In January 2024, Manifest V2 extensions will be removed from the store entirely. Starting in January 2023 with Chrome version 112, Google 'may run experiments to turn off support for Manifest V2 extensions in Canary, Dev, and Beta channels.' Starting in June 2023 and Chrome 115, Google 'may run experiments to turn off support for Manifest V2 extensions in all channels, including stable channel.' Also starting in June, the Chrome Web Store will stop accepting Manifest V2 extensions, and they'll be hidden from view. Google's latest blog post details the new timeline for the transition to Manifest V3, which involves ending support for older extensions running on Manifest V2 and forcing everyone onto the new platform. The update is controversial because it makes ad blockers less effective under the guise of protecting privacy and security, and Google just so happens to be the world's largest advertising company.

'Manifest V3' is the rather unintuitive name for the next version of Chrome's extension platform. Google's journey toward Chrome's 'Manifest V3' has been happening for four years now, and if the company's new timeline holds up, we'll all be forced to switch to it in year 5.

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