Google's Manifest V3 is Killing Ad Blockers. Or Is It?

By now, you've probably heard how Google Chrome is changing web extensions with Manifest v3 and how it's going to end ad blocking as we know it. But the first Manifest v3 ad blockers are here. How do they stack up to the previous ad blockers like uBlock Origin? Are they completely broken or not? Google's new manifest platform might have made some things harder for adblock developers. But is ad blocking really going to be that much worse for the average user? Let's find out in this video, where I go over the new, Manifest V3 compatible version of uBlock, uBlock Origin Lite.

0:00 What is Manifest V3?
1:16 Adblocking in Manifest V3
1:40 What is uBlock Origin Lite?
2:53 Installing uBlock Origin Lite
3:36 Testing uBO Lite
4:11 Giving extended per-site permissions
5:11 Giving extended permissions globally
5:36 Adding additional filter lists
6:23 Limitations of uBO Lite
8:40 Who is uBO Lite for?
9:32 My recommendations
10:42 Conclusion

[mystwalker]

This is what happens when a company has so much power and control

[meyers]

GOOD NEWS is that Ublock Lite works as expected and block the same ads as Ublock Origin did, and it ran faster.

I don't mind empty spaces and boxes at all as long as (often) malicious advertisings are blocked, given Brave on Mobile kinda did the same thing and i quickly get used to it.

but this feel like 2015 again when Adblock Plus started to weaken. And 2017 is back when i discover Ublock Origin.

[SIMULATAN]

"I'm probably gonna switch back to Firefox" 🥳

[SIMULATAN]

To be honest, considering the Mv2 version is so much better, I believe at least gorhill will keep supporting that version. Also, Firefox could really regain a lot of users by actually properly supporting these extensions, and I doubt they'll let this opportunity slip.

[zerotolerance]

It's not like it was in the 90s/2000s anymore. Creating a new browser from scratch for the modern web would be extremely expensive, complex, and costly to maintain afterwards. Taking into account the various forks like Brave and Edge? Something like 80% of the web is viewed through a chromium browser. If the FOSS community were really interested in fighting back against this monopoly, we'd see a lot more rendering engines/browsers being worked on. But what do we see? Fork after fork of chromium. Couple of forks of gecko.

And that's it.

No, if Mozilla ever decides to fold up their tents and call it a day, internet users are screwed. Google, the know-everything-about-you company, will own it all. They aren't far from it now.

[Pillock]

Generally speaking integrated ads like the videos within an article have never bothered me, I can just mouse scroll past that and continue reading. It's Youtube's watch this first approach is what annoys me, and it looks like that will still work, which is nice.
I hope sponsorblock will still work as well.

[doctoreggman]

But does it block the server side ad injections?

[AG-nozq]

I've been trying out the Brave browsers built in Ad-Blocker (it's gonna be unaffected by Manifest v3) for a few days now and I gotta say it's pretty good. Even most of the spaces where ads would be displayed are removed. Two things to keep in mind though: Set it to "aggressive" mode and cosmetic filters are only working for the provided filter lists. Added custom filter lists will block the domains but won't do cosmetic filtering, which is a bummer. All in all this is what I'm gonna use as soon as uBO won't work anymore.

[ricardonunes]

Hi Eric, can you do a tutorial of how to use uBlock origin for firefox? advance mode.

thanks in advance.

[Bruces-Eclectic-World]

Been thinking of switching back to Firefox as well. Have had issues with getting update's for Chrome on on Linux at times. Brave has been a good replacement for some time too for most of my video viewing on my media server. Firefox my be my surfing one again for a while as the drama with it is something else. Yes Firefox could be in a position to get some users back if they don't screw up and miss the opportunity to grab the new golden ring as it were... 🤪

LLAP 🖖

[leafofyume]

whats the point of using the lite version? sorry if i overheard that.

[daysjours]

Can you confirm what I think I understood from your video — this app will continue to block YouTube ads??? For me that is the most important thing. Thanks for your answer!!!

[stevensonjr]

Thanks a lot ! Do you know what will happen to Tampermonkey ?

[jx]

If the extension didn't work or is totally useless why wouldn't developer keep up with Firefox and mv2 if that allows it to still function, and why would Firefox ever dump mv2 if it allows them to have an edge over chrome? Overtime developers will find a way around the mv3 limitations and at some point, someone will find a way to enable userscripts and less limited third party extensions.

[notme]

As of Jan 9 (2023) Google Chrome will not allow ABP to run. I installed uBlock OL and it works fine but the Chrome browser is glitchy as F. I installed Firefox but it was so damn slow and glitchier than Chrome. I suspect uninstalling Chrome might help bc Chrome is working really hard to oviscape ad blockers...good luck all

[Posh_Quack]

This is just the gru meme
Panel 1: shove more ads down people's throats without checking the quality for maximum profit
Panel 2: render ad blockers useless in your web browser, forcing the majority of all internet users to view your ads
Panel 3: They get a different browser and install ublock origin
Panel 4: They get a different browser and install ublock origin?

[krzysztof--ywsg]

Google chrome(chromium) + Manifestv3 = R.I.P

[TheGQBrotha]

I've made the switch to Firefox already. I'm on a mac so Safari or Firefox it is. Chrome is of no interest to me, they have no interest in privacy of the user.

[portableappsbyjeder]

Most of content in the internet, as this video, free because you watch ads. You want to pay for every bit of info?