After almost two months, Google has updated its YouTube iOS app for the first time, becoming one of the highest-profile Google apps to see an update since early December.
Not a lot is known about the reasons for the delay of the updates but it seems that Google is trying to avoid Apple‘s new privacy labels by further delaying updates for other iOS version apps like Gmail, Docs, Search and Photos. Google has explicitly denied this being the case.
The update for the YouTube app for iPhone users came earlier this week when many encountered a “This app is out of date” notification while attempting to sign-in with a Google Account. There was no actual security issue, and the warning was quickly removed.
Last month, the company said in its blogpost that it would be adding labels to its apps when updates will be available.
The American search giant said that Google’s iOS apps are updated with new features or to fix bugs and users will see updates to the app page listings that include the new app privacy details. These labels represent the maximum categories of data that could be collected which means you use every available feature and service in the app, the report said.
Google also went on to add that its products deliver helpful services to users and that they can always control their own privacy settings by going to their Google+ account or going directly to the Google products that they use on iOS.
Apple requires companies to apply the privacy labels, which it launched on December 14, before they can update existing iOS apps. Some of Google’s other apps – Authenticator, Translate, Stadia, and Classroom, for example, have received iOS updates already.
-with inputs from IANS.
