May 31, 2024 at 07:20AM
Starting June 3, 2024, users of certain Chrome browser builds will be warned about the phase-out of Manifest V2 browser extensions, including ad-blockers. This follows a five-year transition to the more performant and secure Manifest V3. Suggestions for alternative extensions will be made, but concerns persist over the impact on privacy and content-filtering.
Based on the meeting notes, the key takeaways are:
– Chrome will be presenting a warning banner to users of Beta, Dev, and Canary builds when accessing their extension management page, informing them that legacy Manifest V2 browser extensions will stop working soon. This includes ad-blockers and other content filters relying on Manifest V2 APIs.
– David Li, Chrome Extensions product manager, stated that the disabling of these extensions will occur gradually in the coming months, with users being directed to the Chrome Web Store for recommended Manifest V3 alternatives.
– The transition from Manifest V2 to Manifest V3 has been ongoing for at least five years, providing new APIs to browser extensions while removing old ones. The move has been contested by makers of privacy-protecting and content-blocking extensions, resulting in concessions from Google to address developer concerns.
– By the beginning of 2025, Manifest V2 extensions will stop working, with enterprises using the ExtensionManifestV2Availability policy being spared until June 2025.
– Currently, more than 85 percent of actively maintained extensions in the Chrome Web Store support Manifest V3, and top content filtering extensions have Manifest V3 versions available.
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