this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2025

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1065

Microsoft begins turning off uBlock Origin and other Manifest V2-based extensions in Edge (www.neowin.net)

submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

266 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The latest Edge Canary version started disabling Manifest V2-based extensions with the following message: "This extension is no longer supported. Microsoft Edge recommends that you remove it." Although the browser turns off old extensions without asking, you can still make them work by clicking "Manage extension" and toggling it back (you will have to acknowledge another prompt).

At this point, it is not entirely clear what is going on. Google started phasing out Manifest V2 extensions in June 2024, and it has a clear roadmap for the process. Microsoft's documentation, however, still says "TBD," so the exact dates are not known yet. This leads to some speculating about the situation being one of "unexpected changes" coming from Chromium. Either way, sooner or later, Microsoft will ditch MV2-based extensions, so get ready as we wait for Microsoft to shine some light on its plans.

Another thing worth noting is that the change does not appear to be affecting Edge's stable release or Beta/Dev Channels. For now, only Canary versions disable uBlock Origin and other MV2 extensions, leaving users a way to toggle them back on. Also, the uBlock Origin is still available in the Edge Add-ons store

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, if you didn't see that writing on the wall you need your eyes testing.

No Chrome browser will be maintained to keep using Manifest V2.

Use Firefox.

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[–] [email protected] 235 points 4 days ago (5 children)

[–] [email protected] 56 points 4 days ago (2 children)

It's slowly turning, too. Start looking for something else.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 4 days ago (5 children)

We need a truly FOSS browser that developed and maintained by the community. Librewolf isn't it unless it fully forks away from Mozilla. We need a new engine and we just don't have one yet.

[–] [email protected] 63 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

Ladybird Browser is coming, but could be a couple years still

https://ladybird.org/

From scratch, BSD licensed, non-profit managed

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 days ago (5 children)

BSD licensed

Ew. It ought to be AGPLv3.

(I almost just said "copyleft," but as Chromium proves, even LGPL is insufficient protection from corporate usurpation.)

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[–] [email protected] 253 points 4 days ago (15 children)

Firefox time

[–] [email protected] 136 points 4 days ago (1 children)

LibreWolf time too.

[–] [email protected] 51 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Zen is nice

[–] [email protected] 30 points 4 days ago (11 children)

Zen was amazing when they first came to light, but they keep changing how workflows work, and it destroyed the workflow I had.

For example, I am a browser minimalist. I don't need workspaces, and I don't have thousands of tabs open, because that's insane to me, personally. I now have to see the ugly Default Workspace at the top of my tab bar every time I go to open or switch tabs. This was an option before, so it was perfectly fine. They've taken that option away, which is very much not okay. Options are good. They also messed around with the New Tab icon, making it to where I couldn't move it to the bottom where I prefer it to be, instead putting it at the top, which is extra movement needed to get to the top.. They later added that back in, but again, why the fuck are you just willy nilly taking options away from people? It should just be an OPTION.

Anyway, I've had so many headaches with their approach to changing workflows that I don't even recommend it to anyone any longer. I'm sure I'm just the crazy person who wants some of the offerings, while not being FORCED to use some of the others. :)

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 4 days ago (9 children)

What's Edge?

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The browser you use to download Firefox

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 days ago

The thing you use once to download firefox, and then never again.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

They get you really close but stop just before finishing.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 days ago (9 children)

Nooo, it is browser on my workplace! How should I work efficiently without uBlock!?!?

[–] [email protected] 37 points 4 days ago (11 children)

Tell IT and your boss how your productivity tanked since edge disabled uBlock.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 4 days ago

Click on all the ads and install all the malware. That will teach them.

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[–] [email protected] 70 points 4 days ago (27 children)

Who fucking uses edge?

[–] [email protected] 90 points 4 days ago (6 children)

90% of people and corporations are either using Edge or Chrome and since there's essentially no difference between the two they are equally bad. We're back to a browser mono-culture, just like in the bad old days of Internet Explorer.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 4 days ago (8 children)

It's not that bad yet. FF works on pretty much any site that's not demonstrating some sort of bleeding edge fuckery. I haven't seen a "best viewed in Chrome" for a decade or two.

Hopefully this sort of enshittification will drive more people to use other browsers.

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[–] [email protected] 49 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

'nough said!

[–] [email protected] 28 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Amarok? That was my favorite media player way back when

[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Amarok is the other wolf. I know it looks deceptively similar.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Microsoft is a spineless removed.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

Removed? What could the comment possibly say in this context that would warrant removal?

God, .ml manages to be the worst parts of both shitlib civility bullshit and tankie bullshit.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Why is it that when I see removed, it's always from lemmy.ml, is that the only instance with the filter enabled

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Right, you don't need extensions, because you don't need customization, because what you need is what we the corp say you need.

I think Web as it exists is a failed branch of evolution.

A networked (solved) hypertext (solved) document (solved) system - yes. A networked hypertext system with one or two unbelievably complex clients, where only enormous corps have enough resources to change something, - no. One can add steps - E2E encryption, dynamic services, scripts, all not requiring a monolithic piece of nonsense.

BTW, those hating Flash, I hope, do realize that its proper, paradigm-abiding replacement would be a FOSS plugin with similar goal, not what we have.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 days ago (16 children)

people use edge? it downloads itself onto your computer without permission.

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 4 days ago (7 children)

FLOORP

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Just in case you needed another reason not to use Edge.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 4 days ago

Chrome* or Chromium based browsers*

[–] [email protected] 40 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (6 children)

Ok maybe off topic, why does a web browser have to be one of the most complicated software artifacts on earth? So expensive to write and maintain that only a few orgs with huge developer resources can do it?

What would it look like to start from scratch with a massively simplified standard for specifying UIs, based on all we've learned since html/css was invented? A standard that a few developers could implement in a few weeks using off the shelf libraries. Rather than reimplement every bizarre historical detail in html/css, have a new UI layout system that's simple and consistent, and perhaps more powerful.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Basically browsers are big because they are operating systems for web hosted applications with huge attack surfaces and lots of legacy compatibility requirements amassed over 3 decades.

A rewrite isn't the answer. Putting limits on browser functionality is. JavaScript was the turning point IMHO.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 4 days ago (11 children)

Fancy firefox-based browser along the lines of Arc?

https://zen-browser.app/

Worth a look if you're a web power-user / developer sort of person

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Librewolf on desktop Mull on Android

[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 days ago (7 children)

Mull is not maintained anymore. However there is a fork called IronFox.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 4 days ago

Microsoft Edge is literally Google Chrome button replaced with Microsoft Features/Spyware

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