Google Automatically Disables uBlock Origin Adblocker on Google Chrome

On March 4, 2025, Google Chrome automatically disabled uBlock Origin, an adblocker, for all users as part of shift to MV3 version of Chrome

Background edit

Released in 2014, uBlock Origin is a comprehensive adblocker that browser users may install as an extension to avoid advertisements while browsing the web. Given the ever present nature of advertisements on websites, uBlock Origin provides users with a faster and less obtrusive web browsing experience.

In 2018, Google announced that it would begin a shift to a new version of Google Chrome extension manifest called Manifest v3 (MV3) "to create stronger security, privacy, and performance guarantees."^[1] In 2020, Google released a beta version of MV3.^[2] By early 2022, Google Chrome disallowed users to release extensions on the Chrome Extension Store, also known as the Chrome Webstore, that were only incompatible with MV3.^[3]

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Users can still browse the web without ads and with reduced tracking by switching to a browser which continues to support Manifest V2 and the full version of uBlock Origin, such as Mozilla Firefox or the Chromium-based Brave.

References edit

↑ https://blog.chromium.org/2018/10/trustworthy-chrome-extensions-by-default.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ https://blog.chromium.org/2020/12/manifest-v3-now-available-on-m88-beta.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ https://developer.chrome.com/docs/extensions/develop/migrate/mv2-deprecation-timeline. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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[1] ttps://blog.chromium.org/2018/10/trustworthy-chrome-extensions-by-default.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[2] ttps://blog.chromium.org/2020/12/manifest-v3-now-available-on-m88-beta.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[3] ttps://developer.chrome.com/docs/extensions/develop/migrate/mv2-deprecation-timeline. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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