Google Chrome closes loopholes that allow outdated ad blockers to continue working

Google Chrome versions 150 and 151, expected in late June and July, respectively, will end support for the last remaining solutions to run legacy ad blockers. 9to5Google Reports. Google Gradual support For ad blocking extensions designed for Manifest V2, like uBlock Origin, in 2024. At that point, most Chrome users have either switched to newer Manifest V3 ad blockers like uBlock Origin Lite or switched to a different browser.

Google is now removing final pieces of code that reference the previous Manifest V2 extension system, so only ad blockers that work on the Manifest V3 system will work in Chrome version 151 and later.

Google developer Devlin Cronin Comment In a Chromium commit calling for removing the latest references to Manifest V2, explaining:

MV2 extensions are no longer allowed in any supported version of Chrome, and we are removing support for them and associated functionality. We will not be able to provide/maintain this functionality indefinitely due to the complexity and technical debt, as well as the security risks involved (we have actually found a number of MV2-specific bugs recently). Of course, other browsers can continue to support these programs if they wish.