June 10, 2026
Ad-pocalypse Now
Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow
Chrome’s ad-blocking crackdown has commenters asking why anyone still trusts it
TLDR: Google is removing the last loopholes that kept older, stronger ad blockers alive in Chrome, and other Chrome-based browsers may follow. Commenters are split between cynical outrage at Google’s motives and a blunt question: if ad blocking matters this much, why are people still using these browsers at all?
The browser wars just got petty, personal, and very loud. Google is finishing its long-running plan to shut the door on old-style extensions in Chrome, which means the classic version of uBlock Origin — the beloved ad blocker many people use to keep the internet from turning into a flashing billboard — is running out of road. The biggest gasp from the crowd wasn’t really about the code changes themselves. It was the mood: “So… why are people still using Chrome?” That brutally simple comment became the unofficial slogan of the thread, with Edge and Opera catching strays too.
Some commenters treated this like Google finally dropping the mask. One user dragged up Google’s own old philosophy page — yes, the one with lines like “Focus on the user” and “You can make money without doing evil” — basically turning the discussion into a public side-eye session. Others were more measured, arguing this isn’t a cartoon villain slamming a giant red kill switch, but a slow squeeze that reshapes what ad blockers can do. Translation for normal humans: the blocker may still exist, but it may not be as powerful.
And then came the browser gossip. People immediately started asking whether Brave would break away, whether Vivaldi would keep playing both sides, and whether Opera’s earlier promises were already aging badly. The vibe was part outrage, part breakup talk, part group chat roast — with uBlock Origin fans acting like they just got told their favorite bouncer is being replaced by mall security.
Key Points
- •The article says Chrome is reaching the final phase of removing Manifest V2 extension support as part of its migration to Manifest V3.
- •Google engineer Devlin Cronin is quoted saying MV2 extensions are no longer allowed in any supported Chrome version because of complexity, technical debt, and security risks.
- •The Chromium feature flag `kExtensionManifestV2Disabled` has been removed, and additional MV2-related options are listed as being removed in Chromium 151.
- •The article says current bypasses used to keep MV2 extensions such as uBlock Origin working in Chrome, including a Windows Registry modification, will stop working or only continue temporarily.
- •The article reports that Microsoft Edge and Opera may also end effective support for MV2 extensions, citing Edge’s earlier disabling of uBlock Origin and an Opera developer notice urging migration to MV3.