Google's Plan to Weaken uBlock Origin and Chrome Extensions Raises Concerns

Google plans to phase out older Chrome extensions, including uBlock Origin, starting in June 2024. The phaseout will initially cover beta versions of Chrome, with the company gradually rolling out the change and gathering user feedback. Google aims to transition from the older Manifest V2 system to Manifest V3, which offers improved security for Chrome extensions but has faced resistance from ad-block providers due to potential restrictions on content filtering. AdGuard has responded positively to the ongoing changes, while the developers of uBlock Origin have created a version called uBlock Origin Lite that is designed to work with Manifest V3. However, there is debate over whether the lite version can fully match the functionality of the original extension.