There are signs that the wait may be over. It seems like Google has finally decided to update its main iOS apps. The company has released an update for YouTube this weekend, more than two months after the last update.
As explained by 9to5Google, who saw the update, It’s normal for Google to stop updating apps due to holidays in December. Updates will not be published during holidays as there may not be as many staff as usual to resolve any issues. However, updates usually resume in early January. That did not happen this year, and a huge one Most of Google’s iOS apps haven’t been updated since December, the outlet said.
There was, of course, immediate speculation about a possible reason for the delay. The popular theory was related to Apple’s new privacy labels, which are intended to inform users about what data apps collect and whether that data is associated with them or used to track them. Apple launched the labels in December and developers must now include them to update their apps and submit new ones.
This theory doesn’t hold true for YouTube, which already had labels before Google’s update this weekend. 9to5Google states that Youtube music YouTube TV, and YouTube Studio all had their labels in early February. Still, none of these apps have gotten an update in months.
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Google has also come out and said the delays are not due to Apple’s privacy labels. In January, it started rolling out more labels for its apps and also released one blog about privacy who called the labels.
“While Google’s iOS apps are being updated with new features or to fix bugs, you will see updates to our app page data that includes the new apps privacy details,” wrote Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, vice president of product privacy. “These labels represent the maximum categories of data that can be collected, meaning you will use all the features and services available in the app.”
Gizmodo has reached out to Google to ask why other major iOS apps haven’t received updates yet and when to expect them. We will update this blog if we hear anything.
Does this mean Google isn’t concerned about Apple’s new privacy labels? Oh no. Google’s main business is advertising, and there’s no question they’ve had conversations about the labels. However, in this case, it’s probably safe to say that the delay in updates is related to something else. Maybe even something very ordinary.