Hey there, I’ve run into a few similar oddities with Chrome Web Store extensions, so you’re definitely not losing your mind over this! Let’s break down the possible causes and how you can get everyone on your Manifest V3 version.

Possible Causes for the V2 User Spike #

• Chrome Web Store Auto-Rollback or Partial Rollout
  Sometimes the CWS will automatically roll back some users to the older V2 version if your V3 build has undetected compatibility issues (like broken API calls, missing permissions, or service worker failures). This is a safety mechanism to avoid leaving users with a non-functional extension. The spike might be a sign that a subset of users were reverted to V2 after hitting errors in V3.

• Analytics Reporting Glitches
  CWS user stats can have lag or temporary misclassification, especially right after a new version launch. It’s possible that some V3 users are being incorrectly counted as V2 in the weekly reports. Wait a few days to see if the numbers normalize—this is more common than you might think.

• Managed/Enterprise Environment Restrictions
  Many corporate or school networks block extension auto-updates or restrict Manifest V3 extensions (due to stricter permission models that haven’t been approved by admins). If a chunk of your user base is in these environments, recent additions to those networks would show up as V2 users since they can’t install or update to V3.

• Manual User Rollbacks
  While less likely, some power users might have disabled auto-updates and rolled back to V2 if your V3 version had noticeable regressions (like missing features, slower performance, or bugs). Checking user reviews and error reports can confirm this.

Steps to Fix This & Push V3 to All Users #

• Audit V3 for Errors
  Head to your CWS developer dashboard and check the Error Reports tab for V3-specific crashes or console errors. Also, scan user reviews to see if anyone is complaining about broken functionality in the new version. Fixing these issues will stop auto-rollbacks and encourage users to stay on V3.

• Ensure Full Rollout of V3
  Double-check your CWS publish settings: make sure you didn’t accidentally set a phased rollout for V3, and confirm that the V2 version isn’t marked as the "recommended" build. Set V3 to full, immediate rollout to prioritize it for all users.

• Verify Compatibility Across Chrome Versions
  Test your V3 extension on older stable versions of Chrome (e.g., 100+) to make sure you’re not using APIs that aren’t available in older builds. Some users might be on outdated Chrome versions that don’t fully support V3, so the store might serve them V2 instead.

• Proactively Guide Users to Update
  Add a small notification in your extension’s popup or settings page telling users to update to V3 for better performance/security. You can also include steps to manually trigger an update (go to chrome://extensions/, enable Developer Mode, click "Update").

• Reach Out to Chrome Support
  If the stats don’t normalize after a week or two, contact Chrome’s developer support to rule out platform-side issues (like misconfigured rollback rules or stats tracking bugs).

Hope these tips help you resolve this strange user count issue. Getting everyone on Manifest V3 is key for long-term compliance and performance, so don’t skip digging into those error logs and user feedback!

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者hexipeter