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Google Chrome: removal of uBlock Origin and other unsupported extensions has started

Martin Brinkmann
Oct 16, 2024
Google Chrome
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40

More and more Google Chrome users are receiving popup notifications that inform them that one or multiple extensions have been turned off because they are unsupported.

The popup is shown directly on start and lists all the extensions that were turned off. Google states "This extension is no longer supported" or "These extensions are no longer supported".

Tip: you can extend support by one year by following these instructions.

Google recommends that these get removed from Chrome. The popup highlights the remove option, but there is also a link to manage extensions.

Chrome turned off extension

Note that the extension is already disabled. Even if you do not pick an action, the extension won't work anymore.

When you check the extensions listing, Chrome lists all disabled extensions at the top. At this stage, it is still possible to restore access to the extension, but this will only be an option for a short period.

Restoring turned off Chrome extensions

Here is how that is done:

Keep Chrome extension

  1. Open the Manage Extensions page in Chrome. An easy option is to load chrome://extensions/, which opens it. You may also select Menu > Extensions > Manage Extensions.
  2. Activate the three-dots-icon next to the disabled extension.
  3. Pick the Keep option.
  4. Confirm Keep again when the popup appears.

Keep Extension Chrome

Chrome adds the extension again to the "all extensions" section. Note that it does not enable the extension again. You need to toggle the on/off switch next to the extension for that.

Chrome Extension restored

When you do, you get another popup

Turn On extension Chrome

You need to select "Turn on" to enable the extension again in Chrome.

Please note that this is only a temporary solution. Google never said for how long this option remains, but it is likely that the bypass will only work for a few months.

What are your alternatives?

You have a few options to deal with the issue. While you cannot use Chrome anymore, if you want to keep on using the extensions, you need to switch browsers.

  • Firefox: the best option. The browser supports old and new extensions alike. Since it is not based on the same source as Google Chrome, it will continue to support extensions such as uBlock Origin fully. Firefox forks, like Mullvad Browser, work as well.
  • Brave: for uBlock Origin users. Brave promised to keep a few popular extensions supported, including uBlock Origin. If you want to keep on using a Chromium-based browser and uBlock, this is your option.

If you just want ad-blocking, you have more options.

  • You can pick a Chromium-based browser like Vivaldi, which supports ad-blocking.
  • You can install uBlock Origin Lite. Developed by uBlock Origin's creator, it blocks ads well. Downside is that it lacks some of the advanced options of uBlock Origin.

Closing Words

Will Chrome users switch in noticeable numbers to other browsers? Only a fraction of users are affected, and it seems likely that usage numbers won't change much. While ad-blocking is not dead in Chrome, it is certainly less effective once the change lands.

Do you still use Google Chrome? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Summary
Google Chrome: removal of uBlock Origin and other unsupported extensions has started
Article Name
Google Chrome: removal of uBlock Origin and other unsupported extensions has started
Description
Google is removing uBlock Origin and other classic extensions from Chrome. You can restore access for now, here is how.
Author
Publisher
Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. brinksmanisGOAT said on October 20, 2024 at 3:33 pm
    Reply

    mullvad,librewolf,brave, even opera are better than goolags spyware!

    for those needing other dns providers:

    https://libredns.gr/
    https://doh.libredns.gr/dns-query
    https://doh.libredns.gr/noads
    dot.libredns.gr

    also for android (https://xdaforums.com/t/keweondns-info-facts-and-why-is-keweon-more-than-ad-blocker-and-browser-privacy.4576651/)

  2. TelV said on October 20, 2024 at 11:51 am
    Reply

    I think Google Chrome came into its own in the early days by being bundled with free third party apps which got installed along with the one you actually wanted. It was possible to avoid those including Chrome by using the “Custom installation” option and then unchecking them all, but most users simply clicked the “Recommended” option which included the small print that you were giving your permission to install other apps and then discovered their browser had changed to Chrome, but didn’t know how to revert to their old browser again.

    In some respects being a FOSS app prevented Mozilla from using the same route since that would have meant paying to have Firefox surreptitiously installed the same way. But because GC is now so firmly entrenched in users lives Mozilla has got a mountain to climb to reclame the top spot again.

