5 minute read

If the original uBlock Origin stopped working in Chrome, the cause is the Manifest V2 shutdown, and the replacement options fall into two groups: MV3 extensions that work inside Chrome’s limits, and browsers that still run the full version. Chrome’s timeline says Chrome 138 disabled MV2 extensions everywhere in July 2025, and all remaining MV2 extensions were removed from the Web Store on August 31, 2026.

Checked October 16, 2026 against official pages and press reports. The Brave and Adblock Plus release details were re-checked on October 21, 2026. No independent blocking test was checked, so this page does not rank blockers by how much they block.

Options inside Chrome

Option What to know
uBlock Origin Lite The MV3 version of uBlock Origin. Its official FAQ says capabilities such as dynamic filtering cannot be supported under MV3
AdGuard Publishes an MV3 browser extension. AdGuard’s blog post, written in 2022 when it released its first MV3 prototype, says the declarative rule syntax severely limits what an extension can do
Adblock Plus Adblock Plus 4.0, released April 29, 2024, was its first MV3-based version, for Chrome users at first. Version 4.1, released May 28, 2024, reintroduced third-party filter lists for MV3. Its maker, eyeo, says the extensions allow ads that meet the Acceptable Ads Standard

The MV3 limit all three work under comes from how Chrome now handles network requests. Chrome’s own overview says it deprecated the blocking webRequest API, which required extensions to proxy network traffic, and calls declarativeNetRequest a safer alternative for many use cases. The ad-blocker makers above describe the same change as a restriction. Both statements are true to their sources, and which one matters depends on what you want your blocker to do.

The uBlock Origin Lite FAQ gives the specific reason dynamic filtering is out: declarativeNetRequest cannot apply rules according to the page you are on, and building it on webRequest instead would wake the extension’s service worker constantly and defeat the point of the Lite version.

Two more limits show up in the makers’ own notes. Adblock Plus said its first MV3 release had a significantly larger package size and temporarily disabled third-party filter lists. Those lists came back in version 4.1. And eyeo, which makes Adblock Plus, says Chrome enforces limits on rulesets and on static and dynamic rules in MV3. AdGuard’s 2022 post gives the numbers at that time: a guaranteed minimum of 30,000 static rules per extension, 330,000 in total across a user’s extensions, and 5,000 dynamic rules. Chrome may have changed these limits since, so treat them as a snapshot.

Chrome itself nudged people toward these options. Its timeline says that when it began disabling installed MV2 extensions in October 2024, it sent users to the Web Store, where they were shown recommended MV3 alternatives for the extension that was turned off.

Which option fits

If you want Look at Why, per the sources
The closest match to the old uBlock Origin, from the same project uBlock Origin Lite It is the MV3 version, with dynamic filtering unavailable
A blocker that allows ads meeting a standard Adblock Plus eyeo says it allows ads that meet the Acceptable Ads Standard
Another MV3-native blocker AdGuard It publishes an MV3 extension and explains the limits of Chrome’s declarative rules
Full filtering control and per-site rules Firefox with uBlock Origin Mozilla keeps MV2 and the blocking webRequest API

Whichever you choose, test it on the sites you actually use, since no independent comparison was checked here.

Options outside Chrome

  • Firefox. Mozilla says it keeps MV2 alongside MV3 and continues to support the blocking webRequest API. The full uBlock Origin runs there. For how to get the old uMatrix-style control back with it, see What to Use Instead of uMatrix in 2026.
  • Brave. Brave’s own Manifest V3 post says it hosts four MV2 extensions on its own servers, AdGuard, uBlock Origin, uMatrix and NoScript, and will keep supporting them for as long as it is able and the extension authors cooperate. In August 2026 Brave also wrote on X that it keeps supporting uBlock Origin, with the toggle under Settings, Extensions, Manifest v2 extensions.

For developers

Chrome’s overview says MV3 moves background code to service workers that run only when needed and removes remotely hosted code, so an extension can only run JavaScript included in its own package. The migration overview and its checklist are the starting point.

There is a GoogleChromeLabs Extension Manifest Converter on GitHub. Its repository says it converts using search-and-replace changes, does not fully automate the work, and is not an official Google product. The repository was archived on April 19, 2026 and is read-only.

Questions readers ask

What replaces uBlock Origin in Chrome? uBlock Origin Lite is the MV3 version from the same project. AdGuard and Adblock Plus also publish MV3 extensions.

Will uBlock Origin Lite block as much as the old version? The sources say Lite cannot support features such as dynamic filtering under MV3. We checked no independent blocking test, so we cannot say how much any of these extensions blocks.

Can I still use the original uBlock Origin in Chrome? No. Chrome’s timeline says Chrome 138 disabled MV2 extensions everywhere in July 2025, and all remaining MV2 extensions were removed from the Web Store on August 31, 2026.

Which browser keeps the full uBlock Origin? Mozilla says Firefox keeps MV2 and the blocking webRequest API. Brave says it hosts uBlock Origin and other MV2 extensions, with the toggle under Settings, Extensions, Manifest v2 extensions.

Does Adblock Plus allow some ads? eyeo, which makes it, says its extensions allow ads that meet the Acceptable Ads Standard.

Update log

  • October 16, 2026: checked against official pages and press reports.
  • October 21, 2026: the Brave and Adblock Plus release details were re-checked.
  • November 3, 2026: added the readers’ questions above. No facts were changed.

If you are not sure whether an extension is MV2, see How to Check If a Chrome Extension Uses Manifest V2. The full timeline is in the Chrome Manifest V2 hub.

Sources:

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