Google to End All Manifest V2 Support by Mid-2026

A final update on Chrome's transition away from legacy extension architecture confirms a hard deadline for the complete removal of Manifest V2 support.

Key Update

Google is removing remaining support for Manifest V2 extensions in Chrome. The final change involves removing the kExtensionManifestV2Disabled flag in Chrome 150 (expected June 30, 2026), which previously allowed some users to continue using Manifest V2-based ad blockers like uBlock Origin.

The extension architecture that has powered ad blockers and other extensions for over a decade will no longer be available in any supported Chrome version.

Timeline

• Chrome 150: Removes the ExtensionManifestV2Disabled flag. A limited DevTools workaround exists but is impractical for regular use.
• Chrome 151 (expected July 2026): Removes remaining flags: ExtensionManifestV2Unsupported, ExtensionManifestV2Availability, and AllowLegacyMV2Extensions.

Reason

A Google engineer stated that Manifest V2 extensions are no longer allowed in any supported Chrome version, citing complexity, technical debt, and security risks. The removal was documented in a Chromium code review and reported by multiple outlets.

Impact

Other Chromium-based browsers (e.g., Microsoft Edge, Opera) may follow suit, though the Google engineer noted other browsers can continue supporting Manifest V2 if desired.