Bypassing Google's big anti-adblock update

So what’s the conclusion? Can we use a different Chrome based browser and avoid MV3? What’s the decision for privacy after this has happened?

The little I've read bout this says that maintaining MV2 might be something as well.

If other chromium based browsers didn't have this issue, that would be great, but likely in time Youtube won't support browsers that don't have MV3. Probably still have some time though.

This blogpost covers a workaround they discovered that would have let MV3 extensions access important functionality that was not normally available, only in MV2.

This workaround was fixed the same year in 2023 and yielded a $0 payout, on the basis that Google did not consider it a security vulnerability.

The conclusion then is that uBO (MV2) stopped working for me today after restarting my computer, I suppose.

Switched to Firefox yesterday, I suggest you do the same.

That's a good reminder to update Firefox.

I tend to oscillate back and forth every few years gradually.

Lately not Chrome proper, there are some neat browser takes worth trying out like Vivaldi, Brave, Arc, etc that are Chromium based.

Are they still funded to the tune of a billion a year by Google so that Google can pretend they don't have a monopoly? Are they still intent on redefining as an ad company?

If you're going to switch you should switch to a better option. I've been using librewolf for years since Firefox doesn't have the best track record either.

When the billion began Chrome wasn't even a browser yet.

The google money isn't any great gotcha. It's wrong of them to have grown to be so dependant but so what? All it means is that some day the funded development will stop, just like all the forks are already.

Let them take google money for as long as it flows. You can switch to librewolf at any time if FF itself ever actually goes bad in any critical way. But there's not a lot of reason to do so until the minute that actually happens. Go ahead and take the funded work and updates as long as it exists.

Microsoft supposedly aligned with deprecating MV2 back when Google announced it but they've indefinitely postponed it. The KB about it still says "TBD", and there's zero mention of it around the actual browser. IMO it's a good alternative, if you trust Microsoft (I do).

Google using YouTube to block non-MV3 browsers, would be Google picking a fight with Firefox - who they use in court documents to say that they're not a monopoly. Their legal team will have a few words to say about it.

Try installing uBlock Origin Lite and see if it works for your needs.

I would interpret that "TBD" to mean the moment Microsoft pulls in Chromium 139 changes. Anything else would be to costly for a small amount of goodwill from a niche community.