AdGuard Completes Transition to Manifest V3

AdGuard announced that it has successfully transitioned its ad- and tracker-blocking web browser extension to Manifest V3.

“In mid-2021, AdGuard began developing a new ad-blocking extension designed to comply with the constraints of Manifest V3,” the firm noted in a July blog post. “Despite challenges from the API’s early and unfinished state, we have successfully adapted our Ad Blocker to operate effectively under these new conditions.”

AdGuard stands as an interesting counterpoint to critics of Google’s controversial Manifest V3: While Google has always claimed that this extension technology is designed only to make Chrome and other browsers more secure, extension makers who relied on now-deprecated functionality have long complained that Google was undermining them to appease advertisers.

But AdGuard seems to have made it work. Back in 2022, it launched its first Manifest V3-based extension in beta, noting at the time that it could still block ads and trackers “quite well” despite new limitations. Since then, it says Google has addressed some of the concerns raised by it and others in the industry. And the new AdGuard Ad Blocker MV3 features a few workarounds to whatever remaining issues.

AdGuard also features a simpler and cleaner UI. Among others things, it’s now easier to block annoying individual website elements using its Annoyance filters features.

According to the company, the AdGuard AdBlocker blocks all ads–including even YouTube video ads–and “completely removes all forms of tracking from the Internet.” You can download the extension from the Google Chrome Web Store. And you can learn more about this company and its extension on the AdGuard website.