Here’s Why Your Ad Blocker Isn’t Working in Chrome Anymore.
Google has been phasing out popular ad-blocking extensions in its Chrome browser for several years, and it looks like they’ll finally be permanently phased out with an update this summer. As 9to5Google reports , Chrome 150 and 151 are expected to complete the transition to the Google Manifest V3 extension platform, effectively ending support and workarounds for MV2 extensions like uBlock Origin.
Chrome 150 is reportedly scheduled to be released on June 30th, and Chrome 151 is expected sometime in July. If your ad blocking extension stops working completely in the coming weeks, here’s why.
Why Google is disabling ad blockers
As we previously reported , this change has been in development for Chrome since 2019. The transition to Manifest V3 was intended to improve extension security, but it also disrupts access to the Web Request API, which ad blockers use to block traffic to and from malicious sites. The resulting restrictions for developers are expected to impair the content filtering capabilities of ad blockers in MV3 compared to MV2, so some users have resorted to workarounds to keep disabled extensions enabled for as long as possible.
Other Chromium-based browsers, such as Microsoft Edge and Opera, were expected to follow suit, as they run on the same underlying technology as Google Chrome. However, Opera representatives told Neowin that the platform intends to continue supporting MV2 extensions “as long as it is technically feasible,” with the possibility of phasing out “less-used MV2 extensions” as it transitions to MV3.
What to do if your Chrome ad blocker extension has stopped working?
One possible solution is to switch to an updated version of your old ad blocker. Popular options with Manifest V3 include uBlock Origin Lite, Adblock, Adblock Plus, Adguard, and Ghostery. These may not work for everyone, but you’ll have to try them to see for yourself.
Alternatively, you could ditch Chrome (and Edge) altogether. Firefox, which uses its own Gecko engine, is a more privacy-focused browser that still allows extensions, though it’s not without its drawbacks . Brave, meanwhile, has a built-in ad blocker and other robust privacy features, and DuckDuckGo is also a good option.
Please remember that while ad blockers have many benefits, they are not perfect . Besides reducing the revenue of content creators you might want to support, they can also cause privacy issues. To mitigate these consequences, make sure you understand what data the extension you choose collects and how it is used.