Google is disabling older extensions in its browser
Google is starting to enforce its promise to disable outdated Chrome extensions.
Chrome extensions add new features to the browser and are often used for facilities such as ad blockers, password managers and cloud computing services.
The company warned earlier this year that it would start disabling extensions that used its older Manifest V2 framework. Now users are starting to see warnings in their browser that “these extensions may soon no longer be supported”.
How To Tell Which Chrome Extensions Will Stop Working
To check if any of your currently installed Chrome extensions are in danger of being withdrawn, do the following:
- Click on the Extensions icon in the top-right corner of the Chrome web browser window—it looks like a jigsaw puzzle piece. Alternatively, open the Settings menu and select Extensions from the drop-down menu.
- At the top of the Extensions page that opens, you should see a warning such as the one shown below if any of your current extensions are using the outdated framework.
The Google browser will show this warning if your extensions are in danger
What Can I do If My Extensions Are On The List?
The short answer is: not a lot.
There’s nothing you can do as a user to update the extensions, as it requires the extension developer to upgrade their code to use the latest V3 Manifest. One reason many Chrome extensions are stuck on V2 is that the developer is no longer updating the extension, so it will be removed from the browser in due course and won’t be available for new downloads.
This is troubling many users, as popular ad blockers are among those likely to be affected by the switch to V3.
As you can see from the screenshot above, Google provides a link to find alternatives to your outdated extensions. However, these are often not direct replacements.
In the screenshot above, for example, one of the outdated extensions in danger of deletion is Wikiwand, a plugin which makes the default Wikipedia page layout look more attractive and easy to read.
Google’s suggested replacements include the Adobe Acrobat PDF reader, Adblock and Chrome Remote Desktop, none of which offer anything remotely close to what Wikiwand does.
Wikiwand was last updated in November 2022, which suggests it may no longer be supported.
Will This Affect Other Chrome-Based Browsers?
Other web browsers, such as Microsoft Edge or Vivaldi, use the Chrome browser engine and the same extensions library as Google Chrome.
Although neither of those browsers were showing warnings for expiring extensions in my tests, Microsoft has announced plans to cease support for Manifest V2 extensions, though it hasn’t confirmed a specific timeline.
Vivaldi too has stated that it will eventually have to drop support for Manifest V2 extensions, although it doesn’t expect to do so until June 2025.
Vivaldi adds that its built-in features won’t be affected by the change. In a statement, the company said its integrated tracker and ad blocker “isn’t dependent on Chrome’s extension architecture, and we’re continually upgrading its powers and performance.”