Chrome Just Killed uBlock Origin — Firefox Is the Last Major Browser Where It Still Works

by Geth Author

On August 31, 2026, Google completed its removal of all Manifest V2 extensions from the Chrome Web Store, including uBlock Origin. For the roughly 50 million people who used the extension to block ads, trackers, and malware, the message was blunt: update Chrome, and your blocker is gone.

Why uBlock Origin Can't Live in Chrome Anymore

Manifest V2 (MV2) is the extension API that uBlock Origin was built on. Its key capability is webRequest blocking — a mechanism that intercepts network requests before they load, which is how uBO stops ads and trackers at the network level. Google's Manifest V3, which replaced it, swaps real-time blocking for a declarative rule-list system with hard caps on rule count. Raymond Hill, the creator of uBlock Origin, has been explicit: the restrictions in MV3 make an equivalent implementation impossible.

Chrome 138 and earlier can still run installed MV2 extensions, but they no longer receive updates from the Web Store and can't be reinstalled. Chrome 139 and later — which means any updated Chrome install — drops MV2 support entirely. Given that Chrome updates automatically, most users effectively lost uBlock Origin the day the Web Store purge went through.

Firefox Is Now the Last Holdout

Mozilla has not adopted Manifest V3's blocking restrictions. Firefox 155, which shipped in early September 2026, runs the complete, unrestricted uBlock Origin — and Mozilla has publicly committed to keeping it that way. The release also adds Happy Eyeballs v3 and QUIC v2 support for HTTP/3, improving page load times by racing multiple connection methods in parallel.

Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, and every other Chromium-based browser face the same Manifest V3 wall as Chrome itself. The only escape is switching engines.

What Your Options Actually Are

  • Switch to Firefox. The full version of uBlock Origin works, gets updates, and Mozilla's commitment is on record. This is what Raymond Hill recommends for anyone who wants complete protection.
  • Use uBlock Origin Lite on Chromium. The MV3 version exists but is significantly less capable — it can't block first-party scripts the same way, and filter list updates are slower. It's better than nothing.
  • DNS-level blocking. Tools like Pi-hole or NextDNS work at the network level regardless of browser. They won't block inline ads or YouTube ads, but they catch a large share of trackers and ad domains.

The Bigger Picture

Google argued that MV3 improves security and performance by limiting what extensions can do. Critics — including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Hill himself — argued it improves Google's ad revenue by crippling the most effective ad blocker. The final outcome in August 2026 settled the argument in practice: if you want full uBlock Origin, you need Firefox.

This is a meaningful moment for browser diversity. Firefox has been losing market share for years, but it now offers something no Chromium browser can: real ad blocking. Whether that's enough to reverse the trend is an open question — but for privacy-conscious users, the choice just got a lot simpler.

Sources: CyberInsider · PCWorld · It's FOSS (Firefox 155)