Android Application Developers attention to a serious flaw in Chrome 79 that leads to the loss of user data in third-party applications that use the WebView browser engine. Chrome 79 had the location of the directory with the user profile, which also stores data saved by web applications using the localStorage or WebSQL API. When upgrading from previous releases of Chrome, Chrome data is automatically migrated, but does not take into account data that was stored in the old profile directory by mobile applications based on the WebView component, for example, those created using the Apache Cordova framework.
Before Google solved the problem yesterday Chrome 79 update for Android is being distributed, but about half of the users have already downloaded the update. The issue has been assigned the highest level of severity and ways to minimize data loss are being sought. In fact, the data is not deleted, but only ceased to be visible to applications, which allows you to restore the information if desired. As one of we are considering returning the directory with the profile to its original place. Developers of WebView-based applications have expressed dissatisfaction with Google's actions, as users blame them for the loss of their data and demote them in the rankings, not suspecting that Chrome was the source of the problem.
Additionally, it can be noted
about blocking access to Google services using some browsers used in Linux, such as , ΠΈ . Possible security problems in these programs are indicated as the reason. Judging by on Reddit, the blocking is applied selectively to users without two-factor authentication and with a browser based on outdated versions of the engine (old QtWebEngine, WebKit and KHTML) containing unpatched vulnerabilities.
Source: opennet.ru