Google Has Removed Manifest V2 Extensions From the Chrome Web Store, Including uBlock Origin

Google today reached the final milestone in a browser-extension transition that has been years in the making, all remaining Manifest V2 extensions were removed from the Chrome Web Store. Among them is uBlock Origin, one of the most capable and widely respected content blockers ever built for the web.

Google also noted that, “Manifest V2 extensions installed on Chrome 138 or earlier will remain installed, but will be unable to receive any updates and cannot be reinstalled from the Chrome Web Store once removed from Chrome.”.

Moreover, Chrome Web Store (CWS) team has informed the affected extension developers regarding this removal action.

Removal Affects More Than Google Chrome

It is important to note that the Chrome Web Store is the dominant extension marketplace for Chromium-based browsers. Users of non-Chrome Chromium browsers, including Brave, also rely on the CWS to discover and install extensions.

As a result, the removal has consequences beyond Google Chrome. Users can no longer find or install these Manifest V2 extensions through the Chrome Web Store, even if the Chromium-based browser they use continues to support Manifest V2.

Brave Keeps Select Manifest V2 Extensions Alive

Brave browser team has decided to host four popular MV2 extensions on its own backend, and let users easily enable them in their browser installation. These extensions are AdGuard, uBlock Origin, uMatrix, and NoScript.

Google’s argument for Manifest V3 is straightforward. The company says the newer extension platform, MV3, provides stronger security, privacy, performance, and tighter control over what extensions are allowed to do. Considering how much access browser extensions can have to a user’s browsing activity, those are legitimate problems to solve.

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