Firefox: The Final Stronghold for uBlock Origin

By Viktor Eriksson and Joel Lee | August 13, 2026

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In a landscape where ad-blocking is becoming increasingly restricted, Mozilla has confirmed that Firefox will continue to support uBlock Origin. This commitment comes as Microsoft Edge and various other Chromium-based browsers begin the process of phasing out the extension due to the transition to Manifest V3.

The Technical Shift: From V2 to V3

The conflict centers on the browser extension architecture. Most modern browsers are moving away from Manifest V2 in favor of Manifest V3.

As Firefox noted via a post on Bluesky:

"Our support for uBlock Origin isn’t going anywhere."

The urgency of this announcement follows reports that Microsoft Edge will soon block uBlock Origin and similar tools that rely on the older Manifest V2 framework.

Why does this matter?

When a browser migrates to Manifest V3, extensions lose access to critical functions. This makes it significantly harder to:

1. Identify specific ad elements in real-time.
2. Block intrusive ads on websites.
3. Stop ads from playing during videos.

We can represent the efficiency of ad-blocking as a simple ratio: $\text{Blocking Success} = \frac{\text{Filtered Requests}}{\text{Total Ad Requests}}$ Under Manifest V3, the numerator decreases because the browser limits the extension's ability to intercept requests.

The Browser Landscape

Microsoft Edge's decision is a direct result of its reliance on Chromium, the open-source engine developed by Google. Since Google is the primary driver behind the Manifest V3 migration, other Chromium-based browsers are following suit.

Chromium-Based Browsers Affected:

• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge
• Opera
• Brave
• Vivaldi
• Samsung Browser

Comparison of Major Browsers

For those who refuse to compromise on their ad-blocking experience, the choice is narrowing. As one user (@hispanicat7hedisco.bsky.social) put it:

"I will never go back to Chrome so long as uBlock Origin is supported on Firefox."

What are the alternatives?

If you aren't using Firefox, your options for ad-blocking are now limited:

• Use uBlock Origin Lite (a stripped-down version with fewer features).
• Rely on the browser's own native, built-in ad-blocking tools.
• Switch to Firefox.

{
  "extension_status": {
    "uBlock_Origin": "Deprecated on Chromium",
    "uBlock_Origin_Lite": "Compatible with MV3",
    "Firefox_Status": "Fully Supported"
  }
}

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This piece was originally published by our sister site, PC för Alla, and has been translated and localized from Swedish.

About the Authors

Viktor Eriksson

Contributor, PCWorld Viktor reports for M3 and PC för Alla, focusing on the latest consumer tech trends and product launches.

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Joel Lee

Senior Editor, PCWorld With over 12 years of experience, Joel specializes in digital security and computing. He previously led MakeUseOf and founded whatNerd.

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