Poll: You've switched or plan to switch from Chrome after ad-blocker changes

Google Chrome has been in the news recently due to the web browser switching to a new extension platform. Unfortunately, this change will also essentially break many ad-blocking add-ons.

We wondered whether this change would cause users to make the jump from Chrome. So we posed this question to Android Authority readers and here’s what you said.

Will you switch from Chrome in light of its extension changes?

Results

This was a very popular poll, accruing over 6,800 votes to date. The most popular answer? Well, 29.83% of respondents answered “yes, I plan to switch.” We do wonder how many of these users will actually switch, though.

In second place with 25.99% of the vote was “yes, I’ve already switched.” Reader comments suggest that Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are the go-to alternatives.

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Rounding out the top three is “maybe, I’ll see what happens.” We can understand why you’d want to wait and see, as it’s possible that ad-blocking companies will quickly come up with some solutions for Chrome’s changes.

It’s also interesting to note that those who said they’ve switched from Chrome or plan to switch account for a combined total of 55.82% of the vote. So there’s definitely plenty of pushback against these changes from our polled readers.

Comments

• Avieshek: Already switched (to FireFox on Windows and Orion on Mac) but keeping Chrome (on Windows) to have Google Services signed-in, like Google Chrome would still be the safest bet to have Gmail, Gdrive or Google Analytics stay signed-in.
• rouxenator: Switched to Edge ages ago, even on my phone, way better.
• Mace Moneta: So far, uBlock Origin Lite, which uses the new API, has been working well. I can’t “zap” things that it doesn’t block (like overlays), but that hasn’t been much of an issue yet. If things degrade, I’ll switch even though I’m using a Chromebook. I’ve checked out Firefox in the Linux environment, and it’s tolerable on my model – more so than being inundated by ads and malware.
• Daniel: Firefox all the way! <3 I really hope Firefox can grow back to some of its popularity it once had!
• B!: Part of the 27% who’ve already switched, but that was 3 years ago.
• TJ_3rd: When I first read about this a couple weeks ago, I went ahead and pulled the trigger and fully moved over to Firefox. Now all that’s left on Chrome are a few corporate things I can’t avoid. At home and mobile, fully Firefox. I made 3 new FF accounts for my 3 different ‘profiles’ (2 personal and 1 side gig business account). Sadly Firefox doesn’t allow pinning your browser profiles as shortcuts BUT you can do it anyway (using standard Windows shortcuts and add command-line parameters to tell FF which profile to open).
• Kenneth McConkie: I’m not at all worried about the switch to V3. My ad blocker is not subject to the changes. It works on a system/DNS level. Changes that Chrome makes can’t affect that. Chrome is super convenient for everything else, so I will not be switching, and I will enjoy the same ad-free experience I’ve always had, both on PC and Android.
• 🇲🇽 Dave64 🇬🇧: If cheat makers can provide cheats for video games that bypass anti-cheat software, I have faith developers will be able to figure out a way to bypass Manifest v3.
• Obaid Farooq: Already using Microsoft Edge on Android and Windows.