Google Removes uBlock Origin from Chrome Web Store

According to the , the installation button has been deactivated and a warning has been posted, indicating that the extension is no longer available for adding to Chrome. This decision is a result of the extension not following the recommendations set by the development of Add to Chrome. Users are now advised to search for an alternative as the support for uBlock Origin is being terminated. This shutdown is part of Google’s initiative to stop the second version of the manifesto, which was initially set to be extended until the middle of this year. The termination was originally scheduled for January but has been shifted multiple times.

The Chrome manifesto outlines the capabilities and resources available for extensions developed using the WebExtensions API. The third version of the manifesto aims to simplify the development of secure and high-performance extensions while discouraging the creation of unsafe and slow ones. One of the main points of contention with the third version is the transition to a mode that only allows reading access to the webRequest API, which previously enabled extensions to intercept and modify network requests.

Many extensions relied on the WebRequest API for functionalities like content blocking, parental controls, privacy enhancements, and protection against malware. The third version of the manifesto introduces a limited declarativeNetRequest API as a replacement, which restricts access to a built-in filtering engine and prohibits the use of custom filtering algorithms.

Additionally, the third manifesto includes a shift to implementing Service Workers as background processes and a more granular permission model that restricts when extensions can be activated (e.g., only on active tabs). The handling of cross-origin requests has also been modified, extending the same permission restrictions applied to content scripts as those on the main page, prohibiting the execution of code loaded from external servers.