Chrome 99 is the first browser to start the transition from Manifest V2 to Manifest V3, a new extensions model for the Chromium project. Although it has more security and a focus on privacy as a differential, the more advanced language is criticized by developers for containing some limitations, such as the reduction in the power of action of ad blockers.
You adblockers are widely used to avoid advertisements on Twitch and YouTube, for example, as they prevent the connection to external servers that display the ads. In order to “close security holes”, Manifest V3 prevents the action of blockers, which reduces the effectiveness of these programs – in some cases, it even renders them completely unusable.
As of January 17, 2022, extension registrations that follow Manifest V2 specifications are no longer accepted, as a harbinger of what will come in the following year. Developers who do not update their code will have extensions permanently unusable.
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The Manifest V3 controversy
Manifest V3 arrived on computers with Chrome 88 in early 2021, but it kept running in parallel with its predecessor. The definitive replacement is scheduled for January 2023, when model 3 will be introduced and v2 will be permanently removed from the platform.
In Manifest V2, the API WebRequest was used by the browser to make requests for web pages, either to place cookies in the browser or to load media files. Blockers acted to prevent the request made by the API, but this no longer existed in Manifest V3, which adopted the model declarativeNetRequest.
In the case of V3, the dynamics are different and this makes the current blockers no longer as effective as before. The API declarativeNetRequest requires the extension to tell Chrome a list of rules to analyze, such as the script programmed to block ad from a particular site. As a result, the browser decides whether or not to follow the extension’s guideline — in the case of ads, the algorithm decides whether to accept the ad blocking.
The return of advertisements?
With such limitations, it is useless for developers to adjust their extensions, as the display processing will be centralized in the browser. There are those who accuse Google of having done this on purpose to re-display Google Ads and YouTube ads, as blockers negatively impact delivery.
The search giant defends itself and claims that the protocol was created to offer more security, efficiency and privacy for the Chrome user. Google explains that many criminals used the V2 loophole to upload extensions that silently connected to servers to download malware and infect machines.
By June 2023, extensions with Manifest V2 are expected to stop working in Chrome in corporate applications — in regular applications, this deadline is January 2023. Therefore, from the middle of next year, Manifest V3 will be the official language. and developers will need to think of workarounds to stop annoying advertisements.
