Chromium: Difference between revisions

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Google's update to the browser-extension engine - Manifest - is falsely advertised to the consumers of Chromium as being more secure, private, and performant while in reality it restricts privacy and performance focused browser-extensions' access to the necessary features they need to operate properly. This actually makes the platform less of all of those things - Google benefits by causing ad-blocking browser-extensions to malfunction, earning them more revenue.

~~== Background ==~~

'''Chromium''' is a [[Free and open-source software|free and open-source]] [[:Category:Web browsers|web browser]] developed by and primarily maintained by [[Google]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Google |date= |title=Chromium |url=https://www.chromium.org/Home/ |access-date=2025-08-12}}</ref> Its code-base serves as the foundation for several major web browsers, including [[Google Chrome]],<ref name=":0" /> [[Microsoft Edge]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-06 |title=10 cool things to check out at Microsoft Build 2019 |url=https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2019/05/06/10-cool-things-to-check-out-at-microsoft-build-2019/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=blogs.microsoft.com}}</ref> [[Opera]]/[[Opera GX]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-27 |title=Today, Opera 15 has been updated to Opera 16 |url=https://blogs.opera.com/news/2013/08/today-opera-15-has-been-updated-to-opera-16/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=blogs.opera.com}}</ref> [[Brave browser|Brave]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-14 |title=Brave - Homepage |url=https://brave.com/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=brave.com}}</ref> and others.

==Licensing==

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===Manifest V3===

Manifest V3 is an update to the manifest structure used by extensions across ~~most~~ of the browser market, presented as an upgrade to security, privacy and performance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=David |title=Resuming the transition to Manifest V3 |url=https://developer.chrome.com/blog/resuming-the-transition-to-mv3 |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Chrome for developers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 Sep 2024 |title=Overview and timelines for migrating to Manifest V3 |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/extensions-chromium/developer-guide/manifest-v3 |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> Manifest V3's changes restrict the access extensions can have, presenting a security benefit by not allowing them to load remote resources on the fly or alter rendered content ~~as deeply~~, by doing so the effectiveness of the browser market's most effective ad-blockers is diminished.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Siddiqui |first=Aamir |date=17 Nov 2023 |title=Google's Manifest V3 changes will soon disable uBlock Origin on Chrome |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/google-chrome-manifest-v3-changes-3386506/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Android Authority}}</ref> Workarounds and updated versions have been made but are less effective since, for example, blocked domains cannot be updated as conveniently.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buria |first=Taras |date=3 Aug 2024 |title=uBlock Origin developer recommends switching to uBlock Lite as Chrome flags the extension |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/ublock-origin-developer-recommends-switching-to-ublock-lite-as-chrome-flags-the-extension/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Neowin}}</ref> This manifest change is backed by leading Chromium browsers, making it difficult for other browsers to match previous ad-blocking abilities without committing to sustaining Manifest V2 (such as Firefox which also uses chromium-sourced manifests<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Edward |date=13 Mar 2024 |title=Manifest V3 & Manifest V2 (March 2024 update) |url=https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2024/03/13/manifest-v3-manifest-v2-march-2024-update/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Mozilla]]}}</ref>) or sustaining their own ad-blocking solutions<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 Jun 2024 |title=What Manifest V3 means for Brave Shields and the use of extensions in the Brave browser |url=https://brave.com/blog/brave-shields-manifest-v3/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Brave]]}}</ref> of varied effectiveness.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 Jun 2024 |title=Manifest v3 update: Vivaldi is future-proofed with its built-in functionality |url=https://vivaldi.com/blog/manifest-v3-update-vivaldi-is-future-proofed-with-its-built-in-functionality/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Vivaldi]]}}</ref>

