The news: Google is transitioning Chrome extensions to a new platform called Manifest V3 that promises to improve user privacy.

Manifest V2, which launched in 2012, allowed extensions to access all of a user’s browsing history when fulfilling requests. The new platform will allow extensions to process requests without needing that information, reducing extensions’ exposure to privacy problems.

• A recent post on X from Raymond Hill, the creator of popular extension uBlocker, claimed that its deprecation on the Chrome web store had begun, leading to speculation that Google could phase out ad blockers on Chrome as it has done for YouTube.