What Manifest V3 changed
Chrome didn’t ban ad blockers. It changed the rules extensions run under, from a set called Manifest V2 to a new one, Manifest V3, and uBlock Origin was built on the old rules.
Under Manifest V2, a blocker could look at each request the browser was about to make and decide, with its own code, whether to let it through. Under Manifest V3, the extension hands Chrome a set of rules in advance, and Chrome applies them itself. The blocker loses the ability to decide on the fly. The FAQ of uBlock Origin Lite, by the same author, sets out the cost: several filter types that can’t be expressed, built-in rules that only change when the extension updates, and dynamic filtering and per-site switches such as script blocking, which it says Chrome 145 makes only “theoretically partially” possible (uBO Lite FAQ).
The dates, from Google’s own timeline (Chrome for Developers):
| Date | What changed in Chrome |
|---|---|
| 9 October 2024 | Chrome starts disabling Manifest V2 extensions |
| 31 March 2025 | Disabled by default for everyone, but can be turned back on |
| 24 July 2025 | Chrome 138: disabled, with no way to turn them back on |
| Chrome 139 | The last policy companies used to keep them running is removed |
| 31 August 2026 | Remaining Manifest V2 extensions removed from the Chrome Web Store |
Microsoft Edge is built on the same engine and is heading the same way: in August 2026, Microsoft announced it would gradually turn off Manifest V2 extensions, aiming to finish for consumers by the end of 2026, with businesses following from early 2027 (Microsoft; timeline on Microsoft Learn).
Option 1: Firefox with uBlock Origin
Mozilla kept Manifest V2 alongside the new version, and said it would keep supporting the blocking feature uBlock Origin relies on (Mozilla, February 2025). The full uBlock Origin runs in Firefox, with all its filter lists and settings.
This is the answer that changes least about how you block ads. The cost is the move itself: a different browser, and your habits to carry over. If Chrome isn’t a requirement for you, start here.
Option 2: Brave
Brave is built on Chromium, like Chrome, so Chrome extensions install in it. Its blocker, Shields, is part of the browser rather than an extension, and Brave says that “Manifest V3 will not weaken Brave Shields in any way” (Brave). Brave also committed to keeping four Manifest V2 extensions working, uBlock Origin among them, on a “best-effort” basis, and warned it may drop them if they go stale.
The cost is still a change of browser. The advantage over Firefox: what you’re used to in Chrome carries over almost as is.
Option 3: uBlock Origin Lite, in Chrome
Same author, rebuilt for Manifest V3, and available in the Chrome Web Store. It asks for fewer permissions than uBlock Origin, since Chrome does the filtering. On most sites, it’s enough.
Its limits come with Manifest V3: its built-in rules update with the extension, not on their own; hiding leftover ad slots on every site needs its strictest mode, called Complete; and the dynamic tools are gone (uBO Lite FAQ). Sites that fight back are where it struggles first: in June 2025, PCWorld’s own staff saw YouTube’s black screens while using uBlock Origin Lite (PCWorld). More on that in why ad blockers stop working on YouTube.
Option 4: a filter outside the browser
The last way is to filter before the traffic reaches Chrome at all. That’s what AdHole does on a Windows or Linux PC. On the computer where it’s installed, it blocks ad requests inside web pages and hides the ad slots, removes the ads from YouTube videos in your browser, and clicks “reject all” on cookie banners that offer it. It isn’t an extension, so Manifest V3 doesn’t touch it, and on Windows it covers every browser on the PC: Chrome, Edge, Brave and Firefox (version 120 and later). The same program can also filter your TV or console, once you set their DNS to this computer.
The costs, because there are some:
- A root certificate. AdHole installs one, created on your computer, and looks inside the HTTPS traffic of this PC, except on a list of sites it leaves encrypted. That built-in list is made for France: add your own bank in the settings before your next login.
- An installation, not an extension. Installing requires administrator rights, and the installer isn’t signed, so Windows warns you before running it.
- No toolbar button. To let a site through, you add a one-line rule in its dashboard.
- Free, but not open source. AdHole costs nothing and asks for no account, but its source code isn’t published. uBlock Origin’s is.
Which one to pick
- You can change browsers: Firefox with uBlock Origin. The most control, and nothing to install beyond the browser.
- You want to stay on a Chromium browser: Brave.
- You have to stay on Chrome and want the smallest change: uBlock Origin Lite, knowing its limits.
- Several browsers on one PC, YouTube in all of them, or the TV as well: a filter outside the browser, such as AdHole, if a root certificate on your computer doesn’t bother you.
Sources checked on 5 October 2026 and linked in the text.