Chrome 150/151 to End Ad Blocker Workarounds

Google Chrome is set to discontinue support for the final workarounds enabling older ad blockers with the release of versions 150 and 151, anticipated in late June and July. This development marks the end of an era for many users who relied on extensions built for the Manifest V2 platform.

Google had already begun phasing out support for Manifest V2 ad blockers, such as uBlock Origin, in 2024. This led many users to either adopt newer Manifest V3-compatible ad blockers, like uBlock Origin Lite, or migrate to alternative web browsers. The upcoming Chrome updates will remove the last vestiges of Manifest V2 support, exclusively allowing Manifest V3 ad blockers to operate.

A Google developer, Devlin Cronin, stated that Manifest V2 extensions are no longer permitted in supported Chrome versions. The removal of this functionality is due to its complexity, technical debt, and security risks, with recent bugs specifically identified in Manifest V2. Other browsers may continue to support these older extensions if they choose.