  3. gogleh said on October 20, 2024 at 6:23 am
    Reply

    does chromium count as chrome?

    i block ads using chromium based browsers’ built-in feature called site settings by blocking ads peddlers domain/subdomain from loading scripts, images and cookies. if that doesn’t work, i use firewall, and if that doesn’t work as well, /etc/hosts is the last line of defend. but nothing beats ublock origin.

    around 2020 i tried blocking ads using above mentioned ways. but as soon as i blocked 1 domain, 3 appeared in its place. at first i thought it was hackers or the site owners trying to maximize their ads impression, until i found out that all those domains belong to google ads. now google likes to redirect you to your ip address’ country version of its sites but those domains i saw were from the countries i never been to like adservice.google.com.pk, adservice.google.com.mx, or pagead46.l.doubleclick.net etc so i know right out it was google!

  4. Anonymous said on October 19, 2024 at 3:51 am
    Reply

    Will not update Chrome browser or variants of it when the support ends for a very critical security extension like uBlock Origin, that is more important than all the silly FUD updates of the browser itself, more important is also wise internet habits and not falling for trivial phishing attempts, downloading odd stuff from the net etc.

  5. Doomy said on October 18, 2024 at 5:28 pm
    Reply

    Getting rid of or removing chrome requires a fresh install. Not using it for years and switched to Waterfox a year ago.

  6. Dunkel said on October 18, 2024 at 10:40 am
    Reply

    Me: “Removal of Google Chrome has started…”

  7. Mike said on October 17, 2024 at 5:37 pm
    Reply

    I trust Ublock Origin a thousand times more than any sleazy tech/advertising company. (usually one and the same today). I’m also happy with all of the things UBO does, and the feature set that it has. UBO puts me in control, which the establishment really doesn’t like.

    Ublock Origin has _never_ ever crossed the line or done anything bad, offensive, overstepped bounds, or wronged me in any way. On the other hand big tech is up to new slimy crap every other month and they are imposing hyper-censorship on the Internet. For example search Google or Youtube for the Fractal Design Torrent case; it’s a PC case, i.e. something made of steel/aluminum/plastic, nothing you can download using Bittorrent, yet the auto-complete of “fractal design torrent” as a product is censored/shadow banned by Google because it has ‘torrent’ in the name, the self-appointed deities and gate keepers of the Internet. If Google are doing this, what else are they quietly doing without telling you?

    1. Benjamin said on October 18, 2024 at 1:05 pm
      Reply

      I do get listings for torrent’ out of the search right on top followed by more results. But if course that does not help those who don’t… i just experience Telegram censor techniques… results if one already has the group, nothing for those who don’t. THis way the group owners do not get many more new users..

  8. John C. said on October 17, 2024 at 1:08 pm
    Reply

    And so the mass exodus from Chrome begins…

    Never used Chrome, never will.

    1. samurai cat said on October 17, 2024 at 5:47 pm
      Reply

      That only delays it until June 2025. You are better off switching to Brave Browser, or Mullvad Browser if you want something Firefox based. Both Browsers are more privacy focused than Chrome and Firefox. https://privacytests.org/

    2. Martin Brinkmann said on October 17, 2024 at 5:38 pm
      Reply

      Yes, but only for about a year.

  9. Mango said on October 17, 2024 at 3:53 am
    Reply

    Google greed is limitless.. what a surprise. Just switch to other browsers. And show them international peace sign at the end…

    1. samurai cat said on October 17, 2024 at 5:49 pm
      Reply

      Let the mass exodus to other browsers plummet Chrome Browser’s market share. That will punish Google.

  10. Tachy said on October 17, 2024 at 3:01 am
    Reply

    I don’t know wether to laugh at the people who use chrome or feel bad for them.

  11. Anonymous said on October 17, 2024 at 1:35 am
    Reply

    Stopped using Chrome years ago. Firefox is the way until Mozilla screws it up too.

  12. ipnonymous said on October 16, 2024 at 10:39 pm
    Reply

    It should be OUR right to sell the information we generate, not anyone else. Just because the average person is not a programmer with the ability to defend themselves does not make it justified.

  13. Flick said on October 16, 2024 at 9:18 pm
    Reply

    How do you put the secure dns again?
    It disappears from the settings once you put the key

  14. Benjamin said on October 16, 2024 at 8:58 pm
    Reply

    Uninstall, the best option for all.

