Google’s privacy stance with Apple has lasted so long that even the company’s own apps complain about it.
Since early December, Apple has asked any iOS app to introduce a privacy “nutrition label,” listing all the ways the app uses personal data.
These leaflets, written by the app’s developers, range from short to sweet – the Overcast podcast app, for example, lists six uses of personal data, from usage information to analytics to user IDs for the app ‘s ability to log in – to something more. Facebook lists 80 different categories of data it uses, for purposes ranging from tracking users across the web to personalizing the app.
However, Google has not provided its own labels. The company only needs to do that when it updates its apps, which they stopped doing late last year. The iOS version of Google Chrome, for example, was updated around every two weeks through 2020, to two months ago when it received its last update. Google Photos was updated almost weekly to two months ago; so are YouTube, Google Maps and Gmail.
In fact, of the 86 apps released by Google on the iOS App Store, only three – Google Slides, Google Play Music and TV, and Google Translate – were updated in 2021. Of those three, only one – Google Translate – a privacy leaflet, which lists 25 ways personal data can be used.
Most of the remaining 83 apps received their latest update two months ago, shortly before the new requirements came into effect.
On Wednesday night, Google apps started complaining about the lack of updates. According to user reports posted on social media, a number of apps including Gmail, Google Maps and Google Photos sent notifications warning their users that the app was “outdated” , despite the fact that the users were on the latest version.
“You should update this application,” read the warning. “The version you are using does not include the latest security features to protect you. Go ahead if you understand the dangers. ”
Google was unable to respond immediately to a request for comment from the Guardian, but a spokesman for tech site The Verge said the error message was a “bug”. Others, such as TechMeme editor Spencer Dailey, argued that the “bug” was in fact an “automatic check of how long it has been since the app was last updated”, which it was expected to be triggered from normal two times a month-long version of the app would definitely be out of date.
Google will soon be pushing for more pressure from Apple’s privacy push. In an upcoming update to iOS, a new feature called “Transparency Tracking App” requires applications to apply for permission before they can track users around the web. The situation has received strong impetus from Facebook, which argues that it will harm online advertising, but so far Google has been silent about how it intends to respond to the requirement.