock Origin and isn’t limited by the Manifest V3 limitations. It works on Android as well.
“uBO does more by default, and has more knobs for its users, than Brave shields has or will likely ever have.” – Brendan Eich
https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uAssets/discussions/14544#discussioncomment-3490321
Screw Google and Brave Shields, use uBlock Origin.
I’m using Brave on my phone and the option to add custom filters improves Brave’s filters even further. To the point that it renders uBlock Origin pointless.
Brave’s built-in blocker is just as granular as uBlock Origin? Even if the blocklist limitation was lifted, I haven’t heard of what you posted.
Google states that it remains “committed to the rollout of MV3 to improve security, privacy, and performance” for users of Chrome.
Privacy. Right.
Everybody is wrong. This is not only bad for privacy but also for security and performance. The main security tool being the blocker, and the main performance enhancer being also the blocker.
Actually it’s true MV3 increase security (can increase privacy if enforced properly) and performance, the problem lie in the arbitrary limitation of the number of the rules that can be applied.
If they had said something like : unlimited rules with an optional permission asked to the user after 300K rules MV3 would already been the norm today with every browser on board.
Don’t believe their bullshit, it gets safer because it gets rid of a bunch of existing malware extensions from Chrome Store, and it doesn’t get faster because the performance gain is miniscule at best, and the most important thing they get rid of Adblock/uBlock, the MV3 of uBlock/Adguard are not good enough to deal will advanced ads, plus it’s a joke because it CAN’T auto-update filter list.