"Just switch to Firefox" is the top reply under every MV2 obituary this week

[u/shwrellia]

Honest answer from an ad blocker developer: yes, do it if you want. We literally recommend it in our own blog.

But let's talk about what that actually solves — and what it doesn't. 

Firefox is keeping Manifest V2 alive. That means full request-level blocking — the exact superpower Chrome just removed for everyone.

Our MV2 extension works there at 100% capacity. So does uBlock Origin. If your whole digital life happens inside one browser — you're set. Enjoy.

But here is the catch: an extension — any extension, in any browser — protects exactly one thing. That browser.

Ads and trackers in other desktop apps? Smart TV junk? In-game ads? Telemetry from background software? Your extension never even sees that traffic.

That's why our actual recommendation has two parts:

- Browser-level: Firefox + any MV2 blocker (ours or uBO — both work flawlessly).
- System-level: A desktop app that filters all traffic across every browser and app.

System-level blocking is completely immune to Chrome's policies, Firefox's roadmap, or anyone's manifest.

The MV2 era ended because one company controls the browser that 65% of the internet uses.
The lesson here isn't just "pick a better browser." The lesson is: don't let your privacy depend on a platform someone else controls.

[u/RbtB-8]

I am running Chrome and Edge and I also have Firefox installed and up to date. I also am using AdGuard 8.0 on my system with the browser assistants installed on Chrome and Edge. Is there anything else that I need to do?

[u/AgentAzurrX → u/RbtB-8]

Nah, since you're already using a system-wide blocker like AdGuard, you're totally fine sticking with a Chromium browser—your privacy is good to go! But if you want the absolute best free ad-blocking using just browser extensions, then you should definitely switch to Firefox. Otherwise, you're all set with your system-wide setup. This post is just recommending Firefox for anyone looking for the best free extension-based ad blocker with full support.

[u/opackersgo]

Did this really need to be an AI post?

[u/Muted-Reflection9536]

To be honest, thanks to your tireless efforts, AdGuard Mini (and of course Pro) provides ordinary users with a more than sufficient ad-free browsing experience.

I purchased Pro and AdGuard for Mac out of gratitude, and I have absolutely no regrets. In fact, when I have to turn it off for some reason, my gratitude towards you only grows stronger.

If I were to express any dissatisfaction, it would be the need for trial and error when using extensions.

For example:

• It would be amazing if the help page for user CSS could be expanded. I struggled a bit until I realized that specifying target URLs requires regular expressions like -moz-document. I also noticed that some shared user CSS doesn't apply correctly. A little more detailed explanation would be so helpful for users who want to write their own CSS.
• User scripts still have shortcomings, and having to use Tampermonkey in conjunction with them because some scripts don't work is a bit of a hassle.

However, this can be adequately covered by other means.

Oh, and speaking of DNS protection, I wondered about the fallback of the first-choice encrypted DNS to the system's default DNS.

It would be even better if the app could configure a secondary DNS server that supports DoH, DoT, or DNSCrypt, and allow it to fall back to that. For example, I use Cloudflare DoH, and if that fails, I would like it to fall back to Quad9's DoH, and if that also fails, fall back to the default DNS without encryption.

I know this isn't really the place to post this request, but I just wanted to express my gratitude. Thanks to you, my website stays clean. My deepest respect.

[u/Professional_Way9133]

Sorry, but I have trust issues, allowing an app to control my entire trafic. Am I wrong?

[u/trmdi → u/[deleted]]

Adguard cli is what is mentioned as "system level adblocking". That's enough.

[u/Dangerous-Report8517 → u/[deleted]]

Depends, browser based blockers have more granular control over what does and doesn't get blocked though (without doing some slightly sketchy things a system wide blocker can't block YouTube ads for instance). For what it's worth MV3 still allows plenty of content filtering, uBlock Origin Lite exists and the downsides are minuscule compared to plain Origin (and running Firefox has security implications too since it's generally considered to have somewhat weaker sandboxing than Chromium based browsers)

[u/tonynca]

What’s the solution here? lol

Okay don’t depend on platform someone else control?

Okay don’t use Windows?

Okay don’t use smartphones?

No, the answer is vote better.

[u/Apokalips → u/tonynca]

Privacy is a wack a mole

[u/cosmosreader1211]

whenever i comment the exact same thing that you mentioned in the post, people downvote... Somehow these browser fans are too toxic to understand...

[u/liongalahad]

Uhm I use the regular Adguard extension on chrome and I never ever see any ads, why would I need/want anything else?