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The change is about extension architecture, not a new Firefox feature. For users who depend on uBlock Origin, the browser has become a practical refuge from restrictions rolling through Chrome-derived products.
HN commenters also pointed to Brave and custom extensions, but the broader complaint was simpler: modern advertising has made blocking it feel necessary for ordinary browsing.
The top HN threads: facts from the discussions, both sides, insider voices. Email, Telegram, or RSS.
Chrome 150 (around June 30, 2026) drops the ExtensionManifestV2Disabled flag; Chrome 151 in July removes the rest. Google cites "complexity, tech debt, and security risks."
A self-identified Googler defended it as a security move. A reply noted Google makes 75% of its revenue from ads — and controls the extension store it claims to be protecting.
Manifest V2 was already off by default since Chrome 138 last July. What dies now is the last enterprise-and-flag workaround that let technically-minded users re-enable it — uBlock Origin Lite, the Manifest V3 version, keeps far less power to block.
The thread's sharpest line wasn't outrage at Google. It was a Firefox user admitting he still keeps Chrome around because some sites simply won't load right anywhere else.
