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Windows Central

Technology

Kevin Okemwa

Google might be cutting support for 'the world's most popular ad-blocker,' but this Windows Registry trick will help Chrome and Edge users keep intrusive ads at bay for a year longer

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What you need to know

Google is ending support for classic extensions in Chrome, including uBlock Origin, and transitioning to the Manifest V3 framework as part of its broader campaign against ad blockers.
Through the Windows Registry, users can leverage the ExtensionManifestV2Availability Enterprise policy to extend Manifest V2 support in Chromium-based browsers for one year—until June 2025.
DISCLAIMER: Tweaking the Windows Registry may brick your device. Proceed with caution!

Earlier this week, Google announced its plan to cut uBlock Origin support on its Chrome browser as part of its broader campaign against ad blockers across its products and services. Google's change in extension support from the Manifest V2 framework to V3 leaves over 30 million Chrome users susceptible to intrusive ads.

It's worth noting that the change applies to Chromium-based browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Opera, and more. It is expected to start rolling out via a new update soon. Consequently, uBlock Origin will no longer work across Chromium browsers or receive updates.

The company already released a new version of uBlock Origin that's Manifest V3 compliant — uBlock Origin Lite. While the Lite version sports most of the features in the original version, it falls short in some critical areas. For instance, it doesn't support dynamic filters for blocking scriptlet injection.

This hack will extend support for classic extensions on Chromium browsers for a whole year

Microsoft Edge Sidebar on Windows 11 desktop (Image credit: Future)

While the change is imminent across Chromium-based browsers, Mozilla's Firefox browser will continue supporting the Manifest V2 framework. A plausible workaround would be to transition to Firefox and continue using uBlock Origin and leveraging its capabilities.

However, you can stick to your Chromium-based browser and continue using uBlock Origin with the Manifest V2 framework.

As highlighted by TeamDJ on Reddit in the r/chrome subreddit, users can extend the support for Manifest V2 extensions using the Windows Registry with the help of the ExtensionManifestV2Availability policy designed for enterprise users.

Tutorial - Extend Manifest V2 - “ExtensionManifestV2Availability” Chrome Policy from r/chrome

Google intends to end support for Manifest V2 for home users immediately, though enterprise users can extend the framework's support by one year. Luckily, the same hack can be utilized by home users to extend support.

Here's what you'll need to do, as highlighted by TeamDJ on Reddit:

Open up the “Registry Editor” Program
Navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
With the Chrome folder on the left highlighted, select Edit/New/DWORD (32-Bit Value) <<>>.
Name it ExtensionManifestV2Availability and hit enter.
Right click what you just created (ExtensionManifestV2Availability) and click Modify. Set the Hexadecimal value to 2, and click OK.
You’re done, but check your work by opening Chrome, and pasting chrome://policy in the URL Address bar and hit enter. You should see the ExtensionManifestV2Availability policy, and the value should be set to 2. If you don’t see it, click “Reload Policies” and/or review your work.

You'll also need to restart your PC to apply the change. Your system will now have the ExtensionManifestV2Availability policy for Enterprise customers enabled, allowing you to use classic extensions on your browser until June 2025.