Chrome is sealing off the last escape routes that kept uBlock Origin running at full strength in Chromium-based browsers.
Google has confirmed it will close all remaining workarounds that let uBlock Origin function despite Manifest V3, the extension framework Chrome adopted to restrict how add-ons intercept network requests. Microsoft Edge and Opera have signaled they will follow the same course. The moves end a months-long standoff between extension developers and browser makers over what ad blockers are actually permitted to do inside a modern Chromium browser.
For everyday users, the effect is practical: uBlock Origin — one of the most widely installed ad blockers on the web — will lose filtering capabilities it cannot recover without a fundamental rebuild for MV3's tighter limits. The officially sanctioned MV3-compatible version, uBlock Origin Lite, ships a stripped-down rule set that the extension's own developers describe as less effective than the original.
Google's stated rationale for MV3 was always security and performance. The fact that Google also sells the ads these blockers suppress will continue to make that rationale look convenient, no matter how many times the company repeats it.