uBlock Origin will soon stop functioning in Chrome as Google transitions to new browser extension rules.
On desktop, either use:
- LibreWolf (FireFox); uBlock Origin is installed by default.
- Vivaldi browser (Chromium); has a native ad blocker but obviously supports extensions, and will try supporting manifest V2 as long as possible—“as long as Chromium core supports Extension Manifest v2”. Also, why the “not completely open source” criticism is unwarranted.
On Android:
Google isn’t blocking one of the biggest adblockers. It’s killing chrome!
Those who aren’t using an adblock won’t notice any difference but everyone else will just migrate to a non chromium browser
Google has been telegraphing this for months. Either switch browsers now or enjoy your ads.
They’ve literally said ad blockers are a threat to their revenue https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1652044/000165204419000004/goog10-kq42018.htm
Risks Related to Our Businesses and Industries
[…]
New and existing technologies could affect our ability to customize ads and/or could block ads online, which would harm our business.
Technologies have been developed to make customizable ads more difficult or to block the display of ads altogether and some providers of online services have integrated technologies that could potentially impair the core functionality of third-party digital advertising. Most of our Google revenues are derived from fees paid to us in connection with the display of ads online. As a result, such technologies and tools could adversely affect our operating results.
It’s not exactly super helpful to just link to an 86 page SEC filing. Maybe you could provide a quote?
Ctrl F for “block”. There were only 5 usages of the word and that led me to the section.
Yet another reason to use Brave, which has better native ad block than any of the other browsers.
Only vivaldi caught this issue. Brave had this api enabled, most likely on accident.
But the problem is, that chromium is just such big and complex software, when combined with development being driven by Google, it’s just impossible for any significant changes or auditing to be done by third parties. Google is capable of exteriting control over Brave, simply by hiding changes like above, or by making massive changes like manifest v3, which are expensive for third parties to maintain.
Brave can maintain 1 big change to chromium, but for how long? What about 2, 3, etc.
My other big problem with brave is that I see them somewhat mimicking Google’s beginnings. Google started out with 3 things: an ad network, a browser, and a search engine.
Right now, Brave has those same three things. It feels very ominous to me, and I would rather not repeat the cycle of enshittification that drove me away from chrome and goolgle.
Meh, Brave is still Chroium. Even if they continue to support manifest v2, even today the are selling „good“ ads to the users. That and the Crypto bullshit they tried a while ago makes them untrustworthy in my eyes.
Firefox is the only real alternative.
Brave is still Chroium
And yet, it does a better job blocking YouTube ads than Firefox, without any add-ons.
Crypto, Ads
Those features are opt-in.
You mean by building the add-on directly into the browser? No thanks. I like my browser dev to work on my browser and my ad-block dev to work on my ad-block. They are both good at what they do on their own, I don’t need them to mix.
Those features are opt-in.
They are now. They were opt-out to begin with. This is one of those “fool me twice” situations. That, and the founder of Brave is also an outspoken homophobe. He financially backed Prop 8 in California to overturn same-sex marriage, and left Firefox because it was too woke. I seriously would rather Chrome at that point. They’re just regular levels of corporate evil, not “every person who uses my browser is proving my identity politics” level of evil.
The garbage is taking itself out