Manifest V3 is an update to the manifest structure used by browser-extensions across the majority of the browser market; it is presented as an upgrade to security, privacy and performance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=David |title=Resuming the transition to Manifest V3 |url=https://developer.chrome.com/blog/resuming-the-transition-to-mv3 |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Chrome for developers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 Sep 2024 |title=Overview and timelines for migrating to Manifest V3 |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/extensions-chromium/developer-guide/manifest-v3 |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> Manifest V3's changes restrict the access browser-extensions can have, presenting a security benefit by not allowing them to load remote resources on the fly or deeply alter rendered content, by doing so the effectiveness of the browser market's most effective ad-blockers is diminished.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Siddiqui |first=Aamir |date=17 Nov 2023 |title=Google's Manifest V3 changes will soon disable uBlock Origin on Chrome |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/google-chrome-manifest-v3-changes-3386506/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Android Authority}}</ref> Workarounds and updated versions of Manifest V3 have been made but are less effective since, for example, blocked domains cannot be updated as conveniently.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buria |first=Taras |date=3 Aug 2024 |title=uBlock Origin developer recommends switching to uBlock Lite as Chrome flags the extension |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/ublock-origin-developer-recommends-switching-to-ublock-lite-as-chrome-flags-the-extension/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Neowin}}</ref> This manifest change is backed by leading Chromium browsers, making it difficult for other browsers to match previous ad-blocking abilities without committing to sustaining Manifest V2 (such as Firefox which also uses chromium-sourced manifests<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Edward |date=13 Mar 2024 |title=Manifest V3 & Manifest V2 (March 2024 update) |url=https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2024/03/13/manifest-v3-manifest-v2-march-2024-update/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Mozilla]]}}</ref>) or sustaining their own ad-blocking solutions<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 Jun 2024 |title=What Manifest V3 means for Brave Shields and the use of extensions in the Brave browser |url=https://brave.com/blog/brave-shields-manifest-v3/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Brave]]}}</ref> of varied effectiveness.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 Jun 2024 |title=Manifest v3 update: Vivaldi is future-proofed with its built-in functionality |url=https://vivaldi.com/blog/manifest-v3-update-vivaldi-is-future-proofed-with-its-built-in-functionality/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Vivaldi]]}}</ref>

