Result Details
Developers’ Insight on Manifest v3 Privacy and Security Webextensions
Maone Giorgio
McMahon Michael
Bednář Martin, Ing., Ph.D., VHK (FCE)
Webextensions can improve web browser privacy, security, and user experience. The APIs offered by the browser to webextensions affect possible functionality. Currently, Chrome transitions to a modified set of APIs called Manifest v3. This paper studies the challenges and opportunities of Manifest v3 with an indepth structured qualitative research. Even though some projects observed positive effects, a majority express concerns over limited benefits to users, removal of crucial APIs, or the need to find workarounds. Our findings indicate that the transition affects different types of webextensions differently; some can migrate without
losing functionality, while others remove functionality or decline to update. The respondents identified several critical missing APIs, including reliable APIs to inject content scripts, APIs for storing confidential content, and others.
Webextensions, Manifest v3, privacy, security, web browsers, survey among developers
@inproceedings{BUT193343,
author="Libor {Polčák} and Giorgio {Maone} and Michael {McMahon} and Martin {Bednář}",
title="Developers’ Insight on Manifest v3 Privacy and Security Webextensions",
booktitle="Privacy Enhanced Technologies Symposium 2025",
year="2025",
pages="15--26",
publisher="SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda.",
address="Marbella - Spain",
doi="10.5220/0000205700003985",
isbn="978-989-758-772-6",
url="https://www.insticc.org/node/TechnicalProgram/webist/2025/presentationDetails/136690"
}