Google is ending uBlock Origin in Chrome, but this trick lets you keep it for another year

Google is soon changing the rules for extensions in Chrome. The updated version is controversial because it kills several popular extensions for Chrome, including the world's most popular ad blocker uBlock Origin.

note: These changes also affect other Chromium-based browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Opera or Vivaldi. Brave is special because the developers have announced that they will continue to support uBlock Origin and several other extensions (but not all).

The ad blocker will stop working in Chrome and most Chromium-based browsers once Google rolls out the change. Any other extensions that have not been updated or cannot be updated due to the changes will also be disabled by Google.

There is a way to keep using the classic extensions for longer. While Google is ending support for consumer users immediately, it is offering enterprise customers the option to extend support for a year. The good news is that you can use this to extend support as well.

How to extend uBlock Origin support in Chrome for one year

The policy in question is called ExtensionManifestV2Availability. It defines support for classic extensions in Chrome.

The policy has the following values:

• 0 – Default behavior, determined by Google Chrome and Google.
• 1 – Manifest V2 is disabled. This means uBlock Origin no longer works.
• 2 – Manifest V2 is activated. This extends support by one year.
• 3 – Manifest V2 is enabled only for forced extensions. This restricts extensions to add-ons specified by an administrator.

Windows users can set it as follows:

1. Activate the Start button.
2. Type regedit.exe.
3. Load the Registry Editor.
4. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome.
   1. Note: Some of the keys may not exist. In this case, right-click the previous key, such as SOFTWARE, and select New > Key. Name it appropriately to create the path.
5. Right-click Chrome and select New > DWord (32-bit) Value.
6. Name it ExtensionManifestV2Availability.
7. Double-click the new DWord and set its value to 2.
8. Restart the PC.

This will enable the Enterprise policy on the system. This is why Chrome will not disable the old extension system this year.

Tip: You can load chrome://policy to check if the extension is set correctly.

Linux and Mac users should check out this Chrome support document for instructions on setting policies on their devices.

Which extensions are affected?

It takes a few seconds to figure this out. Google has started showing incompatible extensions on Chrome's extensions page.

You load chrome://extensions/ and check the box at the top that says “These extensions may no longer be supported soon”.

Tip: If you don't see this yet, load chrome://flags/#extension-manifest-v2-deprecation-warning and set the value to Enabled. Restart Chrome and you'll see the warning at the top of the page.

What happens to extensions when the change is made in Chrome?

Google Chrome disables extensions like uBlock Origin as soon as the change is made. The extensions are not uninstalled, at least not immediately. The screenshot above shows the uBlock Origin extension disabled. The switch to enable it is inactive, which means you can no longer enable it in the browser. The only options available are to view the details and remove it.

Most uBlock Origin users may quickly notice that the extension is disabled. Websites and services start displaying ads again.

Summary

Article name

Google is ending uBlock Origin in Chrome, but this trick lets you keep it for another year

Description

Learn how to extend support for uBlock Origin and other extensions in Google Chrome once Google disables support for classic extensions.

author

Martin Brinkmann

editor

Ghacks Technology News

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