Google’s own iOS apps are now literally begging for updates that don’t exist

Google hasn’t updated many of its iOS apps in the past few weeks, perhaps to avoid potential criticism of what may be revealed from the new mandatory privacy labels on the Apple App Store. But now, some of Google’s own iOS apps appear to be complaining on the wait: we are now seeing confusing warnings within Gmail, Google Maps and Google Photos saying the apps are out of date – although there are no newer versions of the apps available (via Techmeme editor Spencer Dailey).

To see the warning, you need to be logging into your account – so if you are already logged in, you may not see it. After entering your email address, you may see this warning message: “You must update this application. The version you are using does not include the latest security features to keep you protected. Continue only if you understand the risks. “

After tapping the continue button, you can use the app as usual – they still work. But without additional context, users can worry about not having the latest and most secure version of an application.

Google had promised that its apps would start including the mandatory new Apple app privacy labels on a blog on Jan. 12, and the company technically kept its word. Google Authenticator and Stadia, for example, were updated with the labels and, in our tests with these two apps, we did not see the message “this app is out of date”.

We’ve contacted Google to comment and will update this article with everything we hear.