June 8, 2026
Blocked by the blocker?
Ask HN: How to escalate a rejected Google extension?
Developer says Google keeps stonewalling his ad blocker — commenters say “well… it sells ads”
TLDR: A developer says Google repeatedly rejected his ad-blocking browser add-on with canned excuses and no real explanation. Commenters mostly weren’t shocked, arguing that a company built on advertising has little reason to help tools that block ads, though a few suggested public support channels might get a real human response.
A frustrated developer showed up on Hacker News with a familiar modern-tech complaint: he built a browser add-on that blocks ads, sent it to Google’s Chrome store, and says Google rejected it over and over with vague, copy-paste explanations. First it was allegedly “spam.” Then it supposedly had “extra features” because it changes web traffic — which, as the developer pointed out, is kind of the whole point of an ad blocker. He says even after simplifying the code and asking for a senior reviewer, he got the same robotic response. And that’s where the crowd smelled blood.
The comment section basically turned into a roast of Google’s business model. The loudest reaction was some version of: what did you expect from a company that makes money from ads? One commenter delivered the killer line, comparing the whole situation to asking someone to carry a product that attacks their core business. Another was even blunter: “Stop using Chrome!” A third went full lawn-care poetry with, “google is an ad company. mow different lawns.” Subtle? No. Memorable? Absolutely.
But it wasn’t all doomposting. One practical voice suggested taking the fight public in the official Chromium extensions forum, where actual Chrome team members sometimes respond. Another offered a less conspiratorial theory: maybe each submission lands on a different reviewer, and every reviewer interprets the rules differently. So the drama split neatly into two camps: Google is giving ad blockers the runaround on purpose, versus Google’s review system is just a chaotic mess. Either way, the community verdict was brutal: if your app hurts ad sales, don’t expect a warm welcome.
Key Points
- •A developer says Google rejected a Chrome Web Store ad-blocking extension multiple times.
- •The first rejection allegedly cited the extension as "spam," and a later rejection cited "additional functionality" tied to modifying network traffic.
- •The author argues that modifying network traffic is necessary for the extension's ad-blocking behavior and references declarativeNetRequest in that context.
- •The developer submitted a revised update with simplified code, comments, and references to similar open-source projects, but says it was rejected again.
- •The author says they requested escalation to a senior reviewer, received the same standard response, and asked other developers for advice on resolving similar review issues.