Google Delays Roll Out of Manifest V3, the Browser Extension Platform Detrimental to Adblockers

Google recently announced a delay in the launch of Manifest V3, the successor to Manifest V2 and the latest browser extension API for Google Chrome. The search and advertising giant provided an updated timeline for the transition to Manifest V3, scheduled to begin starting January 2023. (Schedule updated again in December 2023)

Enterprise users now have six additional months to shed their reliance on the deprecated Manifest V2. In September 2021, Google said it would no longer run Manifest V2 extensions starting January 2023. That has been extended to June 2023, when Google will not allow any Manifest V2 item that has a ‘Public’ visibility, to be published.

Any Chrome extension with Manifest V2 on the Chrome Web Store will be removed by January 2024. However, any developer who seeks to submit their extension(s) under the ‘Featured’ category would be technically obliged to use Manifest V3.

David Li, a product manager at Google,  wrote, “Chrome will take a gradual and experimental approach to turning off Manifest V2 to ensure a smooth end-user experience during the phase-out process. We would like to make sure developers have the information they need, with plenty of time to transition to the new manifest version and to roll out changes to their users.”

Manifest V3 generated a fair deal of controversy when it was announced due to an inherent change in how it functions. The latest browser extension platform is designed in such a way that it leverages webRequest and declarativeNetRequest APIs that render adblockers bootless, maybe even useless.

In Manifest V2, adblockerOpens a new window extensions use webRequest to block HTTP requests. However, Manifest V3 is designed to bypass this and refer to a list of URLs under declarativeNetRequest that need to be blocked. The problem is that the declarativeNetRequest blocklist contains 30,000 URLs, which is just 10% of what ad blockers usually are implemented to block (300,000 URLs).

Internet filtering software developer AdGuard explained how it also impacts dynamic rules in adblocker extensions. “Manifest V3’s restrictions harm not only filtering quality and user experience, but also the filter development community. Previously, anyone could create a filter for themselves, and over time such a filter could become popular and get on the list of recommended blockers,” the company notedOpens a new window .

“Now it is much more difficult to accomplish this. After all, blockers must use pre-set filters (no more than 50), and we have to be very selective about which filters will be available to users. Of course, you can still set your own filter manually. But don’t forget the 5000 rule limit on all custom filters and user rules.”

See More: Google Postpones Plan to Phase Out Third-Party Cookies, Again

AdGuard found a way to develop an adblocker extension that can work “even within the strict limits of Manifest V3.”

Google, an online advertising juggernaut, touts Manifest V3 as something that will help users with “privacy, security, and performance.” Google Chrome is also the most popular web browser on both desktop (67.34%Opens a new window ) and mobile (65.27%Opens a new window ). Moreover, 80.77% of Google’s $69.68 billion Q2 2022 revenue came from advertising. So it isn’t difficult to see how software measuring less than a megabyte in size could undermine Google’s ad dominance.

“According to Google, Manifest V3 will improve privacy, security and performance. We fundamentally disagree,” noted digital rights non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The organization called out Google in December 2021 and said, “Each extension manifest version update introduces backwards-incompatible changes to ostensibly move the platform forward.”

“The universe of possible extensions will be limited to what Google explicitly chooses to allow, and creative developers will find they lack the tools to innovate. Meanwhile, extensions that defend user privacy and safety against various threats on the Web will be stuck in the past, unable to adapt as the threats evolve,” EFF wroteOpens a new window .

Brave Software, the developer of the open-source web browser Brave, took to Twitter to express their disapproval of Google’s move to deprecate Manifest V2 for V3.

With Manifest V3, Google is harming privacy and limiting user choice. The bottom line, though, is that Brave will still continue to offer leading protection against invasive ads and trackers.

Keep your privacy protected by switching to Brave today: https://t.co/4wVWi9bfK3

— Brave Software (@brave) September 27, 2022Opens a new window

In the short term, Manifest V3 will have an impact only on development. However, its long-term ramifications could ultimately be felt by users, provided they keep using Google Chrome. The whole situation seems like a golden opportunity for competitors such as Brave, which has adblocking as an innate feature, and Mozilla Firefox.

Developers of the Chromium-based Brave and Vivaldi browsers have announcedOpens a new window supportOpens a new window for Manifest V3 without shedding support for Manifest V2. The Gecko-based Mozilla Firefox, which previously included Manifest V2 to allow developers with cross-browser compatibility, said it would once againOpens a new window extend support to Manifest V3 without ending support for Manifest V2.

Apple’s Safari, which has the WebKit engine at its core, and Chromium-based Microsoft Edge are bothOpens a new window movingOpens a new window to Manifest V3.

Considering a delayed deprecation of Manifest V2 is against perceived Google interests, it begs the question of whether Manifest V3 is technically at par with V2 in terms of features, stability and reliability.

Google said it would run experiments to turn off support for Manifest V2 extensions in Canary, Dev, and Beta channels starting in January 2023 in Chrome 112, and in all channels, including stable channel, starting in June 2023 in Chrome 115.

Update

In December 2022, Google updated its Manifest V3 rollout and V2 deprecation timeline yet againOpens a new window . This time, the company provided no plan and said that it would have a clear picture of Manifest V2 deprecation by March 2023. Meaning V3 rollout is now indefinitely delayed.

Simeon Vincent, Google’s Chrome extensions developer advocate, postedOpens a new window , “We’ve heard your feedback on common challenges posed by the migration, specifically the service worker’s inability to use DOM capabilities and the current hard limit on extension service worker lifetimes. We’re mitigating the former with the Offscreen Documents API (added in Chrome 109) and are actively pursuing a solution to the latter. Expect to hear more about the updated phase-out plan and schedule by March of 2023.”

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