Summary
- Google plans to end support for Manifest V2 extensions in 2025, after which all extensions based on the specification will cease to work.
- However, Brave is patching Manifest V3 in the Chromium engine to enable older V2 extensions to continue working as intended.
- Switch to Brave and import your Chrome data if you want to keep using your favorite V2 extensions after Chrome's deadline.
With the imminent switch to Manifest Version 3 (V3), some Chrome extensions that rely on Version 2's (V2) blocking functionality may not be as effective as they currently are. However, the Brave browser is ready to save the day and supports several Chrome V2 extensions.
Brave Is Modifying Manifest V3 To Allow Older V2 Extensions To Work
Brave is ready to take on Google's move to sunset Manifest V2, the outgoing Chrome extensions specification. The browser has patched Google's Chromium engine (which powers the Chrome browser) to allow Manifest V2 Chrome extensions affected by the V3 upgrade to continue functioning as intended.
The patch force-enables Manifest V2, which will allow extensions based on the specification to function as usual—even after Chrome drops support for these extensions in 2025. However, there's a catch: Brave says the support will only be for a limited time. Besides, the browser will only explicitly support a handful of extensions: AdGuard AdBlocker, NoScript, uBlock Origin, and uMatrix.
In case you missed it, Google's plans to drop support for the Manifest V2 Chrome extensions specification are underway. They will be fully in place starting June 2025 and no V2 extensions will be available in Chrome's Web Store after that date. As detailed previously, Manifest V3 is about to kill some Chrome extensions, specifically those that rely on the blocking functionality available in V2's WebRequest API.
Manifest V3 limits the blocking functionality that specific Chrome extensions use, such as ad blockers, in two ways. First, it limits the number of rulesets these extensions could define, and second, it removes support for remotely hosted code.
How To Switch From Chrome to Brave
If you want to continue using your favorite V2 extension even after its end-of-life, you should switch to Brave. First, go to Brave's download page and select Get Brave for [Your OS]. Once the download has finished, follow these steps to switch from Chrome to Brave without losing your data.
Brave allows you to import your browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, and even extensions from Chrome.
While Brave's support for Chrome V2 extensions won't last forever, it provides a reprieve to continue using any of your affected extensions for a little longer. It's unclear how long Brave will support V2 extensions, but this is the best, and perhaps the only, option to counter Chrome's V3 upgrade as of this writing.