This plugin isn't in development anymore

[folletto]

When I started the Blipshot extension in 2010 I had a lot of fun digging into Chrome API, and figuring out a quick and intuitive way to take screenshots. A lot of the extensions at the time were really complicated, and I needed something that just took a screenshot.

It doesn't seem difficult, but there are some nasty API required because the Chrome API never quite released the right tools to do this well. Lots of workarounds and adjustments.

Fast forward to 2022, after 12 years I managed to keep the extension running by keeping up with all the changes to the API needed, often in the form of additional restrictions or bugs. I feel 12 years is a quite a long time for an individual developer even if the extension is quite simple in its interface, and I'm proud of the work done and of the over 30,000 users I had over the years. Quite a testament to how good it was given I never publicized it or anything.

Today, Chrome requires another API change, with Manifest V3, and unfortunately this time it requires an extensive rewrite. In my initial analysis I feel it might be an almost complete rewrite to again work around sandbox and some structural changes. What was a fairly lean and smart plugin is now a massive drain on my time just to keep it running unchanged.

After quite some time of reflection and talking with some friends, I thus have taken the difficult decision to stop developing it, until the day Manifest V2 will be officially retired in January 2023 according to current timelines.

I'm glad this extension has been so useful for so many people. Thank you everyone.

[turkeyphant]

Does anyone have any recommendations for alternatives?

[tomasz1986]

Thank you very much for this extension. I still use is quite extensively on a daily basis. If possible, please do not delete the repository (or maybe just archive it?) once the manifest isn't supported anymore. There are alternative Chromium-based browsers (e.g. Brave, Vivaldi, etc.) which have plans to keep support for Manifest V2, at least for the time being, so even if the extension is no longer available in the Chrome Web Store, one can always download and install it manually in those browsers.

[folletto]

Hello,

I've currently de-listed the extension and I've been contacted by a company to take it over. So it's possible that will stay on the store after the cutoff V3 time as they update it.

As for the code, I have no plan to remove this repository, even if it will get more and more outdated. :)

[tomasz1986]

Just a comment, but a takeover of an extension by a company usually ends up with the extension becoming adware (or even straight-up malware) which then leads to Google removing it from its store anyway. Not that things always need to go that route, but that's how the whole process seems to work most of the time 🙁.

[folletto]

Yes I am aware. I made an exception in this case because the extension would have been dead in a month anyhow, they seemed more serious than a lot of the similar offers I received over the decade and they said they would have updated to V3, so... hopefully they will give a longer lifespan, even if with a compromise.

[ToyKeeper]

I just got a notification today that the plugin updated itself to v1.2.6, which is apparently built by the unnamed company it was sold to. A source repository does not seem to be available though, at least not that I can find. The extension page still lists this github repo as its web site.

Looking at the files in the extension, it seems v1.2.5 was silently released a month ago, and it added tracking, so people have had their activity monitored for a month with no warning. Then v1.2.6 was released today with a splash screen, and this version adds additional tracking, new permissions, and now appears to send user data to both google and facebook, in addition to loading a new script from the new owner's web site. The app's original function remains unchanged so far; the only changes made are to collect user data.

The new owner created a web site for blipshot, but so far, all it has is a privacy policy... which says they collect rather a lot of data and the extension does not have a mechanism to opt out.

So... it would probably be a good idea to update this project to make it clear that the Chrome web store version is now proprietary software which collects user data. V1.2.4 is the last version without spyware.

[tomasz1986]

@ToyKeeper Thank you very much for the tip!

The new owner created a web site for blipshot, but so far, all it has is a privacy policy... which says they collect rather a lot of data and the extension does not have a mechanism to opt out.

So... it would probably be a good idea to update this project to make it clear that the Chrome web store version is now proprietary software which collects user data. V1.2.4 is the last version without spyware.

The expected has happened then. There is never a good outcome when a company (and usually an unknown one) buys an extension for no particular reason. I've uninstalled and will be looking for a free and open source replacement (hopefully with support for Manifest V3).

[folletto]

So... it would probably be a good idea to update this project to make it clear that the Chrome web store version is now proprietary software which collects user data. V1.2.4 is the last version without spyware.

The project already states this extension is retired and links to this discussion thread, so I feel this request was already done. But just in case I added a new note to make clear this repository is not that extension anymore.

[folletto]

FWIW it already lost 10k users given the Chrome Store listing now states 20k instead of 30k.