  15. samurai cat said on October 16, 2024 at 3:33 pm
    Reply

    Start using Adguard DNS: (It blocks ads, tracking, and phishing.)

    IPv4: 94.140.14.14 and 94.140.15.15 (Add it to Ethernet > DNS in Windows Settings. Click Edit to and Select Manual to add it.)
    IPv6: 2a10:50c0::ad1:ff and 2a10:50c0::ad2:ff (Optional to add.)

    DNS over Https: https://dns.adguard-dns.com/dns-query (Add it as a Custom DNS to Chrome or Brave browser’s Secure DNS settings, if its not already listed.)

    DNS IP Source: https://adguard-dns.io/kb/general/dns-providers/

    1. Leon said on October 18, 2024 at 1:35 am
      Reply

      Thank you

  16. karlo2105 said on October 16, 2024 at 2:26 pm
    Reply

    I have never used Chrome. Firefox user since 2006.

    1. Smartman said on October 16, 2024 at 4:30 pm
      Reply

      Same, and an IQ of 139.

  17. Anonymous said on October 16, 2024 at 2:13 pm
    Reply

    I haven’t used Chrome for a very long time, but thanks for the article Martin.

  18. John Doe said on October 16, 2024 at 1:56 pm
    Reply

    Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome” `
    -Name “ExtensionManifestV2Availability” `
    -Type DWord `
    -Value 2

    This will give you until June 2025 to figure this out. Use value 3 to only allow for force-installed extensions instead.

  19. ECJ said on October 16, 2024 at 12:35 pm
    Reply

    If you want to keep using uBlock Origin with Brave, use the uBlock Origin extension included in the browser, rather than from the Chrome Store. Go to:

    [Brave Settings > Extensions > Manifest V2 extensions > Enable uBlock Origin]

    However, unless you you prefer the uBlock Origin UI, I’d just use Brave Shields – which uses the same default filter lists as uBlock Origin anyway.

  20. InsaRa said on October 16, 2024 at 10:36 am
    Reply

    chromoLOL

  21. John G. said on October 16, 2024 at 10:24 am
    Reply

    It’s better to use Vivaldi, not Brave. Thanks for the article! :]

    1. Akina said on October 18, 2024 at 11:21 am
      Reply

      well it’s better than Crypto and AI filled Brave but way slower than any other browser I used.

      1. Granite said on October 20, 2024 at 1:03 pm
        Reply

        @Akina: then you did not tweak it correctly.

    2. User said on October 16, 2024 at 7:36 pm
      Reply

      Vivaldi’s built in adblocker is way less effective than Brave’s.

    3. jimmy said on October 16, 2024 at 3:53 pm
      Reply

      explain. please

  22. Tom Hawack said on October 16, 2024 at 10:09 am
    Reply

    “Do you still use Google Chrome?”
    Does not apply for those who never used the inquisitive browser and are strengthened to never use it with the developer’s decision to bypass users’ rights to block ads and tracking with the help of dedicated extensions by replacing Manifest V2 with V3. More than always an anti-GAFAM strict policy.

  23. bruh said on October 16, 2024 at 10:08 am
    Reply

    Nobody thought it would happen for real, lol. And here it is… damn

    1. boris said on October 16, 2024 at 9:01 pm
      Reply

      Actually, most people believed it.

  24. Girjaman said on October 16, 2024 at 9:42 am
    Reply

    Does this mean ublock will also disappear from chrome web store as a donwloadable option after clean install of chrome?

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on October 16, 2024 at 1:58 pm
      Reply

      Yes, all classic extensions will be removed.

  25. Anonymous said on October 16, 2024 at 7:12 am
    Reply

    Your ad-blocker is interfering with our profit. We don’t care that you don’t want to see advertising, nor that the resulting annoyance is bad enough ro cause you to make a deliberate decision not to buy the advertised product. We only want to be able to show advertisers that their advertising reached a target audience of x billion, so we can bump up the price.

    1. anonymous said on October 16, 2024 at 5:07 pm
      Reply

      “…don’t want to see advertising…”

      It’s about more than just “seeing” advertising; it’s really about being tracked all the time, and having your browsing behavior (collated with many other data points that Google has collected about you through years of surveillance. if you use their products, and also if you don’t) exploited for commercial purposes.

      Targeted ad = tracking you.

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