Ethereum Watch

UPDATED | 1:42 p.m.:

After announcing that its extension had been removed from the Chrome Web Store earlier on Wednesday, MetaMask took to Twitter several hours later to say that it’s back:

ORIGINAL | 11:38 a.m.: 

MetaMask, which enables users to run Ethereum Dapps, announced via Twitter on Wednesday that its extension has been removed from the Chrome Web Store. In its tweet, the organization said it was “unsure of why this is the case and … will update everyone” as more information becomes available. Other MetaMask-compatible browsers, such as Firefox, Opera, and Brave, remain unaffected.

In another tweet, MetaMask stated that users who already have the extension installed should be able to use it in the short term, but the keyword is “should” – the organization “knocks on wood” for the extension to continue to work. “We hope to resolve this quickly,” the tweet continued.

MetaMask’s Twitter followers took to the comments section to voice their concerns and speculation:

Some users cited this announcement as a reason to support a different browser or to express dissatisfaction with Google:

MetaMask tweeted brief directions to help individuals transition to the Brave browser: “Go to preferences, select extensions, then enable MetaMask.” The organization also reposted a support article describing the process of “restoring from seed phrase,” which would allow users to recover their accounts and private keys.

One redditor offered a more elaborate explanation for what users should do in this situation. The poster noted that it “is a good time to verify that you have your recovery seed in an easily-accessible but secure place.” Further, the individual warned users that even if they see a MetaMask extension available for download on Chrome, they should await word from the company before attempting to install it. As the user put it:

“It’s likely that there will be phishing MM [MetaMask] extensions going up if there [isn’t] already.”

However, the redditor mentioned that individuals could install MetaMask on Chrome if they absolutely had to by using the organization’s source code on GitHub.

Apparently, users can still manually install the extension:

Daniel Putney is a full-time writer for ETHNews. He received his bachelor’s degree in English writing from the University of Nevada, Reno, where he also studied journalism and queer theory. In his free time, he writes poetry, plays the piano, and fangirls over fictional characters. He lives with his partner, three dogs, and two cats in the middle of nowhere, Nevada.

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