Google Chrome is making a significant change to its extension system, phasing out the older and more capable Manifest V2 in favor of the more limited Manifest V3. The announcement of Manifest V3 in 2019 was met with controversy and criticism from various groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which described it as “deceitful and threatening.” The new system, according to the EFF, will restrict the capabilities of web extensions and hinder their ability to monitor, modify, and compute alongside the user’s browser interactions with websites.
Despite Google’s claims that Manifest V3 aims to improve security, privacy, performance, and trustworthiness, doubts have been raised by the Firefox team regarding the justification for these changes. Philipp Kewisch, Firefox’s Add-ons operations manager, mentioned in a talk that Firefox has managed malicious add-ons at a manageable level, and they can still collect data using the current web request API available in Manifest V3. Firefox plans to support Manifest V3 to ensure cross-browser compatibility for extensions but has no intention of turning off support for Manifest V2.
One of the primary concerns surrounding Manifest V3 is its limitations on content filtering, particularly regarding the APIs used by ad blockers and anti-tracking extensions. The lack of a clear explanation from Google as to why content filtering is limited raises suspicions, especially considering that Google generates a significant portion of its revenue from advertising. It is also worth noting that Google is integrating an ad system directly into Chrome and making moves against ad blockers on platforms like YouTube.
When Manifest V3 was initially detailed in 2019, Google engaged in discussions with the extension community and made some concessions. The number of filtering rulesets allowed was increased, benefiting ad blockers. However, filtering extensions are now unable to update their rulesets independently, requiring submission to the Chrome extension store and undergoing a potentially lengthy security review. This delay in updates could give ad platforms like YouTube a distinct advantage, as any changes made by ad blockers would be delayed by weeks. While Google claims that extensions can skip the review process for “safe” rule set changes, this allowance only applies to “static” rulesets and not more powerful “dynamic” ones.
In summary, Google’s negotiations with the extension community have yielded some changes, but the underlying issue remains: if extensions cannot innovate, users suffer while trackers and advertisers benefit. The API needs to evolve to keep up with the demands of advertisers and trackers. Although Google states that over 85% of actively maintained extensions in the Chrome Web Store are using Manifest V3 and that the top content filtering extensions have Manifest V3 versions available, it fails to mention that the most popular ad blocker, uBlock Origin, has a Manifest V3 version labeled as “uBlock Origin Lite,” indicating its inferiority compared to the Manifest V2 version.
As for the phase-out process, Google plans to start displaying warning banners on the extensions page for Manifest V2 extensions installed in beta versions of Chrome next week. These extensions will also lose their “featured” status in the Chrome extension store. Over the coming months, extensions will begin to be disabled. Initially, users will have the option to turn them back on if they visit the extension page, but Google plans to remove this toggle eventually. When that happens, users will need to search for alternative extensions or consider switching to Firefox.
In conclusion, the transition from Manifest V2 to Manifest V3 in Google Chrome’s extension system has sparked controversy due to concerns about limiting capabilities, particularly regarding content filtering. While Google argues that Manifest V3 aims to improve security, privacy, performance, and trustworthiness, criticisms have been raised regarding its impact on user experience and the ad-blocking community. The phase-out process is expected to begin next week, gradually disabling Manifest V2 extensions and potentially prompting users to explore alternative options.
Source link
