Here's what you can do

by

url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url

Quick Links

  • Why Google Is Getting Ready to Kill Your Favorite Add-ons
  • How to check affected Chrome extensions

Main Takeaways

  • Manifest V3 will remove the web request API, limiting the blocking functionality of extensions.
  • Google aims to improve the security of the extension despite the potential drawbacks for users.
  • Check your Chrome extensions for affected items. Or you can switch to Firefox, which still supports the Web Request API.



Google is officially moving to Manifest V3, the new extension specification for Chrome. The latest version brings new features and, unfortunately, some limitations that will see some of your favorite browser extensions go away when it starts rolling out in 2025.


Why Google Is Getting Ready to Kill Your Favorite Add-ons

Google Chrome Store Home Page

In Manifest V2, extensions relied on an API feature called Web Request to monitor traffic while visiting websites, allowing them to block or modify specific requests along the way. Using the Web Request API, extensions can, for example, prevent websites from sending requests to certain domains, such as those belonging to advertisers, which ultimately blocks ads and trackers.


However, malicious criminals may also exploit the web request to create malicious Chrome extensions. Google has long had concerns about malicious criminals abusing the web request API. For this reason, in Manifest V3, Google moved the blocking functionality to a new API called Declarative Net Request and restricted some of the previous functionality.

For example, Google has removed support for remotely hosted code, meaning extensions can only execute scripts included in the package. This gives the company full power to decide what extensions can and can’t do as it manually reviews packages before publishing them to the Chrome Web Store. Manifest V3 also limits the number of filtering rules an extension can have, which can hinder the effectiveness of extension blocking.


According to Google, Manifest V3 will help improve “the security, privacy, performance, and reliability of the extension ecosystem as a whole.” However, if some of your favorite extensions depend on the removed or limited functionality, they may no longer be effective or, in the worst case, disappear forever once Manifest V3 is released to everyone.

How to check affected Chrome extensions

Chrome Extensions page showing extensions that will stop working once Manifest V3 is released.

You can check if your extensions are affected by going to chrome://extensionsOn this page, you'll see a list of extensions that Chrome will no longer support after Manifest V3 is released.

If one of your extensions is affected, you can hope that the developer will update the extension as soon as possible before the deadline set by Google. However, you can also look for alternative extensions with the same functionality.


Google has a useful tool. Find an alternative The button is available on the chrome://extensions page for any extension that will be deprecated if the developer does not provide an update before the deadline.

Instead, switch to another browser like Firefox, which still supports the Web Request API. Most Chrome extensions are also available on Firefox, so you probably won’t miss out on much if you switch. If you’re worried about losing your data, don’t worry. You can easily switch from Chrome to any other browser while keeping your bookmarks and settings.

Leave a Comment