4 browsers that will continue to support uBlock Origin and other ad blockers with Manifest V2

Google Chrome is making the switch to Manifest V3, and with that, other browsers that are based on Chromium likely will be as well. While they’re welcome to make changes and include support for Manifest V2, it’s no secret that things are eventually going to get a little bit weird for extensions that won’t, or can’t, update. One such extension is uBlock Origin, which relies on the permissiveness of Manifest V2 to do a lot of the filtering that it does.

As a result, you may be looking to make the switch to another browser if you really need uBlock Origin and uBlock Origin Lite isn’t good enough for you. These browsers, so far, will still support Manifest V2 for the foreseeable future.

4 Firefox

The best option for now

If you want to switch to another browser that’s modern and will still support Manifest V2, then Mozilla’s Firefox is your best bet. Firefox uses a reverse-engineered Chrome’s extensions API to support Chrome extensions, and there’s an official Firefox plugin repo that you can find extensions in. While Mozilla has said that Firefox will support Manifest V3 in the future, there are no plans to deprecate support for Manifest V2. Most notably, Mozilla will still specifically support the webRequest API for Manifest V3 extensions that want to continue blocking content using it.

Right now, Mozilla is the best option as it will work to essentially support the best of both worlds. While you’ll still get Manifest V3 and the benefits that come with it, you’ll be able to use extensions that still need the extra access granted by Manifest V2.

3 Vivaldi

Until June 2025, anyway

Vivaldi is in a little bit of the same boat as a lot of other browsers. While the developers behind it have already confirmed that they will continue to support Manifest V2 until it’s eventually removed from Chromium, that deadline isn’t as far away as you may think. In fact, it looks like Manifest V2 will be entirely removed from Chromium in June 2025, which means you’ll only get an additional year of support if you switch to Vivaldi.

As well, it’s not exactly clear how that will work. Vivaldi installs its extensions through the Chrome Web Store, and Google will start hiding Manifest V2 extensions there very soon. You might be able to manually download and install those extensions, but it’s not exactly convenient.

2 Microsoft Edge

For now

Microsoft Edge is in a weird spot because it has already embraced Manifest V3 but so far, hasn’t committed to a timeline of not supporting Manifest V2. Microsoft is no longer accepting Manifest V2 extensions, but that’s the only thing that’s changed. Developers can still update their extensions, and users can still install Manifest V2 extensions as well.

While I wouldn’t rely on Edge being your next browser for long-term usage of Manifest V2 extensions, it doesn’t look like support is going to be disappearing anytime soon.

Related

7 reasons Microsoft Edge is better than Google Chrome

Microsoft Edge does edge out Chrome in critical areas

1 Brave

Though not technically full Manifest V2 support

I’m not a big fan of Brave Browser, but if you really care specifically about a handful of extensions, the devs have pledged support for the likes of uBlock Origin, though the company’s CEO has made some incredibly vague comments on social media that suggest support may also only last until June 2025, and the blog post announcing it has some pretty big wiggle room.

While support for specific plugins under Manifest V2 doesn’t mean other plugins will work, at the very least your ad blockers that need Manifest V2 (or at least, the most popular ones), should work for an extended period of time. Given that the biggest holdouts on Manifest V3 are content blockers (for obvious reasons), it’s more or less the same to either support Manifest V2 or those extensions in particular.