Mozilla confirmed this week that its Firefox web browser will continue to support the extensions Manifest V2 next to the new version Manifest V3.
Google announced several years ago that it would move Chrome’s extensions manifest to a new version. The manifest defines the capabilities of browser extensions. Google’s initial draft drew the ire from users, privacy advocates, and developers alike. The company’s engineers made several adjustments to Manifest V3, which addressed some criticism but not all of it.
It now plans to end support for Manifest V2 extensions later this year in Chrome. Most Chromium-based browsers will share the fate. In fact, the only option to avoid this is to spend engineering time on reintroducing support for Manifest V2 in the browser engine after removal by Google.
Mozilla is in a better position this time. The organization’s Firefox browser uses its own browser engine, which gives it more control over its set of features. While Mozilla has been pushing Firefox towards improved Chromium compatibility in the past, it has made decisions in the past against this if it thought that it would be in the best interest of the organization.
In the case of Manifest V2 and Manifest V3, Mozilla published a statement about the future of Manifest V2 shortly after Google’s announcement regarding the change. Summed it, it confirmed that Mozilla would not follow Google’s implementation to the letter. Firefox would continue to support Manifest V2, and thus all extensions that relied on it, next to Manifest V3.
In other words, Firefox users would get the best of both worlds. Future compatibility with Manifest V3 extensions and also backwards compatibility to make sure that extensions continued to work.
Not all extensions can be ported to Manifest V3. Some may be ported, but with an impact to the functionality. Especially content blockers and other security tools are on the receiving end in this regard.
Mozilla reiterates its stance
With Google’s deadline to end Manifest V2 support in Chrome coming closer and closer, Mozilla published an update on its stance regarding the change. Mozilla confirmed that it has not changed its strategy at all.
While Firefox is supporting Manifest V3 extensions to a degree already, it will continue to support Manifest V2 extensions as well. Firefox continues to “support MV2 extensions for the foreseeable future” according to Mozilla.
Mozilla keeps a back door open, but you cannot really blame the organization for doing so. The organization promises that it will inform developers and users at least 12 months before making a a change in this regard, if it decides to re-revaluate the decision.
Closing Words
Firefox continues to support Manifest V2 extensions for the foreseeable future at the very least. It is too early to say if the decision will have an impact on the browser’s usage numbers. Once Google launches the change in Chrome, users with Manifest V2 extensions installed will notice that they cannot use these anymore.
These have several options, one of them is migrating to a browser that continues to support them. It will be especially interesting to see how content blockers behave after the changes land.
Now You: What is your take on the Manifest V3 push by Google?
My take on the Manifest V3 push by Google is that it is fully coherent with the company’s nature, that of an advertising and related tracking company.
I remain stunned of the browser’s popularity, of the very fame of the company, its products and services.
I remain stunned of a planet’s worship for a digital dictator.
I remain stunned that so many outsiders consider Google standards as the way to go, putting aside too often their very independence, specifics, identity :
Google changes something to its browser, many other browsers will follow.
Google changes the layout of its search engines, others will follow.
This is not specific to the digital environment : challengers nowadays tend to imitate the leader rather than to be proud of their differences and propose them independently, motivated by market-share and convinced that they’ll gain a greater share by imitating than by innovating. Unfortunately. This is understandable in some way given the sheep-attitude of companies follows the sheep-attitude of consumers, increasingly culturally retarted, and both together initiate the snow-ball effect. Sad.
I agree with you 100%.
Why would they need to reassure this.. Because Google have threatened them to stop their funding. This was Mozillas way of saying “We will comply with Googles demand but we will do so after 12 months, so we will not lose face and we can use this new published statement as an excuse” Google knows their users will move to Firefox, but once again the one that has the money controls the world. I wonder if the browser GNOME is using is a different beast…
I do not think that this is the case here. First of all, Firefox’s implementation of Manifest V3 is not complete. It needs full support before it can even think of dropping Manifest V2 support. Then, there is a real chance that users will pick Firefox over Chrome because it has the best ad-blocking going forward.
There is a chance that Mozilla will drop Manifest V2 support eventually, but I do not see this happening in the next three or four years.
> Firefox continues to “support MV2 extensions for the foreseeable future” according to Mozilla.
That does not bode well, I’m afraid…
Nothing is eternal in this world, not even the support for Manifest v2 from Mozilla. That means that at some point in time Mozilla might change their stance, but until then I see no reason to worry.