For the most part, app updates bring in new features and fix vulnerabilities and issues, if any. However, at times, they can also break things instead of making them better, the most-recent case in point being Google’s own app.
Several users recently took to Reddit to complain that the newest version of the Google app, bearing identifier 8.39.6.21, introduced a strange bug that causes the launcher to persistently poll for accessing the smartphone’s location. The bug reportedly affected most third-party launchers like Rootless Pixel launcher, Nova launcher, and more. Users further complained that a later version of the app (8.44.2.21) still had the same bug, albeit this version is a beta.
Thankfully, Google has acted quickly and patched the bug with a subsequent update. The folks at Android Police reported that the persistent location pinging issue has been fixed, having confirmed the same on multiple devices. It seems that the problem was at the back-end and thus, was fixed by Google quite soon.
Google seems to be having some issues with its products (both hardware and software) lately. Recently, the company promised to soon fix a memory management bug causing app crashes on Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones.
Watch: Google Pixel 3 XL Hands On
In a statement to 9to5Google and Android Police, Google said that the fix will arrive “in the coming weeks” to “keep essential apps from being prematurely closed.” The particular issue causes app crashes when actions from multiple apps are combined.
