Microsoft Edge is about to lock out older ad blockers, just like Chrome did

Microsoft Edge is ending support for the Manifest V2 extensions platform, which will cut off the uBlock Origin adblocker and others like it, just like Google Chrome did earlier this year. According to Microsoft, there are only 58 extensions on the Edge Add-On Store “with any meaningful usage” that still use MV2, and only three of those aren’t available on the newer MV3 platform. Anyone still using these extensions can switch to a different adblocker, like uBlock Origin Lite. Or they could use a different browser, like Opera, which still supports existing MV2 extensions and says it will continue to do so “for as long as it’s technically reasonable,” or switch to another browser like Firefox. Starting this month, Microsoft says any remaining MV2 extensions “will be gradually turned off by default,” but users will be notified beforehand. Microsoft plans to finish transitioning all of its consumer users to MV3 extensions by the end of this year before shutting them down 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.