Google Chrome is banning all ad blockers
As you may know, Google Chrome is planning to soon bring its battle against all ad blockers to an end. So, what can you do?
As the world’s most widely used web browser on both mobile and desktop, Google Chrome is soon set to deliver a major blow to ad blockers. The browser is about to enter a new era with significant changes focused on privacy, security, and performance.
What will Google Chrome change with Manifest V3?
Manifest V2, the protocol that facilitates communication between the extensions you use and the browser, and which could easily restrict the features of these extensions, will soon be replaced by Manifest V3. This means that many ad blockers that were previously allowed are now reaching the end of the road.
Google has announced that the process of phasing out Manifest V2 will begin in June of this year. This process will start with Chrome’s Beta, Dev, and Canary channels and will be rolled out to all Google Chrome versions once it’s ready. This could signal the end of the road for extensions like AdBlock and uBlock Origin.
So, what can you do? How will the process unfold?
Firstly, it’s worth noting that Google has already started implementing a plan for ad blockers, even before Manifest V3 fully arrives. If you search for uBlock on the Chrome Extensions page, you’ll notice that despite having millions of users, it doesn’t appear on the first page. In fact, Google no longer features such ad blockers in the “Featured” section.
At this stage, users who want to use ad blockers are at the mercy of how strictly and effectively Google enforces Manifest V3. As you know, even extensions that Google hasn’t officially approved can still be installed using developer mode. In summary, the company is currently choosing to turn a blind eye to certain extensions it technically doesn’t allow.
This puts Google in a challenging decision-making process. Considering that all significant browsers, except Firefox, are Chromium-based, how far Google decides to go may even impact users of other browsers.
If Google adopts an overly aggressive approach during this process, it risks losing a significant number of users to its competitors.
