Google’s Manifest V3 and the Future of Pop-Up Blockers
Google’s Manifest V3 and the Future of Pop-Up Blockers
November 4, 2025, 5 min read
Table of Contents
Over the last ten years, browser extensions have become an integral part of users’ internet use. Whether it is through content filters or pop-up blockers, these tools enable users to remove distractions and enhance security, while also restoring control over how they interact with websites. Pop-up blockers have been particularly useful among these, providing a means of avoiding annoying windows, malicious redirects, and obnoxious ads. That could change, however, as Google is slowly transitioning to Manifest V3, a significant redesign of their Chrome extension framework.
This change may have profound implications for users who depend on a pop up blocker for chrome. Manifest V3 adds new restrictions on the functionality of browser extensions, particularly those that perform monitoring and modification of web requests. Although the intended effect, as Google says, is to enhance privacy, performance, and security, the outcome is that it will be a blow to the level of control that most ad-blocking and pop-up blocking tools previously enjoyed.
Manifest V3: What Is It?
Manifest V3 is the third version of the extension framework for Google Chrome, superseding the older and more lenient Manifest V2. In essence, this new version changes what browser extensions can and cannot do. It introduces a new type of scripting, a technique called Declarative Net Request, which restricts the capacity of extensions to intercept and manipulate content dynamically. This shift has a direct impact on tools that rely on real-time decision-making, such as ad blockers, privacy extensions, and pop-up blockers.
Extensions would have access to powerful APIs under Manifest V2 to inspect all of the network requests and decide what to block, redirect, or allow using custom logic. This allowed pop-up blockers to run through behavior patterns, analyze scripts and make on-the-fly decisions to permit a pop-up to be shown or not. In Manifest V3, those abilities are much diminished. Extensions must now be based on a previously announced set of rules, leaving them with less opportunity to respond to constantly changing methods of aggressive advertising.
Pop-Up Blocking: Why It Matters
Pop-up blockers do not simply check for the common pop-ups that are presented in new windows- they also protect against overlays, timed redirects, and fake user interfaces. These are the actions that are usually difficult to anticipate and which need to be examined in real-time. Manifest V3 restricts the flexibility of such extensions by limiting dynamic filtering, and thus, these extensions may be less effective against novel methods of pop-up delivery.
The other issue is the limit on the number of rules that an extension may employ. Although Google has raised the limit over the years, most developers believe that it is still insufficient to cover all web users comprehensively. To stay abreast of the thousands of new pop-up domains, behaviors and ad server URLs that appear regularly, pop-up blockers use large and frequently updated rule sets. These blockers might fail to keep pace with the increasing sophistication of web-based advertising using a smaller toolbox.
What Google Says It Intends to Do and How Developers Have Responded
Google insists that the transition to Manifest V3 is based on the wish to make extensions safer and more performant. This makes Chrome more resistant to malicious extensions because arbitrary code execution is limited. Another argument that Google makes relates to the fact that pre-announced rules make browsing faster, as the content is filtered in a more efficient manner.
Developers of privacy and ad-blocking tools have responded, however. They claim that Manifest V3 is a major step backward in functionality (particularly, to power users who depend on advanced customization). Although Google has collaborated with a few extension developers to enhance some features of the API, most have the perception that the new framework is more focused on corporate gains than on empowering users.
In the case of pop-up blockers, the issue is not only with today’s pop-ups, but also with those of tomorrow. As advertisers develop more sophisticated techniques to evade blockers, blockers will need to adapt at a similar rate. Such an evolution is more difficult in the rigid structure of Manifest V3.
The Wider Implications of the Browser Ecology
Chrome is not the only browser with extensions, but due to its significant market share, modifications to its extension system have a substantial impact on the web. Other browsers based on Chromium, such as Microsoft Edge and Opera, are also moving to Manifest V3; hence, developers have no choice but to update their extensions.
Mozilla Firefox has its own extension system, but it is still possible to implement the type of dynamic filtering that pop-up blockers rely on. Consequently, there is a risk that a portion of users will switch to Firefox or other privacy-centered browsers to preserve complete pop-up and ad-blocking features. The change might reorganize the browser market in small yet significant ways, particularly as tech-savvy customers begin to place an emphasis on control and flexibility as opposed to ease of use.
Moving Forward: What Users Can Do
Currently, the majority of pop-up blockers continue to function on Chrome, at least when they are designed to work with both Manifest V2 and V3. Nonetheless, Google has now officially started to deprecate V2 support and by 2025, Manifest V3 extensions will be the only ones permitted in the Chrome Web Store. This implies that users must be cautious of the way their favorite tools are developing and how they are going to be used in this new environment and whether they will be as functional as they were.
One of them is changing to another browser. Other alternatives, such as Firefox and Brave, continue to support more effective ad-blocking and pop-up-blocking applications. They can also check developer updates on how they are modifying their tools, or seek hybrid solutions that do both client-side filtering and DNS-level protection.
As usual, it is a matter of user awareness. Being informed about how these tools work and how such changes as Manifest V3 impact them enables users to make more informed decisions regarding how they navigate and secure their digital space.
Future of Pop-Up Blockers in a Manifest V3 World
Pop-up blockers will not disappear, but their purpose and use can evolve significantly with the introduction of the new standard, Manifest V3. It is not merely a technical change, but a rebalancing of power between users, developers and the platform that mediates them. How pop-up blockers will fare in the new model, or whether they will have to shrink to less important functions, will depend to a considerable extent on how flexible their developers can be in the new Google environment.
After all, the struggle to have a clean and ad-free browsing experience persists. The instruments might be different, the regulations might be different, but the demand is identical: to provide the users with the power of choice as to what they perceive, and what they do not, on the World Wide Web.
In cybersecurity, static credentials—those unchanging passwords, API keys, and tokens—were once considered convenient. Today, they’re among the bigges...
Privacy is no longer just a personal concern, it has become a global issue tied to freedom, democracy, and access to information. Around the world, bi...
Across industries, digital transformation has created new opportunities for growth. Banks, insurers, fintech platforms, retailers, and online marketpl...
Cyber threats are evolving faster than businesses can patch up and secure their systems. The traditional security approach, which involves annual pene...
Subcribe to our monthly newsletter and join others to receive exclusive cyber security
content and tips directly to your inbox. Access our exclusive content now!
