Android users are reporting problems with a number of Google, Yahoo and banking apps. Unsplash
Android users are reporting problems with a number of Google, Yahoo and banking apps. Unsplash
Android users are reporting problems with a number of Google, Yahoo and banking apps. Unsplash
Android users are reporting problems with a number of Google, Yahoo and banking apps. Unsplash

WebView to blame for Android apps crash: Gmail, Yahoo and Amazon all affected

Here's how you can resolve the issue if you're experiencing problems

Farah Andrews
Farah Andrews
Dubai

March 23, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

Android users have reported difficulty with a number of essential apps, which are crashing or freezing when in use.

Apps including banking apps, Gmail, Google Pay, Amazon and Yahoo were all affected, with many users left unable to access messages or online banking services.

In a bid to resolve the problem, a Google representative confirmed that display app WebView was to blame. "We are aware of an issue with WebView causing some apps on Android to crash. We are currently working to fully validate the scope and a fix is in progress."

How to stop Android apps from crashing 

On Twitter, a number of users have reported experiencing the problem and offer an IT solution as old as technology itself: switch it off and back on again – or a version thereof.

Android users suggest going to the Google Play Store on their devices and uninstalling the latest update to the Android System WebView app.

"All of a sudden, loads of Android apps started crashing for me this evening including Amazon Shopping, Gmail. Turns out the culprit is an Android System WebView update. Search for it in the Play Store and hit uninstall and it fixes the problem," wrote Twitter user Craig Rouse.

What is the Android System WebView app?

The Android System WebView is a system app that provides a Chrome-like browser within other apps – in a nutshell, it is a way to display web content.

WhatsApp outage  

The Android app crash comes days after WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram went down globally.

Last Friday, more than one million people reported problems with the photo-sharing app Instagram. The issue was resolved within a day.

The issue had also affected Facebook Inc's online messaging services WhatsApp and Messenger, with #whatsappoutage trending on Twitter in many countries, including India.

About 20,000 users posted about issues with WhatsApp, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.

Downdetector.com tracks outages by collating status reports from a series of sources, including user-submitted errors on its platform.

Additional reporting from Reuters 

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Top tips

Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
 

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