This also isn't even a first step where eventually privacy restrictions around observation will be added later. From the discussion thread[0]:
> Chrome is deprecating the blocking capabilities of the webRequest API in Manifest V3, not the entire webRequest API (though blocking will still be available to enterprise deployments). Extensions with appropriate permissions can still observe network requests using the webRequest API. The webRequest API's ability to observe requests is foundational for extensions that modify their behavior based on the patterns they observe at runtime.
It's not just that the people claiming that this will improve privacy are wrong about this specific change. Google's stance is that blocking request observation is fundamentally not acceptable, specifically because it would stop extensions from tracking and responding to user behavior.
To all the people saying, "well, it's about time extensions got locked down" -- Google is not your friend and they don't want the same things as you.
Not necessarily, since having the API available for you personally is only one part of the problem.
The other question to ask is, will you even have an ad blocker to install, given that Gorhill has hinted these changes might mean abandoning Chrome as a target platform?[0]
If enough ordinary people move to enterprise, Google will eventually restrict that as well. If not enough people move to enterprise, extension authors won't support Chrome and you'll be stuck writing or forking your own ad blocker. So you're gambling on being able to walk very thin line alongside a company that's already shown you that it is actively hostile to your interests.
The more permanent answer is to just switch to Firefox and stop playing their game. Switching to enterprise will probably at best buy you some time before you're forced to make that decision.
Oh, I switched to Firefox years ago (Chrome still doesn't offer any reasonable equivalent to Tree Style Tabs). This would be more for the folks that I haven't quite convinced yet to do the same.
> Chrome is deprecating the blocking capabilities of the webRequest API in Manifest V3, not the entire webRequest API (though blocking will still be available to enterprise deployments). Extensions with appropriate permissions can still observe network requests using the webRequest API. The webRequest API's ability to observe requests is foundational for extensions that modify their behavior based on the patterns they observe at runtime.
It's not just that the people claiming that this will improve privacy are wrong about this specific change. Google's stance is that blocking request observation is fundamentally not acceptable, specifically because it would stop extensions from tracking and responding to user behavior.
To all the people saying, "well, it's about time extensions got locked down" -- Google is not your friend and they don't want the same things as you.
[0]: https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/#!topic/chrom...