Gmail’s app for iOS is showing an “out of date” warning even though there’s no new update. The company says it is because of a bug.
Google has promised to update its apps with the privacy labels to comply with the App Store rules that Apple began enforcing in December, but many of its apps have gone months without a single update.
It’s been so long since Google last updated the Gmail app, in fact, it now displays a warning implying that the latest security features are not available. When you sign in to a new account in the Gmail app for iOS, it warns you that you need an update and suggests that you only should continue if you understand the risks.
Gmail is “out of date” on iOS
Unfortunately, there is no update available for the Gmail app. Version 6.0.201115 of the Gmail app is the only available version of the application on the iPhone and iPad. It has not been updated since December 1.
Google said on Jan. 5 that it would add privacy data to its app catalog “this week or next,” but by Jan. 20, most apps still had not been updated with app privacy labels.
Since then, Google has been quietly adding labels to apps like YouTube, but major apps like Gmail, Google Search, Google Photos, Google Maps, and others still don’t have the privacy labels. Even in apps that have got labels, for the most part, there have been no feature or security updates.
Why Google doesn’t update its apps with privacy labels?
It remains unclear why Google is taking so long to add app privacy labels to its iOS apps, and there’s still no official statement. Google has been regularly updating its Android apps, and the latest update for the Android Gmail app was released on February 9.
There has been speculation that Google is hesitant to provide privacy label data due to negative feedback from other companies such as Facebook, but there is no confirmed explanation yet.
App privacy labels have been required since iOS 14.3 and are designed to provide customers with details about the data an app collects from them so they can make an informed decision when choosing to install an app. App developers must self-report privacy information in the App Store, and developers must explain their data usage.
