In a recent blog post, Google announced that it is halting new updates for the Chrome browser and Chrome OS. The move comes as a result of the “adjusted work schedules” of Google engineers.
Although the search giant doesn’t mention the name, it’s another example of how severe the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has become.
Google said that its main focus right now is making Chrome more stable, secure, and work reliably. While the new features are on hold, Google will continue to roll-out minor security patches in Chrome 80.
The decision comes at a time when many companies are allowing complete work from home benefits to their employees. Google’s case is no different, except for some reports flying around that contract workers are getting fewer privileges than regular employees.
Anyway, halting Chrome updates makes sense during such hard times. The developer team being unable to work together would have certainly impacted their workflow. Meanwhile, releasing new features equates to Google opening doors to uninvited bugs. And this is probably not the best time to handle them.
Speaking of Google’s efforts, it has tied hands with other tech giants to curb the spread of Coronavirus fake news and misinformation on the internet. It’s sister company Verily has launched a new Coronavirus screening website that currently works for select counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Google, along with Facebook, is also in talks with the US government to provide location data collected from phones to help track the novel Coronavirus, according to a report from The Washington Post.
