Google pulls the plug on uBlock Origin, leaving over 30 million Chrome users susceptible to intrusive ads
- Google is transitioning Chrome’s extension support from the Manifest V2 framework to the V3.
- This means users won’t be able to use uBlock Origin to block ads on Google Chrome.
- However, there’s a new iteration of the app — uBlock Origin Lite, which is Manifest V3 compliant but doesn’t boast the original version’s comprehensive ad-blocking features.
Over 30 million Google Chrome users use uBlock Origin, but the tool will be automatically disabled soon via an update. Google will let users enable the feature via the settings for a limited period before it’s completely scrapped. From this point, users will be forced to switch to another browser or choose another ad blocker.
uBlock Origin fans can rest at ease since a new and improved version is already available — uBlock Origin Lite. It’s worth noting that while the new app ships with similar features to the original version, including core ad-blocking features, it doesn’t support dynamic filters for blocking scriptlet injection. The Lite version’s capabilities are relatively limited due to its compliance with the Manifest V3 framework threshold.
According to uBlock Origin’s developer Raymond Hill
“I consider uBO Lite to be too different from uBO to be an automatic replacement. You will have to explicitly find a replacement to uBO according to what you expect from a content blocker. uBO Lite may or may not fulfill your expectations.”
