Effective from Chrome version 150, scheduled for June 30th, Google is removing the final technical workaround that allowed effective ad blockers to function in the browser.
This downgrade involves deleting a hidden setting known as the `ExtensionManifestV2Disabled` flag. Power users depended on this toggle to keep older extensions operational after Google officially discontinued support for Manifest V2 (MV2) framework.
Once the flag is removed, ad blocking extensions such as uBlock Origin will stop functioning permanently. An update schedule for July (Chrome 151), will completely remove all remaining MV2-related flags, with no means to restore their function.
In effect, Google is downgrading its official browser, potentially in the hopes of reviving advertising revenue.
Google removes user agency
The core technical shift is replacing Chrome’s webRequest API with the declarativeNetRequest API, which intentionally breaks Ad Blockers.
Under the old system, extensions such as uBlock Origin would watch browser traffic and filter trackers or any ad material trying to load, and block it on the spot before it ever reached your screen.
Under the next version, extensions must give Google a pre-written list of things to block, after which Chrome decides whether to follow those instructions.
In essence, Google is removing capabilities and user agency by extension – a running theme among many big tech companies these days.
uBlock Origin’s developer, Raymond Hill, has stated that a full MV3 replacement cannot match the original extension’s capabilities. A castrated version, uBlock Origin Lite, exists for MV3, but with significantly reduced functionality, blocking fewer filter lists and lacking features like cosmetic filtering (hiding ad containers even after blocking the ad itself).
Google engineer Devlin Cronin confirmed the timeline in a Chromium code review, citing problems of technical debt, and security risks associated with maintaining the old MV2 system as reasons for its discontinuation. Oddly enough, Google’s engineer acknowledged that other browsers can continue supporting MV2 “if they so desire”. The comment suggests that this downgrade is a chrome-specific decision.
Google controls a dominant, yet dwindling 65% of the desktop browser market share, and MV2 code getting removed from the open-source project means that Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Opera will also be affected. Brave browser is also Chromium-based, but bypasses the problem by building its own-ad blocking engine directly into the browser.
At least in part, Google justifies the move on security grounds. The webRequest API granted extensions access to all network activity. While powerful, this kind of access for ad-blocking poses risks if misused (though uBlock Origin is also open-source, which significantly limits potential misuse). Still, internet users with higher security threat models tend to opt for self-hosted options such as having a strong firewall and filters running on a Raspberry Pi.
The newer declarativeNetRequest API aims to work around Google’s supposed security concerns by only allowing extensions to submit instructions in advance, after which Chrome decides whether to execute the blocking itself.
In essence, Google is treating users like children by removing direct control over blocking and content filtering.
The big tech company generated about $239.5 billion in advertising revenue in 2025, and content blockers directly reduce the number of ads users see. These MV3 restrictions do not block ad blocking entirely, but cap the amount of rules an extension can use and eliminate dynamic blocking.
Alternatives for Chrome Users
If you rely on effective ad blocking in Chrome, your options are to either accept reduced protection, or to migrate to another browser without the downgrade.
1. Switch browsers: browsers like Firefox and Brave continue to support the older MV2 extensions fully. Firefox runs on its own engine, allowing this. Brave has its own ad-blocking engine directly into the browser. Moving to either of these will restore your desired ad-blocking experience, custom filter lists etc.
2. Submit to limited capabilities: install uBlock Origin Lite in Chrome. This will offer some mediocre blocking – subject to change on the whims of Google – but with significantly reduced features and slower adaptation to new threats compared to the original extension.
3. Do nothing: allow Chrome 150 to disable the extension automatically upon update.
Google’s removal of the workaround marks a significant shift in its approach to browser extensions and ad-blocking, and is part and parcel with a disturbing trend of wholesale degradation of the internet and tech more broadly.
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