Google Chrome Blocks Popular Ad Blocker: Here’s the Alternative

The popular ad blocker in Chrome will soon no longer work because Google has moved to new rules for browser extensions.

Google Blocks Adblocker in Chrome

Most people who use Chrome also have an ad blocker installed. While that’s very understandable, it’s also understandable that Google doesn’t particularly appreciate it. So the changes to Chrome’s policy will have consequences for the popular ad blocker.

Change in Chrome extension support (from Manifest V2 framework to the latest version) Q3) is a way to make browser extensions more secure and efficient, according to Google. It also means they are compatible with modern APIs. But the change also means that some extensions will no longer be supported. One of those extensions is uBlock Originthe ad blocker used by over 30 million Chrome users (and probably many more in other browsers).

This is the alternative.

However, the makers of uBlock Origin are far ahead of Google. They already have an ad blocker for Chrome that is compatible with Manifest V3, called uBlock Original LiteThis extension uses the same basic filters to block ads, but lacks certain features like dynamic filters to prevent script injection.

uBO Lite is also less capable of bypassing ad blockers. However, Google has now awarded uBlock Origin Lite a “Recommended” badge in the Chrome Web Store.

Raymond Hill, the developer of uBlock Origin, could easily automatically replace the Chrome Web Store page with the Lite version, but according to a post on Github He has no interest in that:

I consider uBO Lite to be too different from uBO to be an automatic replacement. You will have to explicitly find a replacement for uBO based on what you expect from a content blocker. uBO Lite may or may not meet your expectations.

Its translation loosely says:

I think uBO Lite is too different from uBO to replace the page automatically. You will have to explicitly find an alternative to uBO based on what you expect from an ad blocker. uBO Lite may or may not meet your expectations.

uBlock Origin should continue to work well on other browsers, including Firefox, Edge, Opera, and Safari. Google’s move to Manifest V3 support doesn’t appear to be a result of an attempt to block ad blockers, but it seems likely that it helped drive the decision in that direction.