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The stated reason for removing blocking from WebRequest is to improve performance, not privacy. If an extension can block a request, Chrome needs to wait for th
by skymt 7y ago
The stated reason for removing blocking from WebRequest is to improve performance, not privacy. If an extension can block a request, Chrome needs to wait for the extension before performing the request. See the WebRequest section in the design document:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nPu6Wy4LWR66EFLeYInl3NzzhHzc-qnk4w4PX-0XMw8/edit#heading=h.t5tc5efl7rfz https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nPu6Wy4LWR66EFLeYInl3Nzz...
- Mirioron 7y agoSo, why not just not install the extension then? This just seems like taking the user's choice away.
- skymt 7y agoIn fairness to Google, it's not absurd in principle. Mozilla has dealt with this problem for years: when an extension slows the browser down, the user is more likely to blame the browser than the extension. But in this specific case of ad-blocking extensions, I have a hard time taking Google's justification seriously. Ad blockers speed up the browsing experience far more than whatever negligible processing time the filter process takes.
- tedivm 7y agoThat's exactly what it is- taking the choice away from the user. There were other options they could have taken- such as warning a user when installing an extension that uses these APIs, or building out a new asynchronous API (like Firefox did). Instead they choose to go with the option that screws over users but might make them more money.