In 2018, Google announced Manifest V3—a new set of rules that govern what Chrome extensions can and cannot do. Due to its restrictive policies, Manifest V3 faced severe developer backlash, and, to make things worse, Google said it would disable all Manifest V2 extensions in January 2023. Although many developers raised their concerns that Manifest V3 would kill ad blockers, AdGuard, a company behind one of the most popular extensions for blocking ads, has just released its first Manifest V3-based ad blocker.
AdGuard describes its tedious journey to get its extension Manifest V3-compliant in a lengthy blog post. The company says it started prototyping the new extension in mid-2021 and, since then, has overcome (or learned how to deal with) many technical hurdles and obstacles. Although the new extension has some notable limitations compared to the current version, it proves that ad blockers will survive the Manifest V3 apocalypse.
One of the most significant downsides of AdGuard's Manifest V3-based ad blocker is new rule limits. Chrome allows no more than 30,000 rules per extension and 330,000 rules for all installed extensions. Also, dynamic rules (those that support user-defined rules and filters) are limited to just 5,000, meaning AdGuard will apply only the first 5,000 rules while keeping the rest inactive.
Do not let the 30,000 number fool you. Modern ad blockers use humongous lists of rules to ensure users get ads removed, often working with more than 100,000 filters. According to AdGuard, the new limits could break even the basic filter list, allowing ads to get through. To help users understand how things work, AdGuard has implemented a notification system with rule limits explanations.
Despite all the Manifest V3 limitations, AdGuard says its latest extensions can still remove ads and protect its customers from trackers, albeit not as effective as its predecessor. Most users should not notice a significant difference, except for ad flickering, due to the lag in cosmetic rules. AdGuard also notes that AdGuard for Windows, Mac, and Android are immune to Manifest V3 because these apps are not limited by any browser and work system-wide.
Those willing to help AdGuard test its new ad blocker can download the extension from the Chrome Web Store. Its source code is available on GitHub so that everyone can contribute to the project's development.
As an online publication, Neowin too relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support!
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