The Truth About the Demise of Our Favorite Ad Blocker, uBlock Origin
Many of you have written asking about the coming demise of our favorite ad blocker, uBlock Origin. We are aware that the current version of uBlock Origin will eventually stop working in Chrome. Based on what we know right now it does not appear as if the demise of uBlock Origin is imminent. It looks like it will be several weeks or even months before uBlock Origin stops working in Google Chrome.
It’s also important to note that uBlock Origin will continue to work in other browsers such as Firefox (which is TC’s current default browser). Also, the developer will be offering a stripped-down version of uBlock Origin called uBlock Origin Lite. It may or may not be a viable substitute. But we will test it and other ad blockers and make our recommendation after we’ve finished reviewing and testing other free ad blockers.
Here’s what the developer of uBlock Origin says:
“…uBO Lite (uBOL) is a pared-down version of uBO with a best effort at converting filter lists used by uBO into a Manifest v3-compliant approach, with a focus on reliability and efficiency as has been the case with uBO since first published in June 2014.
However, the focus on reliability and efficiency in a Manifest v3 environment meant having to sacrifice many features beyond those not possible within a Manifest v3 framework.
See the official uBOL FAQ webpage for more details about how uBOL compares to uBO.
Manifest v2 uBO will not be automatically replaced by Manifest v3 uBOL. uBOL is too different from uBO for it to silently replace uBO — you will have to explicitly make a choice as to which extension should replace uBO according to your own prerogatives.
Ultimately whether uBOL is an acceptable alternative to uBO is up to you, it’s not a choice that will be made for you.
Will development of uBO continue?
Yes, there are other browsers which are not deprecating Manifest v2, e.g. Firefox…”
So, over the coming weeks, we’ll be testing other truly free ad blockers (many offer limited free versions) and announce a new recommended ad blocker in our newsletters and on this website after we’ve completed our research and testing.
The technical details
If you’re interested in the technical details, according to Google, the primary reason for uBlock Origin’s impending demise on Google Chrome is the introduction of Manifest V3.
Manifest V3 is a new extension architecture introduced by Google to replace Manifest V2. While designed to enhance security and performance, it imposes significant restrictions on extension capabilities, particularly those that heavily rely on content blocking, like uBlock Origin.
Key limitations of Manifest V3 for ad blockers:
Restricted access to web requests: Ad blockers heavily depend on inspecting and modifying network requests. Manifest V3 severely limits this capability.
Reduced control over content injection: Ad blockers often inject scripts or styles to block ads. Manifest V3 places restrictions on content injection.
Difficulty in creating custom filtering rules: uBlock Origin’s strength lies in its ability to create complex filtering rules. Manifest V3 makes this significantly harder.
Due to these limitations, the developer of uBlock Origin has decided not to adapt the extension to Manifest V3. This means that once Manifest V2 is completely phased out by Chrome, uBlock Origin will cease to function. How long it will take Chrome to completely phase out “Manifest V2” is not known. It may take several weeks or even several months.
So, stay tuned folks. We’ll be testing other adblockers and we’ll make our recommendations soon.
I will follow with interest!
Do you recommend using another Browser other than Chrome? Or. perhaps, using both Chrome and another Browser, each for different purposes? Thanks!
I am sure we’ll find another compatible ad blocker to replace uBlock Origin… maybe even uBlock Origin Lite. We’re working on it. It may be months before uBlock Origin stops working in Chrome.
This is sad news. Will UBlock Origin still work on Edge?
I really don’t know but I would guess that since Edge is built on Chromium, uBlock Origin will eventually not work in Edge either.,
I finally managed to get rid of the Admiral blocking overlay that completely covers several of the sites I use, some that I have paid subscriptions to, believe it or not! And now, Chrome, which is the one browser that some of my favorite sites only work on unless I turn off UBO and allow a thousand ads on every page, will try again to cut off any blocking extension. I remember when the internet first became a reality. It was fun. Not so much anymore 🙁
uBlock Origin allows you to control the sites it blocks quite easily – so the sites that you wanted to visit but were blocked by uBlock Origin were only blocked because you didn’t configure uBlock to allow them. I think your computer or your browser was infected with malware if you had an overlay covering websites.