Google to permanently delete Manifest V2 Chrome extensions next month

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Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

TL;DR

Google will remove all older Manifest V2 extensions from Chrome Web Store next month.

The only way to keep using these extensions is not to update Chrome past v138.

There won’t be any way to restore the older extensions once they’re deleted from Chrome, even on v138 or older.

Chrome v139 and newer only support faster, more efficient Manifest V3 extensions.

For a few years now, Google has been waging a campaign against old Chrome extensions that use the now-deprecated Manifest V2, which has been replaced by newer, more secure Manifest V3 . The new protocol also refines how extensions run on Chrome, thereby reducing resource utilization. But there are some casualties of this transition, including popular ad blocker extensions, such as uBlock Origin .

Previous steps from the Chromium team have already crippled older extensions to an extent. Their actions include automatically disabling older extensions and making it more difficult for users to enable them. Now, it’s pushing harder and getting ready to remove every footprint of these older extensions from the Chrome Web Store.