Google's iOS Apps Haven't Been Updated in Weeks. Could Apple's Privacy Labels Be the Reason? (fastcompany.com) 51
Not a single one of Google's iOS apps have been updated in almost a month -- an unusually long period for a tech behemoth not to release, at the very least, even a minor bug fix or stability update for one of its dozens of insanely popular iPhone and iPad apps. From a report: And after reviewing the latest release dates for all of Google's iOS apps, one reason for this lack of updates seems more likely than others: It could be related to Apple's new App Store privacy labels. The last time any Google iOS app was updated was on December 7. This includes updates to major Google apps like Google Drive, YouTube, Google Docs, Google Sheets, YouTube Music, Google Duo, Google Authenticator, and Gboard. Why is December 7 a significant date? Because starting on December 8, Apple mandated that any new apps or app updates submitted to the App Store would require the developer to fill out the privacy label information for the app it was submitting. This privacy label reveals exactly what data the app is collecting about the user and how that user data is being used. The label can then be viewed on an app's App Store listing page. The feature is part of Apple's push to make developers be more transparent in the ways they collect and use user data, so users can make more informed choices about the apps they choose to download.
No! (Score:2)
First, because of Betteridge, second, perhaps they are just fine as they are.
Occams Razor. (Score:1)
They are perfectly coded. No updates needed.
Missing tags (Score:2)
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No need, sarcasm is so clearly understood whenever someone says that Google actually does some end user program well and bug free.
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It might be your post that's actually a subtler form of sarcasm, if that's the case, you played it well!
On the off chance it wasn't. It's a long list of individually large and complicated apps, no need for sarcasm signs when calling them, or frankly, any software, perfect. Would be one of the most redundant things ever. Goes without saying that it's an incredibly unlikely stretch of time to go with the idea that the software is good as is. Due to the parallel, pipelined nature of feature and fix development
Google does a code freeze in December. (Score:5, Informative)
I'm won't say there's not be more to it, but the lack up updates could just be because of Google's yearly code freeze:
https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/11/google-code-freeze/
A good time to start wondering might be mid-January.
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Lots of non-Apple updates were quiet during the last two weeks of December. Things are picking up again since things are back to normal.
Yes (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Yes [â(TM)^3] (Score:1)
Not sure what it says about "tech lead" at the google when the format of your comment is so mangled. Heard of Preview?
Or maybe just avoiding contractions? Yeah, let's blame the voice dictation!
Obligatory disclaimer? I may have qualified as a fan of Google, but that was a LONG time ago. Just finished Zucked [and yes, we are] where one of the main points was how badly the google punted on the chance to be less EVIL than Facebook. I think the new motto is "All your attentions is belong to us!"
Re: Yes [â(TM)^3] (Score:3)
The mangled text is due to Slashdot, supposedly a tech site, having terrible support for Unicode. Posts made using non-US keyboard layouts will be prone to mangled text. The mobile site, in the grand tradition of early mobile sites, is inferior to the desktop site in that it doesnâ(TM)t offer previews.
I suspect the site continues to run only because nobody touches the code for fear of breaking it.
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The mangled text is due to Slashdot, supposedly a tech site, having terrible support for Unicode. Posts made using non-US keyboard layouts will be prone to mangled text. The mobile site, in the grand tradition of early mobile sites, is inferior to the desktop site in that it doesnâ(TM)t offer previews.
I suspect the site continues to run only because nobody touches the code for fear of breaking it.
It's not "supposedly" a tech site. It's a tech site from like 1999 that hasn't been updated because the last attempt to do so was met with incredible derision.
Now we're just here to make fun of the Mac users with all their â(TM) comments or mod down the guy that keeps telling us the internet is over.
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This web page advertises itself as being encoded in UTF-8. In UTF-8, all the printable characters below 128 have the same encoding as ASCII. That's why the letters and standard quote work ok. If the page advertises itself as UTF-8 and you type a non ASCII character in the comment box like an apostrophe () or maybe a Greek delta (), it should not be beyond the ability of the web site to handle that. UTF-8 has been around for seventeen years and has been the most common encoding on the Internet since 2006. Ev
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I'm sure fixing the bugs wouldn't be met with derision.
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Not language-specific. It's the macOS Smart Quote feature. By default, Safari (and probably every other browser on macOS) replaces quotation marks with curly quotes automatically as you type. You have to explicitly disable that for Slashdot, or else every apostrophe and quotation mark in your posts turns into garbage.
