Is uBlock Origin Safe? Permissions, Privacy and Ownership Checked

Is uBlock Origin safe to use in 2026?

Yes, the genuine uBlock Origin is one of the safest extensions you can install, and the reasons are structural rather than a matter of trust. The code is public, the project has one long-standing lead developer, and it has no business model that depends on your data or on letting some ads through.

The catch is which uBlock Origin you mean. On Firefox, the full extension still works exactly as it always has. On Chrome, the classic version was switched off during Google's move to Manifest V3, so the version you can actually install today is uBlock Origin Lite (uBOL), a separate, lighter extension from the same developer.

Most of the real-world danger around this name comes from impostors: listings with nearly identical names and icons, published by someone else, that ride on the reputation. Those are the ones that end up injecting ads or harvesting browsing data. If you install from the correct publisher and keep the permissions you grant to what you need, the risk is low.

The rest of this page explains what the permissions mean, who runs the project, why Chrome dropped the classic version, and the settings that make uBOL even safer. For a wider view of how we judge any add-on, see our guide to whether Chrome extensions are safe.

Who owns uBlock Origin, and how is it funded?

uBlock Origin is owned and led by Raymond Hill (known as gorhill), who started it in 2014 and still maintains it with volunteer contributors. It has never been sold to a company, and the source code for both the classic extension and uBOL is hosted publicly on GitHub under the GPLv3 licence.

Funding is the part that surprises people. The project does not sell a premium tier, does not run an acceptable-ads programme where advertisers pay to be allowed through, and does not solicit donations. That matters for safety: an extension with no revenue from you or from advertisers has no incentive to collect or monetise what you browse.

Ownership changes are the most common way a trusted extension turns bad: a small developer sells to a buyer who pushes a data-collecting update to the existing users. uBlock Origin's single-maintainer history and public repository make that kind of quiet switch much harder to hide, because any change to the code is visible.

If you want to confirm ownership yourself, the uBlock Origin GitHub repository and the uBO Lite home repository link to the official store listings. Following those links is the most reliable way to land on the right page.

What permissions does uBlock Origin ask for, in plain English?

uBlock Origin asks for broad access because blocking ads means inspecting every page and request you load. There is no way to filter a site the extension is not allowed to see, so a content blocker will always carry a scary-sounding warning. What matters is that the access is used locally and not sent anywhere.

The classic uBlock Origin on Firefox asks for more: it uses the webRequest API to see and cancel each network request, plus permissions for tabs, navigation events, context menus and privacy settings. That wider access is exactly what made it more powerful, and it is also why it no longer fits Chrome's rules.

You can see the live list for any installed extension. Open chrome://extensions, click Details on uBlock Origin Lite, and read the Permissions and Site access sections. Our plain-English permissions reference explains each warning Chrome can show.

Does uBlock Origin collect or sell your data?

No. uBlock Origin has no accounts, no analytics and no telemetry, and the project states it does not collect user data. Filtering happens inside your browser against lists stored on your device.

There is one honest nuance. To stay current, the extension downloads updated filter lists from the servers that host them, such as the uBlock filters and EasyList projects. Like any download, the host sees the request come from your IP address. It does not see which sites you visit; it only sees that a copy of the list was fetched.

Because the source is public, independent developers and security researchers can read it, and many have. That is a stronger guarantee than any privacy policy, because a policy is a promise while open code is something you can check. On Firefox, uBlock Origin has also been part of Mozilla's Recommended Extensions programme, which involves a manual review of each update.

• Collected by uBOL: nothing sent to the developer.
• Stored locally: your filtering mode per site and list choices.
• Network traffic it creates: periodic filter list updates.
• What it reduces: third-party trackers, ad network requests and many malicious ad redirects.

Compare that with ad blockers that run acceptable-ads schemes or bundle VPN upsells; the data question there is more complicated. We cover one example in our AdGuard safety review.

Why did Google ban uBlock Origin from Chrome?

Google did not ban uBlock Origin for being unsafe; Chrome stopped running all Manifest V2 extensions, and classic uBlock Origin is built on Manifest V2. The removal was a platform change, not a verdict on the extension.

Manifest V3 replaced the blocking webRequest API, which let an extension inspect and cancel any request in real time, with declarativeNetRequest, where the extension hands Chrome a capped set of rules and the browser applies them. Google argues that is better for privacy and performance because extensions no longer see every request. Critics argue it limits how smart a blocker can be.

