Transit trends: the road ahead for commuters

I’ve lived in major cities around the world, from Johannesburg to Shanghai to the San Francisco Bay Area. That means public transportation has played a big role in my daily life. 


That changed last spring, when, like many people, I traded in my daily commute on the public bus for a much shorter trip to my dining room table. I wasn’t the only one transforming my kitchen into an office — transit ridership plummeted across the globe. 


While we are still far from a return to normal, we wanted to understand how people feel about returning to public transit. So we surveyed 2,000 commuters across New York City, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Chicago to find out. Here’s what we learned: 


Image of an infographic. Two-thirds of people are eager to get back to their pre-pandemic transit habits. By city: 60% of San Francisco commuters, 56% of Chicago commuters, 59% of DC commuters, and 68% of New York City commuters said they want to get back to their pre-pandemic transit routine.

All aboard

We’ve all missed a lot during the last 18 months— from concerts and big weddings to dinner parties with family and friends. But public transportation? Turns out, surprisingly, yes. According to a recent survey we commissioned, roughly 2 in 3 people want to get back to their pre-pandemic transit routine, with New Yorkers being the most keen to return.


Infographic that answers “What do people miss most about their commute?” 54% miss not stressing about parking; 40% miss the ease of getting around; 30% miss having time to reflect on their day; and 30% miss listening to podcasts or reading.

Parallel parking not required

While I don’t miss delayed trains or crowded commutes, getting back on public transit means leaving parking behind. More than half of those we surveyed indicated that’s what they miss most about their commute. But people also value the ease public transit brings when it comes to getting around, the time it provides them to reflect on their day, the time they get for themselves for podcasts or reading and even the people-watching, with 1 in 4 people admitting they miss that part, too.


Infographic which shows the increase in popularity for mobile contactless payments, from 23% before the pandemic to 34% in the next 3-6 months. Cash payments took the biggest dive in popularity, from 42% to 32%.

Cashing out for contactless

But it’s not all about going “back to the good old days.” With the increasing popularity of contactless payments across many facets of daily life, it’s no surprise riders want to modernize their commutes as well. Increasingly, people are turning to contactless payments as a touch-free way to pay their fare. In fact, mobile contactless payments are the only payment type that increased in popularity (up 11 percentage points) when we asked commuters how they plan to pay for transit fare now versus pre-pandemic. Cash took the biggest dive, from 42% to 32%. 


What’s more, one in two people who didn’t use mobile contactless payments before the COVID-19 pandemic say they would be more comfortable riding if there were touch-free options such as mobile contactless payments or ticketing.


Of course contactless payments yield far more than a touch-free way of paying. Three in four people said the convenience factor is what they like most about contactless transit payments. Ever ran to catch a train only to realize you left your wallet at home? ? Every second counts when it comes to your commute, which is why 70% of people said what they like most is the speed of paying contactlessly. 


Tapping to pay: from uptown to downtown to your town

At Google Pay, we’ve been hard at work to help roll out mobile transit payment options in even more cities across the U.S. We’ve teamed up with transit agencies in major cities like New York, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington to give more commuters a way to quickly and easily tap for transit fare. And, by teaming up with Token Transit, we’re bringing mobile contactless payments to more than 100 cities across the country, in bigger and smaller towns like Savannah, Georgia, Kalamazoo, Michigan and Santa Monica, California.


Everyone will navigate our new normal at a different pace. So, while some of us start to venture back out, consider ways that make your commute even a little easier. 


Findings are based on results of an online survey conducted by Allison+Partners Research + Insights. The online survey was conducted among n=2000 U.S. consumers age 18 or older who use public transit in New York City, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., or Chicago  - 500 respondents were captured per DMA. When referenced, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was considered March 2020. The survey was fielded using Qualtrics and panel was sourced from Lucid. Fielding was executed May-June 2021.

Transit trends: the road ahead for commuters

I’ve lived in major cities around the world, from Johannesburg to Shanghai to the San Francisco Bay Area. That means public transportation has played a big role in my daily life. 


