Google reports that users of Beta, DEV, and Canary versions of the Google Chrome browser will face new changes starting on June 3, 2024. When visiting the extension control page on Chrome://Extensions, they will see a warning banner.
The banner will indicate that outdated extensions based on the Manifest V2 will soon cease to function. These extensions include popular advertising blockers and other content filters using the API Manifest V2.
The transition to Manifest V3 for expanding Google Chrome has been ongoing for over 5 years. The new standard introduces new APIs for extensions and deprecates the old ones. One significant change is the blocking of the Webrequest API version, which was used to intercept and modify network traffic before it is displayed. Previously, developers used Webrequest in Manifest V2 to block ads, trackers, and other content, as well as to prevent certain scripts.
Manifest V3 reflects Google’s aim to make browser extensions more efficient, private, and secure. Nevertheless, this goal has faced strong opposition from developers of privacy-protecting and content-blocking extensions. Experts argue that the new architecture will diminish the effectiveness of extensions.
Support for Manifest V3 has already been integrated into EDGE, Firefox, and Safari browsers. By the beginning of 2025, when the API changes will be available in the stable version of Chrome, extensions relying on Manifest V2 will no longer be operational. Corporations adhering to the extensionManifestv2AVALABILITY policy will not be affected until June 2025.
Google states that over 85% of actively supported extensions in the Chrome Web Store currently support Manifest V3. Additionally, major content-filtering extensions like Adblock, Adblock Plus, Ublock Origin, and Adguard already have Manifest V3-compatible versions. For Ublock Origin users still on Manifest V2, the “options” entail using the less functional Ublock Origin Lite, which supports Manifest V3.
After years of negotiations and compromises, Manifest V3 is seen as an improvement over the original proposal by Google. However, it still does not completely address developers’ issues and does not provide equivalent functionality compared to the components it replaces.
In response to developers’ feedback, Google has added support for user scripts,