Over the years, the extensions we install in different web browsers have become increasingly important software elements. They add multiple functions to these programs that we miss by default.
That is why developers from all over the world have been creating their own projects in the form of these small pieces of software for years. However, we must bear in mind that abusing their use is not advisable, and we also find malicious extensions. At the same time, there are also extensions that, due to their internal functioning, can put the use of the browser itself at risk.
We now know one of Google’s plans in this regard. The search giant plans to stop supporting Manifest V2 extensions in 2025. This means that when the time comes, all extensions based on that standard, Manifest V2, will stop working.
All of this is done in order to support the more up-to-date and secure Manifest V3 standard. But it is quite likely that many users will miss some of these extensions that will stop working in a few months. That is why they may look for an alternative solution to continue working with them. Well, we have good news.
The Brave web browser is patching the aforementioned Manifest V3 in the Chromium engine. All of this in order to allow older V2 extensions to continue working as they have up to now. Therefore, all of this means that we will have the possibility of migrating to Brave, an equally free web browser, to continue using our favorite V2 extensions after the deadline imposed by Google Chrome.
Brave browser will support older extensions
It should be noted that with the imminent change to Manifest V3, as we have already mentioned, some Chrome extensions that depend on the V2 blocking functionality will stop working if they are not updated. There are many users who have been using these extensions for years that could disappear, which becomes a problem.
That’s precisely why the people behind the Brave browser are going to propose an alternative solution. They are patching the program to make it compatible with most of the V2 extensions that Chrome will block. Thus, Brave is modifying Manifest V3 to allow the old V2 extensions to work without any problem.
It is worth mentioning that the patch being applied forces the activation of Manifest V2. All this means that Brave will allow old extensions, based on the standard, to work as usual, even after Chrome stops supporting them in 2025.
However, Brave’s executives tell us that support for these extensions will only be for a limited time, and not for all of them, which will disappear from Chrome. In case you don’t know yet, this is a change that Google plans to implement in its program starting next June 2025. Those interested in continuing to use these extensions based on Manifest V2 will be able to switch to this other browser to continue using them without problems, although that won’t last forever.
