Google once again postpones the reorganization of the Chrome content blocker
google has Announced (opens in a new tab) than the API for their latest extension platform for Chromium-based apps web browsersManifest V3 (MV3), has been delayed yet again, with a company update expected in March 2023.
The latest development comes just a month before the original deadline of January 2023, announced at the beginning of September 2022, was to enter into force. Google seems to be puzzled by the change, as another delay until January 2024 followed in late September, though only for enterprise users of Google Chrome.
Extensions are currently based on the Manifest V2 (MV2) API, which offers robust functionality to developers, allowing privacy tools, like uBlock Origin and Decentraleyes, to thrive. Google is looking to curb that functionality with MV3 by reducing the number of permissions available to developers, which it claims will increase user privacy and performance.
Manifest V3 Privacy Implications
Although Google has long kept (opens in a new tab) that intends to support content blocking extensions after the transition, some app developers are finding that this may not end up being the reality.
TechRadar Pro noted in our original deadline report that uBlock Origin’s lead developer Raymond Hill had developed an MV3-compatible version of the extension, but noted that the functionality was so reduced that it didn’t make “a lot of sense” to release.
Register has pointed out that complaints about functionality and privacy also come from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (opens in a new tab)Y Jean Paul Schmetz (opens in a new tab)CEO of privacy suite provider Ghostery, to name just a few.
However, it’s also the case that, perhaps up until now, the transition to MV3 has been going on while the API is a buggy experimental mess.
Register discovered that Chromium’s bug reporting system has a litany of mistakes (opens in a new tab) belonging only to it, while the new Service Workers feature, which replaces scripts running in the background that stop and start as needed, is largely broken (opens in a new tab)and has been since at least November 2020.
However, it is not all bad news: users who are looking for a true secure browsing experience have not yet run out of options.
Alternative browsers built on Chromium, the same underlying engine as Google Chrome, such as Microsoft Edge, are getting heavily involved in the change. However, the more privacy-focused Bravo (opens in a new tab) Y vivaldi (opens in a new tab) both have built-in ad blockers and trackers that shouldn’t be affected by the move to MV3.
Mozilla Firefox, which claims to be one of the few remaining browsers not based on Chromium, plans to implement MV3 while retaining some of the functionality of MV2. What Tech Radar Pro reported in late September, Mozilla intends to hold WebRequest (opens in a new tab)a comprehensive API to block web content and trackers.
Via Register (opens in a new tab)
