There has been a lot of talk about Google replacing the extensions system of the Chromium web browser with an updated version. Chromium is the source for many browsers, including Google Chrome, Brave Browser, Opera, Microsoft Edge, and many more.
While open source, it is Google that controls Chromium to a large degree.
Brave Software, maker of the Brave Browser, has now announced its stance on existing extensions support and the upcoming changes.
Here are the highlights:
- Classic extensions continue to work until at least June 2025. Brave activated an Enterprise-feature to extend support.
- Brave Software plans to support a small number of extensions beyond June 2025: AdGuard, NoScript, uBlock Origin, and uMatrix
- Brave Shields is unaffected.
Brave Software’s plan
All classic extensions will continue to work in Brave Browser until at least June 2025. Brave Software uses an official setting in Chromium to extend support.
Google plans to end support this year, but allows Enterprise customers to extend support by a year.
Come June 2025, Brave Software hopes that it can continue to offer support for four major content blocking extensions.
- AdGuard
- NoScript
- uBlock Origin
- uMatrix
This requires modification of Chromium code and the developers of the extensions according to Brave Software.
The company notes:
While Brave has no extension store, we have a robust process for customizing (or “patching”) atop the open-source Chromium engine. This will allow us to offer limited MV2 support even after it’s fully removed from the upstream Chromium codebase.
Extensions that become “stale or obsolete” may be removed. One example is the creation of a Manifest V3 extension that offers the same or similar functionality.
Brave users may control the four mentioned extensions, and any that may be added along the way, on the new Extensions page in the Settings.
Just load brave://settings/extensions/v2 to access it. Here users may enable or disable support for the Manifest V2 extensions. Note that this happens automatically, if one of the extensions gets installed in the web browser.
Closing Words
Manifest V2 extensions will eventually go away. While it is commendable that Brave Software plans to extend support for some beyond June 2025, it is clear that this is only a temporary measure.
Content blocking remains possible, even in Chromium-based browsers. The adblockers may not be as effective or feature-rich anymore, but it is likely that most blocking operations continue as before for the majority of users.
Those who want full control may switch to Firefox, as the Mozilla browser will continue to support Manifest V2 next to Manifest V3.
What about you? Do you use a Chromium-based browser and Manifest V2 extensions currently? What will you do when support ends?
It would be nice if Brave will continue supported V2 versions of Script Managers like (GreaseMonkey/Tampermonkey/Violentmonkey) and YouTube content blockers like (Block Tube/Control Player).
I use Brave and am glad for the effort to keep extensions working longer. I’d hate to have to change browsers, but would do so if that is the only way I can continue using extensions like uBlock Origin and NoScript. I can’t even imagine having to deal with ads on the internet.
Developer Raymond Hill abandoned uMatrix in 2021. The only way to get uMatrix functionality in a currently maintained extension is by using eMatrix on the Pale Moon web browser. And Pale Moon will never be effected by either the Manifest v2 or Manifest v3 decisions of Google – Pale Moon still uses the older XUL platform for extensions that was originally popularized by Firefox, before Firefox started using Google’s code for the guts of its browser in 2016.