Doubt about manifest V2 sunset

[Satyadeep Dey]

Hi ,

We have an unlisted extension (based on manifest V2)  which is used by hundreds of customers .We have already released a new unlisted extension based on V3 manifest but customers need some time to migrate their projects and hence understanding exact timelines is business critical for us . V2 sunset seems to have been postponed but some things are not clear from your v2 sunset page and I’d like to confirm my understanding.

 According to your V2 sunset page  https://developer.chrome.com/docs/extensions/mv3/mv2-sunset/ , in January 2023 , enterprise policy can let Manifest V2 extensions run on Chrome deployments within an organization . It also mentions that in January 2024 , Chrome Web Store stops accepting updates to existing Manifest V2 extensions.

Does this mean that we can continue to ship updates on our V2 extension till December 2023 but customers will need enterprise policy to use it from January 2023 to December 2023 ? 

Best Regards,

Satyadeep

[Stefan Van Damme]

Hi Satyadeep,

If you are on a company network that uses Chrome Enterprise, you can still use that Chrome extension until January 2024.

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/9296680?hl=en

If your users are outside your company and are regular customers visiting the Chrome Web Store. If they are still using the Manifest V2 Chrome extension in their Chrome web browser, they may experience problems with the Chrome extension not running.

• Starting in January 2023 Chrome 112, Chrome may run experiments to turn off support for Manifest V2 extensions in Canary, Dev, and Beta channels.

• Starting in June 2023 in Chrome 115, Chrome may run experiments to turn off support for Manifest V2 extensions in all channels, including stable channel.

You can still update your Manifest V2 Chrome extension until this date January 2024 for your Enterprise users.

However, it is best to start using the Manifest V3 Chrome extension in January 2023. So that users will not have a problem with the Chrome extension not showing up or running in their Chrome web browser.

Thanks,

Stefan vd

[Satyadeep Dey]

Hello Stefan ,

Thanks for your prompt response .

Can you please give details of what you mean by Enterprise Chrome ? We need to explain this to our customers . 

As far as I know , if I click on the 3 dots on top right corner of chrome and see "Managed by your organization" then it's enterprise chrome . Is that all or does the customer need to configure something and what does he need to configure ? Please share a link/documentation which we can give to our customers .

Also, based on your above explanation , I understand that users who don't have enterprise chrome will not be able to use extension based on V2 manifest from January ,2023 . Is that correct ?

Thanks ,

Satyadeep

[Stefan Van Damme]

Hi Satyadeep,

|| Can you please give details of what you mean by Enterprise Chrome ? 

The Chrome browser for the enterprise, sometimes referred to as Chrome Enterprise, is the same Chrome browser used by consumers. The difference is in how the browser is deployed and managed. IT administrators can install the Chrome browser via MSI, and manage their organization’s Chrome browsers via group policy to enforce over 200+ policies.

Introduction to managing Chrome browser and ChromeOS devices

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/2941083?hl=en&ref_topic=4386908

|| Also, based on your above explanation , I understand that users who don't have enterprise chrome will not be able to use extension based on V2 manifest from January ,2023 . Is that correct ?

Yes.

Thanks,
Stefan vd