Ad blocker tech landscape change

These days having an ad blocker installed on your computer has become essential. For those new or unaware of the topic: an ad blocker is a software tool, typically an extension or a built-in feature of your browser which is designed to prevent online advertisements from displaying on webpages, videos, streams, and apps. Especially for the exchausted and overwelhmed with digital life like me, it brings a bit of space and calm.

We asked our expert, Ansar Smagul, about the change explained in our article  written for the tech community – Manifest V2 soon gone from Chrome.

What is Manifest?

Manifest V2 is (the second version of) the manifest file format used to define the structure, permissions, and behavior of browser extensions, primarily in Google Chrome and Firefox. Manifest extensions rely on a page or script that continuously runs in the background as long as the browser is open. This allows extensions to stay alert and listen for web requests on a continuous basis, while consuming system resources (memory and CPU) even when the extension is idle.

The Main Change

As of late June 2026 (with Chrome version 150), Google is completely removing support for the older “Manifest V2” system that powers browser extensions like ad blockers. It is being replaced by a new system called “Manifest V3.”

Why It Matters for Ad Blockers:

• • Old Way (V2) 
    Imagine an ad blocker as a vigilant bouncer who stops every single visitor (web request) at the door, checks their ID in real-time, and decides whether to let them in based on up-to-the-second intelligence. This was highly effective against new, sneaky ads.

• • New Way (V3) 
    The new system is more like a doorman with a static, pre-printed list of names to ban. The extension hands this list to Chrome, and Chrome does the checking. The extension itself never sees the traffic in real-time. If an ad tries a new trick or disguise not on the printed list, the blocker won’t catch it until the list is manually updated through a slow review process.

The criticism

Google claims Manifest V3 improves security, performance, and privacy. However, our expert explains that these reasons are contradictory:

• • Security 
    While true that extensions need better security, critics say Google didn’t need to remove the powerful blocking features to achieve this; other browsers (like Firefox) managed to keep strong blocking while improving security.

• • Performance & Privacy
    Since ads are heavy and invasive, limiting the tools that block them actually hurts performance and privacy. The author suggests Google is prioritizing its own advertising revenue (which funds huge AI projects) over user control.

What You Can Do 

If you want full-strength ad blocking inside your browser, the article suggests switching to Firefox, which still allows the powerful old blocking methods. Alternatively, the author promotes Zen, their own open-source tool that blocks ads outside the browser entirely, bypassing Chrome’s restrictions completely.

Is that the end of chrome for you too?

More details

For those who want to understand more I recommend you to head over to the techie version of this article version of this article and jump from one link to the other to get more insights answering questions you might have.

For general understanding of the ad business click here. 

Thanks for reading.

Stay tuned!