Unfortunately, the only way to fix that, other than by adding pre-filtering or proper UTF-8 support on the server side, is to disable spell checking, which brings its own set of problems.
Re: Yes [â(TM)^3] (Score:2)
Thatâ(TM)s helpful. Thanks for that.
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Specifically, turn off:
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No, Unicode is supported just fine. In fact, Unicode support is more than a tickbox, it's VERY well support
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This page is advertised as supporting the UTF-8 encoding. If it doesn't (and it doesn't) it shouldn't claim to support it. The problem is entirely Slashdot's. Pretty much everybody else handles UTF-8 fine.
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You should be grateful there's no unicode here. Keeps the emoji riff-raff away. And it's better for security.
Now, if the Mac is like and anything else, you can have spell checking without autocorrection. If not. oh well, please sanitize your input before posting, or expect to be mocked...
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You should be grateful there's no unicode here. Keeps the emoji riff-raff away.
:O
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:-) ASCII art is cool
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We're all off topic here, but... I'm using non-US keyboards and having few problems with mangled text on Slashdot. But I'm not a "tech lead" anywhere these days.
And yes, I wish Slashdot supported Unicode, though my main motivation is my simple lust for a proper not equal sign.
But it is NOT a new problem that suddenly appeared on Slashdot. But I mostly blame the financial model. More like lack thereof, so no resources to do better. I'm increasingly surprised they find the resources to keep the site alive at
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Wait, did I just read a reasonable and informed comment on Slashdot that left me better informed while dispelling misconceptions???
Maybe 2021 really is going to be different...
Re: Yes (Score:2)
I'm finally OK with leaving Google... (Score:2)
I was deep into the Google ecosystem -- despite being an iPhone user. But, at this point, I'm ok with leaving it all behind. I can get everything else I need from other services--whether via iCloud or my paid M365 email account. Other than maps(waze) and google news, I'm mostly out. And I can find other solutions to the former.
December in the valley? (Score:1)
Or could it just be because almost the entire tech industry takes the majority of December off.
I received 5 app updates to all of the apps installed on my Android phone over the last 10 days. It isn't just Google, it's everyone.
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This happens every year this time of year.
I miss the days... (Score:2)
I miss the days when Google's motto was "Don't be evil". Seems like any more they have the same "do everything you can get away with" that the other goliaths adhere to.
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I'm trying to spawn a new joke format for the corporate cancers. Pick the focus of each goliath:
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What would you suggest as the focus (of all evil) for Oracle? Ellison is sort of like the generic drug version (of evil).
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I'd also say All your money are belong to us but you used that one for JPM.
All your base are belong to us (Score:2)
Now I'm considering:
Oracle
"All your database is belong to us."
But the problem is that I don't think Oracle is much of a player in the database business in recent years. I mean when I think of Oracle, I do think of databases, but not vice versa. To make the joke work, it has to be something that dominates.
That gave me the idea of approaching it the other way. For example, when you think of advertising, is there any focal company that comes to mind? Or when you think of cancer, is
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All your first born sons are belong to us.
Re: I miss the days... (Score:2)
IBM
"All your... Uh? What was the question again?"
Red Hat. All your Red Hat.
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I don't know about Red Hat as a focus for IBM. My suggested punchline was that IBM doesn't seem to be capable of focusing on anything these years. Certainly not the only company lacking focus, but there was a time when the company was all about big computers.
Wait a min... (Score:2)
Simple solution (Score:2, Interesting)
I don't know how Apple's app store works, but I suspect they could make a big "privacy" label for all apps who have not updated their information, warning in big bold letters that this app may collect all kind of data, and the authors are not telling how much, what, or why. I bet Google and other developers would rush to release a new version with a more proper label...
Who cares? (Score:2)
Do the apps work? Why do they need constant updates?
Re: Who cares? (Score:2)
Do the apps work? Why do they need constant updates?
They need to cram more stupid shit into the maps app, obviously.
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If you've ever used a Google iOS app (other than maps), you'd not ask the question.
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They need to do an update every time thy think of a new piece of personal data that can be harvested and then monetised.
December 7 (Score:2)
"Why is December 7 a significant date?" Because it was a date in 1941, a date that lives in infamy.