Google Chrome to Limit Ad Blockers in June 2024

Changes to Google Chrome for Ad Blockers Coming in June

All internet users need to know about a big change coming soon for your user experience.

Google has announced that in June 2024, it will make a major change to its extension platform, Manifest V3.

This change will affect how millions of users block unwanted ads and protect their privacy online. And it won’t just affect Google Chrome: it will change every browser built on Google’s Chromium code.

What is an Ad Blocker?

An ad blocker is a software tool that allows you to block or filter ads, trackers, and scripts. That means you won’t see those ads on web pages you visit. Ad blockers make your user experience faster, safer, and more curated. Often, you will have an ad blocker in your browser and you won’t even know it’s there, until you get a notice asking you to unblock it.

Three ways ad blockers benefit users

1) Improvement to browsing speed

Ad blockers reduce the amount of data that your browser has to process, which speeds up your internet experience.

2) Better online security and privacy

Ad blockers prevent third-party trackers and malicious scripts from collecting your personal information, cookies, or credentials. This can prevent identity theft and hacking.

3) More control and choice over your online experience

Ad blockers let you customize the ads you see or even block them completely.

There are many types of ad blockers, such as browser extensions, standalone applications, or network-level tools. Some of the most popular ad blockers are uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, Adblock Plus, and Ghostery.

How Will Limits to Google Ad Blockers Affect Web Search?

The change that Google will make in June 2024 will limit the capabilities of third-party extensions. These extensions include many popular ad blockers.

Right now, those ad blockers use a powerful feature called webRequest API.

WebRequest API allows extensions to modify or block network requests made by web pages, such as ads, trackers, or scripts.

Many ad blockers rely on this feature to filter out intrusive or malicious ads.

Google claims that the webRequest API poses a security and performance risk. The company will replace it with a more limited feature called declarativeNetRequest API. The new feature will only allow extensions to block certain types of requests.

This means that ad blockers will have less flexibility in blocking unwanted content. They will not be able to handle complex filtering scenarios. You will no longer be able to block ads based on your preferences.

This could affect your web search experience in several ways:

• You may see more ads, trackers, and scripts as you are browsing the web.
• You may have less choice about which ads you see.
• You may experience slower browsing speed.
• You may face more security risks from adware and malware.

Why is Google making this change?

Google claims their Manifest V3 update will keep users safer by making it harder for extensions to contain malware.

David Li, Product Manager for Chrome Extensions, commented on the update. “We are ready to continue moving towards Manifest V3 and the higher security and privacy guarantees it provides,” Li said in an announcement on the Google site [1].

Google may be planning to make security updates, but there is more at stake for Google than just the good of its users. Google makes its money from ads. If too many people block ads, Google loses income.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has already experienced major success with limiting ad blockers on YouTube. When Alphabet implemented penalties for ad blockers on YouTube, hundreds of thousands of people uninstalled their ad blockers [2]. More ad exposure then meant more ad revenue for YouTube.

What to Expect from Ad Blocker Updates

The change to Chrome’s extension platform has sparked a backlash from extension developers who make ad blockers and from internet users.

Ghostery is one of the best known developers of ad blockers. Ghostery’s director of product and engineering, Krzysztof Modras, stated in Engadget that Google’s use of Manifest V3 would “introduce another layer of gatekeeping that will slow down how ad blockers can react to new ads and online tracking methods” [3].

But other major ad blocking companies are not disturbed by the upcoming change. Andrey Meshkov, Co-founder and CTO of AdGuard, stated in TechRadar.com, “In short, MV3 turned out not to be as bad as I once feared, and no, ad blockers are far from dying” [4].

Users of Google Chrome have also expressed their unhappiness with the change. Some have threatened to switch to other browsers such as Firefox that will not limit ad-blocking extensions [5]. Reddit user olokos 1 commented “Chrome is planning to drop Manifest V2 in 2024 in favor of Manifest V3 only, so all ad blockers will be severely limited.” Users pabskamai and Kenny608uk stated they had either already switched to Firefox or planned to do so.

Rainevillanueva stated her plan to switch to the Opera browser, saying, “I can’t concentrate browsing the web without an Adblock.” But Villanueva did not realize that Opera will also be affected by the change, as the Opera browser is based on Google’s Chromium browser code. Browsers based on Chromium will also limit ad blocking unless they have implemented a workaround.

What are your alternatives to Google Chrome?

Like these Reddit users, you may be seeking an alternative to the change that Google will make to its extension platform beginning in June 2024.

You have the option of switching to another browser that offers more support and freedom for ad blockers.

Browsers to use instead of Google Chrome

• Firefox is an open-source browser that supports the webRequest API and does not plan to limit the capabilities of ad blockers and other extensions. Firefox also has built-in features to protect your privacy and security, such as tracking protection, password manager, and private browsing mode.
• Brave blocks ads and trackers by default and rewards you with tokens for viewing optional ads. Brave also has features to protect your privacy and security, such as Tor integration, fingerprinting prevention, and HTTPS everywhere. Though Brave is built on Chromium, it has its own ad blocker built in Rust that is not an extension [6]. Any tool that is not an extension can function without being affected by Manifest V3.
• The Vivaldi browser is also built on Chromium. Like Brave, though, Vivaldi claims that in 2020, it remodeled its ad blocker to be unaffected by the upcoming changes to the Manifest V3 platform [7].

Many browsers are based on Chromium

FAQs: Google Chrome to Limit Ad Blockers

What is the new Manifest V3 extension format?

The new Manifest V3 extension format is a set of rules that Google is introducing for Chrome extensions. Google claims it will improve the security, privacy, and performance of Chrome extensions, as well as to make them easier to maintain. Manifest V3 will replace the current Manifest V2 format, which has been in use since 2012.

How will Manifest V3 be different from Manifest V2?

The main difference between the Manifest V3 and Manifest V2 formats is the way they handle network requests made by web pages, such as ads, trackers, or scripts.. The Manifest V3 format will replace the webRequest API with the declarativeNetRequest API, which will only allow extensions to specify rules for blocking certain types of requests. That means some ad blockers will no longer work the way they did before.

Will changes to ad blockers affect my online shopping?

Google’s changes to ad blockers won’t keep you from shopping, but you might see more unwanted ads. See our complete article on online shopping safety.

Are Google’s changes to ad blockers and third-party cookies related?

Google claims that both improve user security and privacy, but the two changes are not technically related. To understand how the cookie change will affect you, read our full explanation of how Google will turn off third-party cookies.

Sources

[1] Developer.Chrome.com. “Resuming the Transition to Manifest V3."

[2] Wired.com. “YouTube’s Ad Blocker Crackdown Spurs Record Uninstalls."

[3] Engadget.com. “Inside the Arms Race Between YouTube and Ad Blockers."

[4] TEchRadar.com. “How Chrome’s Manifest V3 Will Change the Game for Ad Blockers."

[5] Reddit.com. “Manifest V3 Incoming in 2024 Time to Change."

[6] Brave.com. “Improved Ad Blocker Performance."

[7] Vivaldi.com. “Manifest V3 Webrequest and Ad Blockers."

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