Firefox recently announced via Bluesky post: “Our support for uBlock Origin isn’t going anywhere.” The moment comes in response to news that Microsoft Edge is soon going to lock out uBlock Origin and other ad-blocking extensions that run on Manifest V2 architecture.
Once Microsoft Edge moves to Manifest V3, ad-blocking extensions won’t have access to the functions needed to properly identify and block ads that occur while browsing websites and watching videos.
Microsoft’s move isn’t surprising, as Edge is based on Chromium, the open-source browser engine that powers most web browsers today, including Opera, Brave, Vivaldi, and Samsung Browser. Google initiated the migration from Manifest V2 to V3 in Chrome/Chromium, and Microsoft Edge is now following Google’s lead.
But Firefox is one of the few web browsers remaining that isn’t based on Chromium, and it’s now the only major browser to still support uBlock Origin. Neither Safari nor DuckDuckGo—the two other major non-Chromium browsers out there—support uBlock Origin.
For die-hard uBlock Origin fans, Firefox appears to be the only browser left without compromises. With any other browser, you’ll need to settle for uBlock Origin Lite (with fewer features and less ad-blocking success) or whatever built-in ad-blocking feature comes with the browser.
