Microsoft begins turning off uBlock Origin and other extensions in Edge

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Edge, Chromium, and Manifest V2/V3

  • Edge is following Chromium in deprecating Manifest V2, which powers classic uBlock Origin; users see a dialog saying it’s “no longer supported,” though it can still be manually re-enabled for now.
  • Several comments frame this as Microsoft simply inheriting Google’s decision rather than independently choosing to preserve V2.
  • Others argue Chromium forks could theoretically maintain V2 APIs, but maintaining a long‑term fork of such core networking/extension code is seen as costly and fragile.

Impact on Adblocking and Web Usability

  • Many say the web is “unbearable” without uBlock Origin: ads, CPU/RAM bloat, tracking, cookie popups, and YouTube ads are core pain points.
  • Manifest V3’s declarativeNetRequest can still filter, but:
    • Rule limits are much stricter than V2.
    • Some capabilities (e.g. certain response-level blocking, CNAME uncloaking, fine‑grained dynamic rules, custom element picking) are limited or impossible.
  • uBlock Origin Lite (MV3) gets mixed reviews:
    • Some report no practical difference and even successful YouTube blocking.
    • Others highlight uBO’s own docs that describe Lite as inherently less capable and warn things will deteriorate as ad tech adapts.

Alternatives: Firefox, Brave, Orion, Others

  • Firefox is widely recommended as the primary refuge: it retains Manifest V2, is where uBlock Origin “works best,” and explicitly plans to keep V2 alongside V3.
  • Counterpoint: some users report site incompatibilities, performance concerns, or missing features; others note recent Mozilla messaging changes around data sharing have damaged trust.
  • Brave is polarizing:
    • Pros: strong built‑in adblock independent of MV2/MV3, support for custom filter lists, CNAME uncloaking.
    • Cons: crypto/token model, past incidents (affiliate link injection, auto-installed VPN services, creator tipping controversies) erode trust.
  • Other mentioned options: Vivaldi (built-in blocker), Arc (Chromium, but changing direction), Orion (WebKit with extension support), Firefox forks (LibreWolf, Zen, etc.), ungoogled Chromium, Thorium.

DNS/Network-Level Blocking vs Browser Extensions

  • Pi‑hole, NextDNS, AdGuard DNS/Systemwide, and ControlD are cited as “upstream” defenses.
  • Consensus: useful but insufficient alone:
    • Cannot reliably block first‑party ads, YouTube ads, or server‑side tracking.
    • Do not remove page elements; often leave empty ad slots.
    • Increasingly undermined by DoH, hardcoded DNS, and CNAME tricks.

Trust, Power, and the Future of the Web

  • Strong themes of “enshittification”: browsers from ad companies are seen as inherently conflicted; removing powerful adblock APIs is viewed as profit‑driven, not security‑driven.
  • Some see this as the end of the “power user” browser era on Chromium; others argue power users will simply migrate to non‑Chromium engines.
  • A minority discuss more radical responses: freezing browser versions, heavy sandboxing, or significantly reducing web usage (“web detox”).