Chrome phased out Manifest V2 in stages across 2024 and 2025: warnings first, then disabling the extensions by default, then removing the option to turn them back on. The timeline is documented on Chrome's Manifest V2 deprecation page. If you still see uBlock Origin in chrome://extensions as disabled, that is why.

Is uBlock Origin illegal? No. Blocking ads in your own browser is legal in most countries, and courts in several places have dismissed publisher challenges to ad blockers. A website is free to refuse to serve you if you block its ads, and some streaming and news sites do. That is a terms-of-service dispute between you and the site, not a crime.

Is uBlock Origin Lite as safe, and what do you lose?

uBlock Origin Lite is at least as safe as the original, and arguably safer, because by default it asks for less. In its Basic mode it can block ads without being granted read access to every site.

What you lose is flexibility. uBOL cannot update filter lists on its own between releases, because Manifest V3 rules ship inside the extension package; lists refresh when the extension updates. It also offers fewer power-user tools than the classic version, so if you relied on the detailed request logger or dynamic filtering matrix, you will notice the gap.

For most people, uBOL in Optimal mode blocks the ads and trackers they care about on news sites, search and social feeds. Where it can fall short is on sites that actively fight blockers, since reacting to those changes quickly was a strength of the classic extension's fast list updates.

If you are weighing uBOL against the other big names, our Adblock Plus vs uBlock Origin Lite comparison sets them side by side, and the uBlock Origin alternatives page lists the options that still run on Chrome.

How do you install the real uBlock Origin Lite and avoid fakes?

Start from the official repository link or search the Chrome Web Store and confirm the publisher before you click Add to Chrome. It takes under a minute.

1. Open the uBO Lite home repository and follow its Chrome Web Store link, or search the store for uBlock Origin Lite.
2. On the listing, check the publisher line under the name reads Raymond Hill. Skip any listing that uses Plus, Pro, Premium or Adblocker in the name.
3. Click Add to Chrome, read the permission prompt, then click Add extension.
4. Click the puzzle-piece Extensions icon in the toolbar and pin uBlock Origin Lite so you can reach its popup.
5. Open chrome://extensions, click Details on uBOL, and confirm Allow in Incognito is off unless you want it there.
6. If you still have the disabled classic uBlock Origin listed, click Remove so an old, unpatched copy is not left behind.

On Firefox, install uBlock Origin from addons.mozilla.org and check that the author is Raymond Hill. On Edge, the classic extension's future follows Microsoft's own Manifest V2 timetable, so treat uBOL as the long-term choice there too.

Fakes usually give themselves away through small details: a publisher name you do not recognise, a listing that asks you to sign up, a description promising to boost speed or remove YouTube ads forever, or a free tier with an upgrade button. The real project has none of those. See the uBlock Origin Lite profile for our full editorial record.

Which uBlock Origin Lite settings make it safer?

Pick the lowest filtering mode that gives you clean pages, and raise it only on the sites that need it. uBOL lets you set a default mode and override it per site from the popup.

No filtering

Turns uBOL off for one site. Use it for a bank or employer portal that breaks, rather than disabling the whole extension.

Basic

Network blocking only, with no read access to page content. The lowest-permission option.

Optimal

Adds cosmetic filtering and scriptlets on sites, which removes empty ad boxes. Requires granting access to all sites.

Complete

The most thorough cosmetic filtering. More likely to break a page; keep it for stubborn sites.

Open the uBOL dashboard from the popup's gear icon and review which filter lists are enabled. The defaults cover ads, trackers and malware domains; adding every regional or annoyance list increases the chance of broken pages without adding much protection.

Keep Chrome's own protections switched on alongside it: Settings > Privacy and security > Security > Standard protection or higher. An ad blocker cuts out a major source of malicious redirects, but it does not replace Safe Browsing or a password manager that refuses to fill on lookalike domains.

Which ad blocker is the safest, and what should you pair with it?

For Chrome, uBlock Origin Lite is the safest mainstream ad blocker: open source, free, no acceptable-ads programme and minimal default permissions. Blockers that let paid or approved ads through are not necessarily unsafe, but they add a commercial party to the relationship.

A blocker handles ads and trackers. It does not stop phishing on a page that looks legitimate, clean up your history, or protect accounts if a password leaks. These companions fill those gaps; check each one's permissions against our review methodology before installing, since only uBOL has the long public track record.

Avoid running two full ad blockers at once. They compete over the same requests, can break pages in confusing ways and double the number of extensions with wide site access. Browse the ad blocker picks or the wider security and privacy category if you want an alternative to uBOL rather than an addition.