Mozilla today reaffirmed its commitment to supporting browser extensions created using Manifest V2 (MV2) APIs. Unlike Google Chrome, which is phasing out MV2 APIs, Firefox will ensure that these extensions continue to function without restrictions.
Chrome has already begun disabling Manifest V2 extensions, leaving many users frustrated as popular extensions have stopped working. This move is part of Google’s transition to Manifest V3, which the company claims will enhance security, performance, and privacy. However, the phase-out has sparked disappointment among users and developers who rely on MV2’s broader capabilities, particularly for the privacy-focused tools.
Firefox Supports Both Manifest V2 and V3
Firefox will continue to support both Manifest V2 and Manifest V3, ensuring seamless compatibility for extensions. This ensures that the extensions would still be able to utilize MV2 APIs, particularly blocking webRequest, which powers several popular content filtering extensions.
Manifest V3 eliminates support for the blocking webRequest API, replacing it with declarativeNetRequest, which significantly limits how extensions filter and modify web content. This change reduces extensions’ ability to dynamically control network requests.
Edge, Brave and Vivaldi
While Microsoft Edge is aligning with Chrome’s transition to Manifest V3, Brave and Vivaldi have committed to continuing support for privacy-focused Manifest V2 extensions. Unlike Chrome and Edge, these independent browsers feature built-in content filtering tools, without relying on extensions.
However, because these Chromium-browsers lack their own extension stores and rely on the Chrome Web Store, Google’s removal of MV2 extensions may prevent users from installing or updating them, reducing their options.