Data missing from your Android apps? Latest Chrome update may be to blame.

If some of the apps on your Android phone suddenly appear as they were just installed, with your personal data missing, it might be Chrome's fault — however odd that may sound. 

9to5Google reported Saturday that the latest version of Google's browser for Android, Chrome 79, is causing the data loss in some applications, prompting Google to halt the rollout of the new Chrome, which had begun last week. 

The culprit for the issue is actually WebView, a part of the Android OS which let other apps display web content. It's not an app that you see; it's preinstalled on Android phones and typically updates automatically in the background, together with Chrome. It's a pretty important part of Android, too: Some apps rely on WebView for parts of their functionality, and some are actually running within WebView.  Read more...