Google halts Chrome 79 update over bug that renders users' data impossible to find on Android devices

Google says a fix could take up to a week emerge

Google has paused the rollout of Chrome 79 on Android over complaints that a critical bug is rendering users ' data impossible to find on the device.

Last week, Google started rolling out the latest version of its popular web browser on desktop and mobile platforms. So far, this update has already been installed on nearly 50 per cent of the Android devices worldwide.

Unfortunately, a large number of users started experiencing the loss of their important data in third-party apps after Chrome 79 installation on their devices.

Some users described the bug as "a catastrophe" and a "major issue."

"This is a catastrophe. Our users' data are being deleted as they receive the update," one frustrated developer said on Google forum.

"I heard from a company that uses local storage for offline no-connection available that had local record[s] of animals getting vaccination. The update 'erased' all the data. They don't know which animals got [a] vaccine and can't repeat on all of them. Serious stuff," another user complained.

Google has confirmed the bug in Chrome 79 for Android. The company said that any app that accesses the browser via Android's built-in WebView system could be affected by the bug. WebView feature allows users to view web pages within an app. Many apps rely heavily on this system, while some, such as Twitter Lite and DuckDuckGo, run entirely using the WebView system. Because, these apps don't come with their own browsers, they use Chrome to do open web pages for the user.

Chrome 79 is actually not deleting the users ' data. It is just changing its location, and making it invisible on the device.

Google said that it was working to resolve the problem, but said a fix could take up to a week.

A Google developer said that the company is considering two options: (1) continue the migration and move the missed files to their new locations; or (2) undo the change and move the migrated files to their previous locations.

"We will let you know which of these two options have been chosen soon," the developer said.