We’ve been anticipating it for years,1 and it’s finally happening. Google is finally killing uBlock Origin – with a note on their web store stating that the extension will soon no longer be available because it “doesn’t follow the best practices for Chrome extensions”.2 Daly Barnett. “Chrome Users Beware: Manifest V3 is Deceitful and Threatening.” EFF, December 9, 2021. ↩ Lawrence Abrams. “Google warns uBlock Origin and other extensions may be disabled soon.” Bleeping Computer, October 13, 2024. ↩

We’ve been anticipating it for years, and it’s finally happening. Google is finally killing uBlock Origin – with a note on their web store stating that the extension will soon no longer be available because it “doesn’t follow the best practices for Chrome extensions”.

Now that it is finally happening, many seem to be oddly resigned to the idea that Google is taking away the best and most powerful ad content blocker available on any web browser today, with one article recommending people set up a DNS based content blocker on their network 😒 – instead of more obvious solutions.

I may not have blogged about this but I recently read an article from 1999 about why Gopher lost out to the Web, where Christopher Lee discusses the importance of the then-novel term “mind share” and how it played an important part in dictating why the web won out. In my last post, I touched on the importance of good information to democracies – the same applies to markets (including the browser market) – and it seems to me that we aren’t getting good information about this topic.

This post is me trying to give you that information, to help increase the mind share of an actual alternative. Enjoy!

    • sue_me_please@awful.systemsEnglish
      21·
      30 days ago

      This isn’t sufficient. I’ve been running DNS adblocking for a decade, advertisers have wised up to it and can easily sidestep it.

    • kboy101222@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      16·
      30 days ago

      To my knowledge, DNS blockers not only miss a ton of ads, they also trigger several false positives.

      A better solution is to switch to something not chromium like Firefox or whatever alternative the next Linux person to read this comment recommends

      • LoveSausage@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        11·
        29 days ago

        Ublocks lists are available as hostlists as well. Yea Firefox for the PC , vanadium (chromium) for the phone. No problem running all of it as well , if you have a little bit of power to spare. Haven’t had any issues on adguard DNS plus proton adblock

          • LoveSausage@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
            1·
            23 days ago

            Yea problem is however that using Firefox on Android is using Firefox and chromium WebView. Så twice the problems. Sticking to vanadium. No issues at all as far as I noticed regarding adblocking. Next phone will hopefully be a Linux one. If there ever is such a thing that works and matches mid-top level androids. Then it will be a Firefox based one (not the standard one as it is riddle with Google stuff)