Mozilla is a step closer to launching the future of browser extensions
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Mozilla Firefox is adding support for Manifest v3-based web browser extensions to its online store.
Original suggested (opens in new tab) by Google in 2018, Manifest v3 (MV3) is a software architecture revision tracked by the tech giant as one of the “major extension platform shifts since its launch a decade ago.”
Google promised that the new technology will provide users with “security, privacy, and performance improvements” and allow them to “use more contemporary open web technologies, such as service workers and pledges.”
When does the change take effect?
Starting Monday, November 21, developers will be able to upload Mv3 extensions for signing. (opens in new tab) But Mozilla is arguably a little late to the party; Microsoft has started testing Manifest V3 (opens in new tab) in its Edge browsers as early as October 2020.
However, not everyone is the biggest fan of Manifest V3.
Some of the most ardent proponents of online privacy, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have done just that pronounced against (opens in new tab) the update, stating that the “changes in Manifest V3 won’t stop malicious extensions, but will hurt innovation, reduce extensibility, and hurt real-world performance.”
It’s unlikely that Mozilla had much of a choice in deciding whether to use MV3 in Firefox, since Google controls Chromium, the open-source browser technology that powers Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, both of which have large browser market shares.
Even Apple has approved MV3 for its Safari browser on macOS and iOS in the future, so it might just be a matter of keeping up with the times.
Support for Manifest V2, the predecessor to Manifest V3, will end in June 2023 for all Chromium-based browsers.
This wouldn’t be the first time Mozilla has locked Google’s horns. The company has previously accused Google, Microsoft and Apple in a September 2022 report of “self-preference” and urging consumers to use their own browser, citing numerous examples of consumer harm.