Chrome Started Disabling uBlock Origin, So I Switched to Brave

Chrome began disabling uBlock Origin and marking it “no longer supported.” I could have looked for another extension that fit inside Manifest V3. Instead, I moved to Brave.

What Manifest V3 changed

Google says Manifest V3 improves security, privacy, and performance. The official documentation frames the changes as reducing risks from malicious extensions.

Warning The critical change in Manifest V3 involves restrictions on how extensions can intercept and filter web requests—functionality essential for ad blockers like uBlock Origin.

Content filtering remains possible under Manifest V3, but extensions have less freedom to intercept and change requests. The Electronic Frontier Foundation called Google’s framing “Deceitful and Threatening” and doubted it would improve security in any meaningful way. As of March 2025, Google had accelerated the removal, leaving temporary workarounds with an expiration date.

I Switched to Brave

I moved to Brave browser instead. Its blocking happens at the browser level, so I no longer have to wait for an extension to fit within Chrome’s rules. Pop-ups, banners, and YouTube pre-rolls disappeared in my normal browsing.

Brave’s tracking protection prevents third parties from monitoring browsing habits. More importantly, I no longer depend on a browser made by an advertising company to protect me from ads.

I did not switch browsers because I was looking for browser diversity. Chrome made one tool I relied on stop working, and Brave did not. That was enough.