Google Chrome to cut off remaining support for older ad blockers

Tech giant Google is planning to  remove support for legacy ad-blocking extensions based on the Manifest V2 platform in Chrome.

Chrome versions 150 and 151, expected to launch in late June and July respectively, will eliminate the remaining workarounds that allow older ad blockers to function, according to 9to5Google.

When Google phased out Manifest V2 support in 2024, popular ad blockers such as uBlock Origin lost full functionality in Chrome. The move prompted many users to switch to Manifest V3 alternatives, such as uBlock Origin Lite, while others migrated to different browsers.

Google is now taking the final step in retiring Manifest V2 by removing the remaining code associated with the legacy extension framework. Starting with Chrome 151, only ad blockers built for Manifest V3 will continue to function.

Google developer Devlin Cronin commented on a Chromium commit proposing the removal of the last references to Manifest V2.

He said, "MV2 extensions are no longer allowed in any supported version of Chrome, and we are removing support for them and the associated functionality. We won't be able to provide or maintain this functionality indefinitely due to the complexity, technical debt, and security risks it entails. We have also recently identified several bugs that are specific to MV2. Of course, other browsers can continue supporting these extensions if they choose to do so."