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Comment by avmich | Hacker News Reader

Google doesn't control the browser, user does.

Google controls the APIs that extension writers can use. They are currently using that control to impose limits on what adblocker extensions can do. [1][2]

You could download the Chromium source and patch it to change the extensions APIs (or better, just use Firefox), but the majority of users won't do this, and extension writers aren't going to make a version for a patched Chromium browser unless it has significant market share and support.

[1] https://nordvpn.com/blog/manifest-v3-ad-blockers/

[2] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/chrome-users-beware-ma...

You could always provide an extension that loads itself as a .dll/.so. I don't see much difference in friction between adding an extension through google's website vs. download setup.exe from somewhere. Of course like you say, using less user-hostile software is preferable.

That might work for highly tech savvy people, but that's a very small minority of users. Google will still make ad blocking near-impossible for 99.99% of its users.

Such extensions would be trivially easy for Google to break with Chrome updates. You also cannot distribute an extension like that through any of the usual extension stores.

Better to just use a browser that actually respects its users.

Firefox has 2.9%. Safari has 18.12%. Everything else is Chrome or reskinned Chrome, with Chrome itself being 65.3%.

Unless you’re running that 20%, Google controls it, and they basically write the standards anymore.

Oh, of course if you run Google-written software without modifications, you're not really controlling it. So if you want to control it, either go inside and tinker with the code, or - easier? - switch to a non-Google browser.

I thought this is rather obvious, at least for those worried about experience. Do you think all those who realize they're suffering from ads don't think about using non-Chromium browser?

I honestly don’t think they think about a nonchromium browser, and if they do think of it, they reject it for unfounded reasons. If they did use a nonchromium browser, Firefox would have a larger market share.

And if addblocking doesn't work on Chrome, Firefox usage will go up.

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