Google announces it's blocking access to extremely popular Chrome ad blocker

Google has announced it is targeting one of Chrome's biggest ad blockers in a new update, which will involve removing Chrome Web Store support.

Google announces it's blocking access to extremely popular Chrome ad blocker
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Junior Editor
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Google is planning on removing one of the most popular ad blockers available on Chrome, as the company informs users who now attempt to download it that it "may soon no longer be supported."

That ad blocker is uBlock Origin, and according to reports Google has been informing ad blockers such as uBlock that it will be severing support for them after it rolled out the Chrome Manifest V3 extension update. uBlock appears to be included in that as BleepingComputer reports Google's Chrome Web Store is now warning users uBlock may soon be removed "because it doesn't follow best practises for Chrome extensions." Additionally, Google's support bulletin cited user privacy and security as one of the reasons why uBlock is being removed.

BleepingComputer reports that uBlock Origin is not invasive or insecure and that Google's mention of privacy and security has to do with its deprecation of the Manifest V2 extension in favor of Manifest V3. Google's introduction of Manifest V3 ruffled the feathers of extension developers as V3 presented technical challenges, particularly with those such as ad blockers that require greater control over web browsers.

Google announces it's blocking access to extremely popular Chrome ad blocker 65165116

The single creator of uBlock Origin explained in August that uBlock Lite, a Manifest V3 compatible version of the popular extension that is less powerful and doesn't have key features such as specific site ad filtering, will become available in response to Manifest V3.

Google announces it's blocking access to extremely popular Chrome ad blocker 561165
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Junior Editor

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Jak joined the TweakTown team in 2017 and has since reviewed 100s of new tech products and kept us informed daily on the latest science, space, and artificial intelligence news. Jak's love for science, space, and technology, and, more specifically, PC gaming, began at 10 years old. It was the day his dad showed him how to play Age of Empires on an old Compaq PC. Ever since that day, Jak fell in love with games and the progression of the technology industry in all its forms.

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