If you’re using any kind of launcher like the Pixel Launcher, Nova Launcher, etc, you might want to hold off on updating your Google app to the latest version, specifically version 8.39.6.21. It looks like there is a bug in the update that is constantly pinging your location every time you go home. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Google is aware of the problem even as people are complaining about it on reddit and so the problem still persists until you go back to an earlier version of the app.
After users update to the aforementioned Google app version, your phone will show you that your launcher is accessing your location even though you have no need for that. If you have your system notifications turned on in your phone, you will see an alert that Play Services is accessing your location even though you didn’t really specifically turn that on. Users on reddit have been posting about their similar experiences with this bug.
The folks over at Android Police tested it out on different devices, including a Pixel 3, OnePlus 6T, and a Nokia 7.1. It seems to have affected all the devices. Also, the Pixel Launcher wasn’t the only one that was accessing your device’s location. Also affected were Nova, Rootless Pixel Launcher, and the stock Android One home screen as well. Even those who are on the beta program for the Google app seem to be experiencing this as well.
Since Google hasn’t given a response just yet, the only fix for this problem now is to roll back your Google app to the previous version. That will not really cause so much problems just yet since there are no major changes in the latest update anyway but for those who like all their apps updated, then that can be annoying.
Hopefully, all the people complaining about this will get Google to pay attention and roll out a bug fix to this issue. In the meantime, just don’t update your Google app if you haven’t yet.
VIA: NDTV
