The release of Chrome 79 on Android has been halted by Google, the whole thing was caused by a bug in the update was erasing data from third-party apps that use the WebView framework, a pre-installed system element powered by Chrome that allows apps to showcase web content.
Chrome updates manage not to run into major issues, but it looks as if Google has dropped the ball this time. The issue is due to Google developers modifying the location of the Chrome register in the update and failing to move the old contents into the new Chrome 79 directory, meaning the data can’t be accessed.
As reported, Android developers who rely on WebView and local storage started reporting an issue where their apps lost data after users updated to version 79. They reported the problem as a “catastrophe” and a “major issue.” One dev of a mobile cash administration app says over 250,000 of its users have been affected, and two million more face difficulties over the coming days.
While Google has now suspended the rollout, Chrome 79 has already hit 50 percent of Android devices. “We are now discussing the right strategy for solving this issue,” wrote a Chromium engineer in that bug tracker.
To try and fix the problem, Google says it will either continue the migration and transfer the missed data into their brand-new locations or regress the change by moving migrated files to their old locations.
“We will let you know which of those two options have been made soon,” the engineer replied. Right now, there’s no proper word on which apps have been hit, though users have been required to collect a list. It’s expected that a patch will arrive in 5 to 7 days.
