Chrome updates will end remaining path for older ad blockers
Chrome versions 150 and 151 are set to remove leftover Manifest V2 support, limiting users to Manifest V3 ad blockers.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Google is preparing Chrome updates that will close the remaining routes for older ad-blocking extensions to run in the browser, according to 9to5Google. The change matters for users still relying on Manifest V2 tools such as uBlock Origin, because Chrome 151 is expected to leave only Manifest V3-compatible ad blockers working.
Chrome version 150 is expected in late June, and version 151 is expected in July, 9to5Google reported. Those releases will remove the final code references tied to Google’s older Manifest V2 extensions system, according to the report.
Google began moving Chrome away from Manifest V2 ad blockers in 2024, The Verge reported at the time. After that shift, many Chrome users either moved to Manifest V3 alternatives, including uBlock Origin Lite, or chose another browser, according to The Verge.
What is changing
Manifest is the platform that defines what Chrome extensions can do and how they interact with the browser. In this case, the remaining issue is support for older Manifest V2 extensions, which some ad blockers used before Google’s newer Manifest V3 framework became the required path in Chrome.
Once Chrome 151 arrives, ad blockers will need to work under Manifest V3 to keep running in Chrome, according to 9to5Google. That means the standard uBlock Origin extension, built for Manifest V2, will no longer have leftover browser support to rely on.
The shift does not mean ad blocking disappears from Chrome. The Verge reported that Manifest V3 ad blockers such as uBlock Origin Lite remain the replacement option for users who want to stay with Google’s browser.
Google cites maintenance and security
Google developer Devlin Cronin explained the change in a Chromium code review tied to the removal of the remaining Manifest V2 references. Cronin wrote that Manifest V2 extensions are no longer permitted in any supported Chrome version and said Google is removing the related support and functionality.
Cronin said Google could not keep maintaining that code indefinitely because of complexity, technical debt and security concerns. He also said Google had recently found several bugs specific to Manifest V2, according to the Chromium comment.
Other browsers may continue to support Manifest V2 extensions if they choose, Cronin said in the Chromium discussion. The Chrome change applies to Google’s browser and its supported versions, not to every browser that can run extensions.
The result is a firmer end point for Chrome users who had found ways to keep older ad blockers running after Google’s 2024 phaseout. With the remaining Manifest V2 hooks being removed, Chrome’s extension system is set to rely on Manifest V3 for ad-blocking tools from version 151 onward.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.