That changed last spring, when, like many people, I traded in my daily commute on the public bus for a much shorter trip to my dining room table. I wasn’t the only one transforming my kitchen into an office — transit ridership plummeted across the globe. 


While we are still far from a return to normal, we wanted to understand how people feel about returning to public transit. So we surveyed 2,000 commuters across New York City, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Chicago to find out. Here’s what we learned: 


Image of an infographic. Two-thirds of people are eager to get back to their pre-pandemic transit habits. By city: 60% of San Francisco commuters, 56% of Chicago commuters, 59% of DC commuters, and 68% of New York City commuters said they want to get back to their pre-pandemic transit routine.

All aboard

We’ve all missed a lot during the last 18 months— from concerts and big weddings to dinner parties with family and friends. But public transportation? Turns out, surprisingly, yes. According to a recent survey we commissioned, roughly 2 in 3 people want to get back to their pre-pandemic transit routine, with New Yorkers being the most keen to return.


Infographic that answers “What do people miss most about their commute?” 54% miss not stressing about parking; 40% miss the ease of getting around; 30% miss having time to reflect on their day; and 30% miss listening to podcasts or reading.

Parallel parking not required

While I don’t miss delayed trains or crowded commutes, getting back on public transit means leaving parking behind. More than half of those we surveyed indicated that’s what they miss most about their commute. But people also value the ease public transit brings when it comes to getting around, the time it provides them to reflect on their day, the time they get for themselves for podcasts or reading and even the people-watching, with 1 in 4 people admitting they miss that part, too.


Infographic which shows the increase in popularity for mobile contactless payments, from 23% before the pandemic to 34% in the next 3-6 months. Cash payments took the biggest dive in popularity, from 42% to 32%.

Cashing out for contactless

But it’s not all about going “back to the good old days.” With the increasing popularity of contactless payments across many facets of daily life, it’s no surprise riders want to modernize their commutes as well. Increasingly, people are turning to contactless payments as a touch-free way to pay their fare. In fact, mobile contactless payments are the only payment type that increased in popularity (up 11 percentage points) when we asked commuters how they plan to pay for transit fare now versus pre-pandemic. Cash took the biggest dive, from 42% to 32%. 


What’s more, one in two people who didn’t use mobile contactless payments before the COVID-19 pandemic say they would be more comfortable riding if there were touch-free options such as mobile contactless payments or ticketing.


Of course contactless payments yield far more than a touch-free way of paying. Three in four people said the convenience factor is what they like most about contactless transit payments. Ever ran to catch a train only to realize you left your wallet at home? ? Every second counts when it comes to your commute, which is why 70% of people said what they like most is the speed of paying contactlessly. 


Tapping to pay: from uptown to downtown to your town

At Google Pay, we’ve been hard at work to help roll out mobile transit payment options in even more cities across the U.S. We’ve teamed up with transit agencies in major cities like New York, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington to give more commuters a way to quickly and easily tap for transit fare. And, by teaming up with Token Transit, we’re bringing mobile contactless payments to more than 100 cities across the country, in bigger and smaller towns like Savannah, Georgia, Kalamazoo, Michigan and Santa Monica, California.


Everyone will navigate our new normal at a different pace. So, while some of us start to venture back out, consider ways that make your commute even a little easier. 


Findings are based on results of an online survey conducted by Allison+Partners Research + Insights. The online survey was conducted among n=2000 U.S. consumers age 18 or older who use public transit in New York City, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., or Chicago  - 500 respondents were captured per DMA. When referenced, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was considered March 2020. The survey was fielded using Qualtrics and panel was sourced from Lucid. Fielding was executed May-June 2021.

From widgets to dark mode: 3 updates to Google Maps on iOS

Chocolate or vanilla. ? Crunchy peanut butter or smooth. Androids or iPhones. No matter what your (device) preferences are, Google Maps is here to help you navigate, explore, and get things done as easily as possible. Today, we’re rolling out three new ways to more conveniently access Google Maps’ information about the world right from your iPhone. And while we’re at it, our Googlers are sharing handy tricks you might have forgotten you could do on iOS. ?


