If you use uBlock Origin on Chrome or Edge, it's being taken away from you — not because the developer stopped maintaining it, but because the platform it depends on is being removed. This is what actually happened, what your options are, and which of them keeps the thing you liked about uBlock Origin.

What happened, briefly

uBlock Origin was built on Manifest V2, the older Chrome extension platform. Its blocking webRequest API let an extension inspect and cancel every network request directly, with no cap on how many rules it could apply. That freedom is what made uBlock Origin's dynamic filtering and per-site rule editing possible.

Manifest V3 removes that API. Chrome disabled Manifest V2 in Chrome 138 (July 2025) and removes the last MV2 extensions from the Web Store on 31 August 2026. Microsoft Edge began its own phase-out in August 2026, expecting to finish for consumers by the end of the year and for managed devices in early 2027.

Nothing was done to uBlock Origin specifically. It's collateral from a platform change — which is worth knowing, because it means the replacement question isn't "which blocker is better", it's "what can still do the part I relied on".

Update, 31 August 2026: that store removal happened today. uBlock Origin's own last stable release, version 1.74, is now gone from the Chrome Web Store along with every other remaining Manifest V2 listing — you can no longer install it fresh or get it back after a browser reset, even on an old Chrome profile. Nothing changes for anyone who already lost it in July 2025; today only closes the door on getting it back.

The option most people miss: don't replace it

Before looking at alternatives, this is worth saying plainly, because a lot of writing on this topic skips it: you can keep the full uBlock Origin by changing browser rather than extension.

• Firefox kept the blocking webRequest API. Mozilla has said directly that support for uBlock Origin "is not going anywhere". The full extension runs unchanged.
• Brave is Chromium-based, but hosts uBlock Origin and other Manifest V2 extensions on its own servers, so they survive there too. Enable them under Settings → Extensions → Manifest V2 extensions.
• Opera is still supporting Manifest V2 for now.

If uBlock Origin's dynamic filtering, element-picker rules or per-site controls are the reason you use it, no Manifest V3 extension on Chrome will give you those back. Switching browser is the only route that actually returns them.

If you're staying on Chrome or Edge

Then it's a real replacement question, and it helps to be precise about what you're replacing.

uBlock Origin Lite

The obvious first stop: a Manifest V3 extension from the same developer. It blocks well and is not a hollowed-out version — independent testing has it neutralising ad and tracker scripts effectively.

What it doesn't carry over is the configurability. No dynamic filtering, no per-site rule editing, a rule set bounded by Manifest V3's platform limits. If you used uBlock Origin as a set-and-forget blocker, uBO Lite is close to a drop-in. If you used its advanced panel regularly, it isn't.

AdGuard

The browser extension is free and comparable to other MV3 blockers. Its distinguishing feature isn't the extension at all — it's the paid desktop and mobile apps, which block system-wide rather than in the browser. Worth it if you specifically want ads blocked outside the browser too; not worth paying for if your problem is entirely web browsing.

AdBlock Plus / AdBlock

Both run an "Acceptable Ads" programme enabled by default, where advertisers pay to be allowlisted. You can switch it off in settings. Whether that's disqualifying is a judgement call, but you should know it's the default rather than discover it later.

Ghostery

Strong on tracker visibility — it shows you exactly what's on each page — but features" class="doc-internal-link">ad blocking is the secondary function. If your complaint is ads rather than tracking, this is the wrong shape of tool.

DNDShield

Ours, so treat this accordingly. It was built on Manifest V3 from the start rather than ported to it, which means it has no Manifest V2 behaviour to lose on 31 August — a fact about timing, not superiority. Ads, trackers and pop-ups are on by default with no account, and it adds in-player video ad handling and a dedicated pop-up/redirect guard, both of which are page-level logic rather than filter rules.

What it does not do is replace uBlock Origin's configurability. Nothing on Manifest V3 does.

One thing that applies to every option here

Chrome guarantees each extension 30,000 static blocking rules. Anything beyond that comes from a pool shared with every other extension you have installed. On a browser carrying several extensions, a large rule set may not fully register — and it fails quietly, with no error.

The practical consequence: running one content blocker genuinely beats running two, and it's no longer just advice about conflicts. It also means "N thousand rules" claims are worth less than they look, since what ships isn't what ends up active on your machine.

So which should you pick?

• You used uBlock Origin's advanced features — switch to Firefox or Brave and keep it. No Chrome extension will replace them.
• You used it as a set-and-forget blocker and want to stay on Chrome/Edge — uBlock Origin Lite is the closest continuation, from the same developer.
• You want blocking outside the browser too — AdGuard's paid apps.
• You want video-platform ad handling and pop-up protection without configuring anything — that's the gap DNDShield was built for.

More on the platform change itself: What is Manifest V3. If your blocker stopped without explanation, Ad Blocker Not Working covers telling this apart from an ordinary fault.

Get started: Install DNDShield · Which browsers still support uBlock Origin