Google Chrome for iOS will get its first update in 2021, with version 90, which will add new features, to be released next week. Version 87.0.4280.163 includes several security and stability updates, as well as improvements to auto-type, which Google says is now more secure.

In addition, users will now be required to authenticate using Face ID, touch ID, or passcode.

Version 90 includes several new features, and 9to5Google reports that Google is testing authentication to access Incognito browser tabs.

It is unclear if Chrome for iOS will see Google's new FLoC advertiser tracking used to replace third-party cookies, but there may be other privacy updates.

Rumor had it that Google was avoiding the update on iOS because Apple strictly requires developers to disclose how they use personal information. Google denied this, but it was also clear that its own schedule had been significantly delayed because the company had told users that the app was out of date before applying a server-side patch to prevent the warning.

Google, like many developers, stops updating during the Christmas period. This is to avoid serious problems during the vacation season while people are on vacation. However, the timing was incredibly suspicious because Apple had told developers that any updates after December 8, 2020 would need a privacy label to pass the approval process. Google suspended many updates and did not resume them until February, when YouTube got a new version of the app.

Apple rolled out additional changes in iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5, requiring developers to implement an app tracking transparency framework. This requires users to agree to allow apps to track using their device's advertiser ID. If the user refuses, Apple will zero out the ID visible to the developer.

Google's latest Chrome update certainly reveals what data the company is using to track users. Highlights include sending information about app usage, contacts, financial information, and browsing data back to the base. All of this is linked directly to your Google profile, and some information, like crash diagnostics, is first anonymized.