Share your live location right from iMessage

If you’re meeting up with friends or family, you can now share your real-time location while you’re texting so you can stay safe and never miss a beat. Just tap on the Google Maps button in iMessage and —  voilà — your location will be shared for one hour by default, with the option to extend up to three days. To end your share, simply tap the “stop” button on the thumbnail.
A GIF of Location Sharing in iMessage

Share your live location right from iMessage

The information you need, fast

One of Google Maps’ most powerful features is the ability to see live traffic conditions in an area. With the new nearby traffic widget, you can now access this information for your current location right from your home screen. So if you're about to leave home, work, school, or any other place, you’ll know at a glance exactly what traffic is like, and can plan accordingly.

Heading to one of your regular spots? With the new Google Maps search widget, you can search for your favorite places or navigate to frequent destinations with just a quick tap. 

An image of the new Google Maps widgets

Access Google Maps’ helpful information right from your iPhone’s home screen.

To install either widget, make sure you have the latest Google Maps app downloaded from the App store and follow these steps:

  1. From your home screen, touch and hold a widget or an empty area until your apps jiggle.

  2. In the upper-left corner, tap the Add button.

  3. Search for and tap the Google Maps app.

  4. Swipe to select a widget, then tap Add Widget.

  5. Tap Done.

A GIF that shows how to install the new Google Maps widgets on iOS

Hold down an app or empty space on your home screen to start installing your new widgets.

Come to the dark side

Experiencing screen fatigue or want to personalize your app? You’re in luck: dark mode on Google Maps for iOS starts rolling out in the coming weeks so you can give your eyes a break or save on battery life. To turn it on, head to your Settings, tap on dark mode, then select “On”.

A screenshot of Google Maps on iOS in dark mode

Rest your eyes and save your battery life with dark mode in Google Maps on iOS.

But that’s not all. To help you get the most out of Google Maps on iOS, check out these tips — using features both new and old — from the people behind Google Maps.

Photo of a male Googler sitting outside

Stay safe 


Google Maps has a ton of features that help me feel more safe when getting around. Whenever I head to a new place, I make sure to use the “Save my parking location” tool so I’m not wandering around looking for my car, especially if it’s dark out. And the offline maps feature is awesome. If I’m going on a hike or I know I’ll have a spotty connection, I download a map of the area to help me avoid getting lost. - Max Kaplan, Social Media 


A photo of a female Googler in front of a restaurant

Make it YOUR map


Whenever I’m on the hunt for a new restaurant, I use the “Your Match” score to figure out how likely I am to like a spot based on my unique tastes (please tell me they have almond milk) so I never waste time and money on a place I probably won’t enjoy. When I’m looking for things to do, I turn to my Community Feed to get an overview of what’s happening in an area, including helpful information from Local Guides, businesses and articles from some of my favorite publishers like The Infatuation. - Madison Gouveia, Communications


Photo of a male Googler wearing a plaid shirt

Use your map to do good


I’m passionate about supporting a diverse set of businesses, and Google Maps makes it easy to do so. With a quick search, I can find nearby businesses that are Women, Black-owned or LGBT-friendly, and quickly learn more about their products, services, and mission with just a few taps. Then, I use Live View, our AR-powered walking directions, to quickly navigate there.  - Bilawal Sidhu, Product 


Make sure to check out all of today’s newest features, which will be available for everyone using Google Maps on iOS this month.

Source: Google LatLong


Linux Kernel Security Done Right

Posted by Kees Cook, Software Engineer, Google Open Source Security Team


To borrow from an excellent analogy between the modern computer ecosystem and the US automotive industry of the 1960s, the Linux kernel runs well: when driving down the highway, you're not sprayed in the face with oil and gasoline, and you quickly get where you want to go. However, in the face of failure, the car may end up on fire, flying off a cliff.

