Many Android apps have suddenly started crashing in the last few hours, and apps that “keep closing” the dreaded warning messages when users try to open them. Twitter and Reddit forums are filled with reports of apps crashing. DownDetector also shows a big increase in interruption reports for Gmail and Amazon. Desktop web interface and Google Workspace services are not affected.
As many users soon found out, the problem stems from a recent update of the Android WebView. Android WebView is a system component that allows developers to display web pages in their applications. It is pre-installed on every modern Android device and is regularly updated via the Play Store with the latest security enhancements and solutions. Looks like a buggy update may have broken the WebView component. Fixing the removal of the Android WebView updates fixes the issue (via Engadget), as for the vast majority of affected users:
Suddenly, many Android apps started crashing for me tonight, including Amazon Shopping, Gmail. It turns out that the culprit is an update of Android System Webview. Find it in the play store and press remove and it solves the problem. #android # collapse #amazon #web image
– Craig Rouse (@craigrouse) 22 March 2021
If you are affected by the issue, open the Play Store, search for Android WebView, and remove the updates. Alternatively, you can also go to “Apps” or “Applications” from your device settings, find the Android WebView app under the system apps and remove the latest updates.
A Google spokesperson confirmed that the company was aware of the problem and was working on a solution:
We are aware of an issue with WebView that is causing some apps on Android to crash. We are currently fully validating the scope and a correction is currently underway.
According to the most recent update posted on the Google Workspace Status Dashboard, Google is still investigating this issue.
Google did not share any update on the solution at the time of writing this article. Android users should fix this issue by removing recent Android WebView updates.