Following developer requests, Google delays blocking extensions not in the Chrome Web Store until May 1

Google today announced it won’t be blocking local Chrome for Windows extensions until May 1. The timing change is being made after some developers requested more time to get their extensions in the Chrome Web Store. As a result, Windows users have about two more months to use extensions for the company’s browser that Google hasn’t approved into its store.

The new policy does not affect off-store extensions on the Dev and Canary channels for Windows, nor all channels for Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS. The FAQ gives more details:

• Users can only install extensions hosted in the Chrome Web store, except for installs via enterprise policy or developer mode.
• Extensions that were previously installed, but not hosted on the Chrome Web Store will be hard-disabled (i.e the user cannot enable these extensions again), except for installs via enterprise policy or developer mode.

Google originally announced the change in November, saying they would go into effect in January. While it already went into effect for Chrome 33 beta, the stable version won’t be affected until version 34 or 35.

Image Credit: Miguel Saavedra