If ad blockers no longer work on Google’s platform, it could give rivals a chance to grab a bigger piece of the market. Presently, Google Chrome has a grip on about two-thirds of the global desktop browser market, according to StatCounter (opens in new tab). Brave (opens in new tab), like Edge, is Chromium-based but says it blocks ads (by default) at a deep level that won't be affected by Manifest V3. Firefox maker Mozilla (opens in new tab) says it will support Manifest V3 but also let ad blockers work Microsoft (opens in new tab) has implied it will do the same in Edge. Many ad blockers and privacy extensions may stop working on Google Chrome, but rival browsers could continue supporting them. It's not clear how much money Google and publishers lose because of ad blockers, but the company’s claim that Manifest V3 will help developers create better ad blockers seems somewhat unlikely, at least based on what some experts have said. Simeon Vincent, a developer advocate for Chrome Extensions, said later in 2019 that Manifest V3 would not disable ad blockers but would instead let developers make better ad blockers. Google also pays Adblock Plus to whitelist its online advertising, and Adblock Plus appears to conform to Manifest V3.Īround the same time, Raymond Hill (opens in new tab), who maintains the free uBlock Origin and uMatrix ad blockers, posted in a Chromium developers' forum that Manifest V3 meant that his two ad blockers could 'no longer exist.' For those who may not know, Chromium is the open-source platform on which Chrome and many other browsers are built. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated that ad-blocking technology could affect Google’s revenue. (Image credit: Shutterstock)Īn annual report (opens in new tab) Google filed in early 2019 with the U.S. Some experts question Google's claims that Manifest V3 will improve security on Chrome.

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