Though Google has promised to update its suite of apps with App Privacy labels to comply with App Store rules that Apple began enforcing in December, many of its major apps have gone months without an update and still list no privacy information. Users briefly saw “this app is out of date” errors when signing into their Google accounts. That drought is finally coming to an end, however.
It’s not certain just what prompted the long wait. Some had suggested Google had objections to Apple’s app privacy nutrition labels, but the company hasn’t had any objections. It promised that it would add the privacy details as it updated iOS apps, and quietly updated lower-profile YouTube apps earlier in February.
There is some pressure to update other apps soon. While Google can push some features through server-side and web updates, apps like Chrome could be vulnerable to security issues if left unpatched. There’s also the chance of future technical issues. If the YouTube fix is the start of a larger wave of upgrades, it could provide relief to iPhone and iPad users who lean heavily on Google services.
