The day many Chrome users feared has arrived: Google has begun to block the installation of uBlock Origin, one of the most well-known and used ad blockers in the world.
Currently, if you try to install this extension in Chrome, you will be greeted with a message saying that it is “no longer available because it does not follow best practices for Chrome extensions.” Of course, it should be noted that it is not just this one and it is very clear that the technology company is in full battle against all the extensions that have not been adapted to its new standard, called Manifest V3.
If you still don’t know it, as Google itself explains, it is a way to improve the security and performance of the browser. But for many developers and users, it’s more of a way to limit what extensions can do, especially when it comes to blocking ads like they’ve always done.
The most curious thing is that if you use other Chromium-based browsers, such as Edge, Arc or Vivaldi, you can still install uBlock Origin without problems.
Don’t worry, all is not lost for fans of uBlock Origin in Chrome
It seems that Google has left a small back door for anyone who wants to take advantage of it and enter: By modifying the Windows Registry, you can extend support for extensions like uBlock Origin until mid-2025. It is an extension, but, of course, it is not a forever solution as you can already see.
Another option is to change browsers and there are quite a few options. You have Brave, Vivaldi, Edge and Opera, which also use Chromium as a base, still allow you to use uBlock Origin.
And then there’s Mozilla Firefox. This browser does not depend on Google or Chromium, and has promised to continue supporting both the usual extensions and the new ones that emerge. In fact, Raymond Hill, the creator of uBlock Origin, says his extension works best in Firefox.
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Tags: Chrome, Ads, Browsers, Chrome Extension, Mozilla Firefox
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