Time to switch to uBlock Lite or another ad blocker.

If you have uBlock Origin, you might notice Chrome automatically disabling the extension.

Google Chrome has begun to phase out uBlock Origin. The developer of the free ad blocker, Raymond Hill, recently reposted a screenshot that shows Chrome automatically turning off uBlock Origin because it is “no longer supported.”

The change comes as Google Chrome migrates to Manifest V3, a new extension specification that could impact the effectiveness of some ad blockers. uBlock Origin has launched uBlock Origin Lite, which uses Manifest V3, in response to the transition. However, you have to manually install the extension because it’s “too different from uBO to be an automatic replacement,” according to a FAQ Hill that posted to GitHub.

  • @officermike@lemmy.world
    24•1 month ago

    I have, and as a tab hoarder, the transition has been rough. I really miss the tab grouping feature from Chrome, and I haven’t found any FF extension that suitably replaces it.

    I had already switched to mobile Firefox years ago for extension (uBlock) support, and that was an easy transition.

    • Mossy Feathers (She/They)
      18•1 month ago

      Thankfully, as a long-time Firefox user, I’ve never been pampered by this magical feature and so it’s not something I miss. Perhaps a chrome exodus will cause Firefox to pick it up though.

      Then again, I’m currently wearing a tinfoil hat that says, “Mozilla’s CEO is a Google sleeper agent” so I’m about 50/50 on whether or not Mozilla will just straight-up fold in a couple years; but there’s still the half that’s hopeful!

        • @Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
          2•1 month ago

          If you want to take a chance relying on a system meant to store temporary data to store permanent/semi-permanent information then go ahead, I’ll continue using the bookmarks bar and never worry about an update erasing all my tabs :)

          • @xmunk@sh.itjust.works
            5•1 month ago

            The volatility is a feature… every once in a while I rely on my tabs being lost to oblivion to avoid being overwhelmed.

    • @Hellinabucket@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9•1 month ago

      The tab grouping is the only thing I keep going back to chrome for on mobile. I spend of surprising amount of time deep diving certain things and it really helps to keep all the branches of the tree together in one group.

      • @MushroomsEverywhere@lemmy.world
        1•1 month ago

        Big same. I really like Firefox on mobile for the addons (mostly Consent-o-matic, hate cookie popups), but I still mostly use Adblock Browser because of the tab groups. The convenience really wins me over, sadly.

    • partial_accumen
      4•1 month ago

      I prefer FF, but if it helps you the Vivaldi Browser is Chromium based and will continue to support the v2 Manifest (old extensions) until July 2025. That might buy you time. Who knows what the landscape and options exist then.

    • @shadshack@sh.itjust.works
      3•1 month ago

      When I switched to Firefox a while back, I also switched to using the Tree Style Tabs extension. It gives you vertical tabs which can be nested like a folder structure. I found it’s way more convenient to know which tab was spawned from a parent tab, and keep similar tabs all in one little grouping. In my opinion, it’s even better than Chrome’s tab grouping. I lose a tiny amount of screen real estate along the left side of the browser, but it really didn’t take long at all to get used to, and now I vastly prefer it.

    • GreyBeard
      3•1 month ago

      I recommend giving Sidebery a shot. It allows you to use a vertical list of tabs instead, that follow a tree hierarchy, so you can have an entire group together and collapsable. Before it was Tree Style Tabs, but development of that seems to have slowed to a stop.