Google removes remaining Manifest V2 extensions, including uBlock Origin

Google has removed all remaining Manifest V2 extensions from the Chrome Web Store, completing a transition that has been underway for years. Among the extensions removed is uBlock Origin, one of the most capable and widely used content blockers for the web.

What happens to existing installs

Google said that Manifest V2 extensions already installed on Chrome 138 or earlier will remain installed, but will no longer receive updates and cannot be reinstalled from the Chrome Web Store once removed from the browser. The Chrome Web Store team has notified the developers of affected extensions about the removal.

Chromium browsers beyond Chrome

The Chrome Web Store is the dominant extension marketplace for Chromium-based browsers, so users of browsers such as Brave also rely on it to find and install extensions. As a result, the removal has consequences beyond Google's own browser: the affected Manifest V2 extensions can no longer be found or installed from the store, even in Chromium browsers that still support the older extension platform.

Brave has responded by hosting four popular Manifest V2 extensions on its own backend — AdGuard, uBlock Origin, uMatrix and NoScript — and lets users enable them from the browser.

Google's argument for Manifest V3

Google says the newer Manifest V3 platform provides stronger security, privacy and performance, and tighter control over what extensions are allowed to do. Given how much access extensions can have to browsing activity, the company describes those as legitimate problems to solve; critics of the change have argued that the new rules limit the effectiveness of content blockers.