A proposed change to Chrome would neuter content blockers:
While we’re still waiting for a Chromium-powered version of Microsoft Edge to materialize, we do know that it is intended that the browser will end up supporting Chrome extensions. However, according to a draft of the Chrome Extension Manifest V3 implementation, it appears that there could be some bad news for content blocking solutions designed for the browser.
According to the draft, use of the webRequest API currently used by content blockers “will be discouraged (and likely limited) in its blocking form” while a non-blocking implementation would allow nothing more than observation of network activity. Instead, developers will have access to the new declearativeNetRequest API. However, the proposal has drawn the ire from content blocker heavyweights such as Raymond Hill, best known as the author of uBlock Origin and uMatrix.
This clearly feels like a slippery slope where eventually all forms of content blocking will be either made impossible or very limited. Google is an advertising company, after all, and content blockers must in some way influence the company’s bottom line.
Luckily, there’s always Firefox.
I personally left Chrome the moment Google banned Video DownloadHelper for Chrome from downloading YouTube videos. I mean, if Google think it’s OK to use their status as a browser vendor to advance an unrelated agenda, why would I want their browser?
The reason I had left Firefox was its “blocking” JavaScript, and this has been fixed with Quantum. So the decision was made easy for me: Back to Firefox it is.
I never left Firefox, only used Chromium due to a page at work not displaying correctly in Firefox, but that was fixed ages ago, so now I literally only have Chromium installed in those few cases where I need to test something in another browser to eliminate the possibility it is the browser or a plugin I have installed.
Haven’t trusted Google to not be Evil in many years.
This is my situation also.
The Firefox extension situation has been very frustrating, but I’ve stuck with it because I knew this day would come sooner or later.
And, as C5523 says below, hopefully enough people switch to it before we end up with another browser mono-culture.
Switch to firefox right now or may be too late in the future
Google is pushing Chrome hard with every channel they ‘ve got, so I don’t know how many people will move, but I think every techie should go to Firefox.
I have to use Chrome at work for maintaining website compatibility (sadly, yes, this is still a thing in 2019, so much for Web standards), but I refuse to use it or any other Google data vacuuming service at home. Unfortunately, stock Firefox is almost as bad as Chrome when it comes to privacy intrusions (Pocket, telemetry still on even when “disabled”, opt-out instead of opt-in third party data sharing, Looking Glass, startup profiling, “Sponsored Tiles”, etc.) so I use Waterfox instead. I know this doesn’t help Mozilla since they can’t count me as a Firefox user, but they need to get their own house in order before they can expect to be seen as better on privacy than any other company. The fact that projects like Waterfox even need to exist speaks volumes.
Except… Mozilla is depending on ads to fund their business… so much so that they’re going to shove ads in the browser directly. Good thing I’m primarily a Safari user on my personal devices.
I’m still running Seamonkey, it’s Firefox without the terrible modern UI and agenda/ad pushing. Sadly, they’re finding it harder and harder to keep up with Firefox as development gets progressively more centred on that browser rather than being a general engine. Could do with some more support!
The Privoxy project might become the only way to keep Chrome usable. Anyway I mostly use Firefox except when I want to print a (part of) a page to PDF.
https://www.privoxy.org/