=References=

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

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-Google's update to the browser-extension engine - Manifest - is falsely advertised to the consumers of Chromium as being more secure, private, and performant while in reality it restricts privacy and performance focused browser-extensions' access to the necessary features they need to operate properly. This actually makes the platform less of all of those things - Google benefits by causing ad-blocking browser-extensions to malfunction, earning them more revenue.
+{{ToneWarning}}
-== Background ==
+'''Chromium''' is a [[Free and open-source software|free and open-source]] [[:Category:Web browsers|web browser]] developed by and primarily maintained by [[Google]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Google |date= |title=Chromium |url=https://www.chromium.org/Home/ |access-date=2025-08-12}}</ref> Its code-base serves as the foundation for several major web browsers, including [[Google Chrome]],<ref name=":0" /> [[Microsoft Edge]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-06 |title=10 cool things to check out at Microsoft Build 2019 |url=https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2019/05/06/10-cool-things-to-check-out-at-microsoft-build-2019/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=blogs.microsoft.com}}</ref> [[Opera]]/[[Opera GX]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-27 |title=Today, Opera 15 has been updated to Opera 16 |url=https://blogs.opera.com/news/2013/08/today-opera-15-has-been-updated-to-opera-16/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=blogs.opera.com}}</ref> [[Brave browser|Brave]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-14 |title=Brave - Homepage |url=https://brave.com/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=brave.com}}</ref> and others.
-'''Chromium''' is a [[Free and open-source software|free and open-source]] [[:Category:Web browsers|web browser]] developed by and primarily maintained by [[Google]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Google |date= |title=Chromium |url=https://www.chromium.org/Home/ |access-date=2025-08-12}}</ref> Its code-base serves as the foundation for several major web browsers, including [[Google Chrome]],<ref name=":0" /> [[Microsoft Edge]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-06 |title=10 cool things to check out at Microsoft Build 2019 |url=https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2019/05/06/10-cool-things-to-check-out-at-microsoft-build-2019/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=blogs.microsoft.com}}</ref> [[Opera]]/[[Opera GX]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-27 |title=Today, Opera 15 has been updated to Opera 16 |url=https://blogs.opera.com/news/2013/08/today-opera-15-has-been-updated-to-opera-16/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=blogs.opera.com}}</ref> [[Brave browser|Brave]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-14 |title=Brave - Homepage |url=https://brave.com/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=brave.com}}</ref> and others.
 ==Licensing==
@@ Line 10: / Line 9: @@
 ===Manifest V3===
-Manifest V3 is an update to the manifest structure used by extensions across most of the browser market, presented as an upgrade to security, privacy and performance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=David |title=Resuming the transition to Manifest V3 |url=https://developer.chrome.com/blog/resuming-the-transition-to-mv3 |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Chrome for developers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 Sep 2024 |title=Overview and timelines for migrating to Manifest V3 |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/extensions-chromium/developer-guide/manifest-v3 |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> Manifest V3's changes restrict the access extensions can have, presenting a security benefit by not allowing them to load remote resources on the fly or alter rendered content as deeply, by doing so the effectiveness of the browser market's most effective ad-blockers is diminished.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Siddiqui |first=Aamir |date=17 Nov 2023 |title=Google's Manifest V3 changes will soon disable uBlock Origin on Chrome |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/google-chrome-manifest-v3-changes-3386506/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Android Authority}}</ref> Workarounds and updated versions have been made but are less effective since, for example, blocked domains cannot be updated as conveniently.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buria |first=Taras |date=3 Aug 2024 |title=uBlock Origin developer recommends switching to uBlock Lite as Chrome flags the extension |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/ublock-origin-developer-recommends-switching-to-ublock-lite-as-chrome-flags-the-extension/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Neowin}}</ref> This manifest change is backed by leading Chromium browsers, making it difficult for other browsers to match previous ad-blocking abilities without committing to sustaining Manifest V2 (such as Firefox which also uses chromium-sourced manifests<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Edward |date=13 Mar 2024 |title=Manifest V3 & Manifest V2 (March 2024 update) |url=https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2024/03/13/manifest-v3-manifest-v2-march-2024-update/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Mozilla]]}}</ref>) or sustaining their own ad-blocking solutions<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 Jun 2024 |title=What Manifest V3 means for Brave Shields and the use of extensions in the Brave browser |url=https://brave.com/blog/brave-shields-manifest-v3/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Brave]]}}</ref> of varied effectiveness.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 Jun 2024 |title=Manifest v3 update: Vivaldi is future-proofed with its built-in functionality |url=https://vivaldi.com/blog/manifest-v3-update-vivaldi-is-future-proofed-with-its-built-in-functionality/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Vivaldi]]}}</ref><!-- Citations support controversies of Google, Google Chrome, and other third-party companies/products. I suggest this be a part of those articles, and not Chromium.  -->
+Manifest V3 is an update to the manifest structure used by browser-extensions across the majority of the  browser market; it is presented as an upgrade to security, privacy and performance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=David |title=Resuming the transition to Manifest V3 |url=https://developer.chrome.com/blog/resuming-the-transition-to-mv3 |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Chrome for developers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 Sep 2024 |title=Overview and timelines for migrating to Manifest V3 |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/extensions-chromium/developer-guide/manifest-v3 |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> Manifest V3's changes restrict the access browser-extensions can have, presenting a security benefit by not allowing them to load remote resources on the fly or deeply alter rendered content, by doing so the effectiveness of the browser market's most effective ad-blockers is diminished.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Siddiqui |first=Aamir |date=17 Nov 2023 |title=Google's Manifest V3 changes will soon disable uBlock Origin on Chrome |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/google-chrome-manifest-v3-changes-3386506/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Android Authority}}</ref> Workarounds and updated versions of Manifest V3 have been made but are less effective since, for example, blocked domains cannot be updated as conveniently.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buria |first=Taras |date=3 Aug 2024 |title=uBlock Origin developer recommends switching to uBlock Lite as Chrome flags the extension |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/ublock-origin-developer-recommends-switching-to-ublock-lite-as-chrome-flags-the-extension/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=Neowin}}</ref> This manifest change is backed by leading Chromium browsers, making it difficult for other browsers to match previous ad-blocking abilities without committing to sustaining Manifest V2 (such as Firefox which also uses chromium-sourced manifests<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Edward |date=13 Mar 2024 |title=Manifest V3 & Manifest V2 (March 2024 update) |url=https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2024/03/13/manifest-v3-manifest-v2-march-2024-update/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Mozilla]]}}</ref>) or sustaining their own ad-blocking solutions<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 Jun 2024 |title=What Manifest V3 means for Brave Shields and the use of extensions in the Brave browser |url=https://brave.com/blog/brave-shields-manifest-v3/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Brave]]}}</ref> of varied effectiveness.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 Jun 2024 |title=Manifest v3 update: Vivaldi is future-proofed with its built-in functionality |url=https://vivaldi.com/blog/manifest-v3-update-vivaldi-is-future-proofed-with-its-built-in-functionality/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Mar 2025 |website=[[Vivaldi]]}}</ref><!-- Citations support controversies of Google, Google Chrome, and other third-party companies/products. I suggest this be a part of those articles, and not Chromium.  -->
 =References=
 <references />
 [[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]