Microsoft Edge to Restrict Older Ad Blockers, Following Chrome’s Lead

Microsoft Edge is phasing out support for the Manifest V2 extensions platform, which means popular adblockers like uBlock Origin will no longer function, mirroring a similar move by Google Chrome earlier this year. Microsoft has noted that only 58 extensions in the Edge Add-On Store have significant usage on MV2, with just three of those not available on the newer MV3 platform.

For users still relying on these extensions, alternatives like uBlock Origin Lite are available. Another option is to switch to a different browser, such as Opera, which continues to support existing MV2 extensions and has committed to doing so “for as long as it’s technically reasonable.” Firefox is also a viable alternative.

Starting this month, Microsoft will begin to disable any remaining MV2 extensions by default, but users will receive notifications ahead of time. The company aims to transition all consumer users to MV3 extensions by the end of this year, with plans to phase out MV2 support for enterprise users in early 2027.

Microsoft:
> Over the next few months, MV2 extensions will be gradually turned off by default. Users will be notified in advance and directed to recommended MV3 versions where available.
> These changes will start in the Canary, Dev, and Beta channels and gradually broaden to Stable in the following months, with the goal of completing the consumer transition by the end of 2026. Managed devices will not be affected during the consumer rollout. Enterprise deprecation will follow in early 2027.