Source URL: https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/02/07/2246202/googles-7-year-slog-to-improve-chrome-extensions-still-hasnt-satisfied-developers?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
Source: Slashdot
Title: Google’s 7-Year Slog To Improve Chrome Extensions Still Hasn’t Satisfied Developers
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Summary: The text discusses the challenges faced by developers of Chrome extensions, particularly ad blockers and privacy tools, due to Google’s recent overhaul of the Chrome extension architecture. It highlights frustrations with the transition from Manifest V2 (MV2) to Manifest V3 (MV3), which has made extension development more complex and hindered their functionality.
Detailed Description: The article emphasizes the ongoing issues in the Chrome extension ecosystem following Google’s transition to Manifest V3 (MV3), which is significant for security, privacy, and particularly for developers focusing on these areas. Here are the key points:
– **Developer Frustration**: Developers of privacy tools like the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Privacy Badger express frustration about the increased complexity of developing extensions under MV3 compared to its predecessor, MV2.
– **Technical Limitations**: There are specific technical shortcomings highlighted, such as the inability of Privacy Badger to effectively strip Google tracking redirects, which has been attributed to design oversights in the new API.
– **Slow Response from Google**: There is a perceived lack of urgency from Google in addressing the issues developers are facing, which raises concerns about the long-term viability of critical privacy and ad-blocking tools.
– **Control Shift**: Miagkov points out that the changes have shifted the responsibility of fixing issues from the developers to Google, indicating a centralized power dynamic that could hinder innovation and responsiveness in the extension ecosystem.
Overall, this update presents significant implications for privacy and security professionals:
– **Impact on Privacy Tools**: The challenges with MV3 may limit user access to effective privacy tools, potentially increasing the risk of tracking and data leakage.
– **Dependency on Platform Changes**: Security professionals must monitor such changes closely as they affect the tools relied upon to enforce privacy and security measures within browsers.
– **Advocacy for Compliance and Best Practices**: Developers and security advocates may need to push for more collaborative practices in platform governance to balance security needs with developer autonomy and user privacy rights.
This development invites scrutiny on how software changes can impact the broader landscape of privacy and security technologies, pushing stakeholders to advocate for better communication and faster resolution of such issues.