As we approach its 30th Anniversary, Linux still remains the largest collaborative development project in the history of computing. The huge community surrounding Linux allows it to do amazing things and run smoothly. What's still missing, though, is sufficient focus to make sure that Linux fails well too. There's a strong link between code robustness and security: making it harder for any bugs to manifest makes it harder for security flaws to manifest. But that's not the end of the story. When flaws do manifest, it's important to handle them effectively.

Rather than only taking a one-bug-at-a-time perspective, preemptive actions can stop bugs from having bad effects. With Linux written in C, it will continue to have a long tail of associated problems. Linux must be designed to take proactive steps to defend itself from its own risks. Cars have seat belts not because we want to crash, but because it is guaranteed to happen sometimes.

Even though everyone wants a safe kernel running on their computer, phone, car, or interplanetary helicopter, not everyone is in a position to do something about it. Upstream kernel developers can fix bugs, but have no control over what a downstream vendor chooses to incorporate into their products. End users get to choose their products, but don't usually have control over what bugs are fixed nor what kernel is used (a problem in itself). Ultimately, vendors are responsible for keeping their product's kernels safe.

What to fix?


The statistics of tracking and fixing distinct bugs are sobering. The stable kernel releases ("bug fixes only") each contain close to 100 new fixes per week. Faced with this high rate of change, a vendor can choose to ignore all the fixes, pick out only "important" fixes, or face the daunting task of taking everything.

Fix nothing?


With the preponderance of malware, botnets, and state surveillance targeting flawed software, it's clear that ignoring all fixes is the wrong "solution." Unfortunately this is the very common stance of vendors who see their devices as just a physical product instead of a hybrid product/service that must be regularly updated.

Fix important flaws?

Between the dereliction of doing nothing and the assumed burden of fixing everything, the traditional vendor choice has been to cherry-pick only the "important" fixes. But what constitutes "important" or even relevant? Just determining whether to implement a fix takes developer time.

The prevailing wisdom has been to choose vulnerabilities to fix based on the Mitre CVE list, presuming all important flaws (and therefore fixes) would have an associated CVE. However, given the volume of flaws and their applicability to a particular system, not all security flaws have CVEs assigned, nor are they assigned in a timely manner. Evidence shows that for Linux CVEs, more than 40% had been fixed before the CVE was even assigned, with the average delay being over three months after the fix. Some fixes went years without having their security impact recognized. On top of this, product-relevant bugs may not even classify for a CVE. Finally, upstream developers aren't actually interested in CVE assignment; they spend their limited time actually fixing bugs.

A vendor relying on cherry-picking is all but guaranteed to miss important vulnerabilities that others are actively fixing, which is almost worse than doing nothing since it creates the illusion that security updates are being appropriately handled.

Fix everything!

So what is a vendor to do? The answer is simple, if painful: continuously update to the latest kernel release, either major or stable. Tracking major releases means gaining security improvements along with bug fixes, while stable releases are bug fixes only. For example, although modern Android phones ship with kernels that are based on major releases from almost two to four years earlier, Android vendors do now, thankfully, track stable kernel releases. So even though the features being added to newer major kernels will be missing, all the latest stable kernel fixes are present.

Performing continuous kernel updates (major or stable) understandably faces enormous resistance within an organization due to fear of regressions—will the update break the product? The answer is usually that a vendor doesn't know, or that the update frequency is shorter than their time needed for testing. But the problem with updating is not that the kernel might cause regressions; it's that vendors don't have sufficient test coverage and automation to know the answer. Testing must take priority over individual fixes.

Make it happen

One question remains: how to possibly support all the work continuous updates require? As it turns out, it’s a simple resource allocation problem, and is more easily accomplished than might be imagined: downstream redundancy can be moved into greater upstream collaboration.

More engineers for fixing bugs earlier

With vendors using old kernels and backporting existing fixes, their engineering resources are doing redundant work. For example, instead of 10 companies each assigning one engineer to backport the same fix independently, those developer hours could be shifted to upstream work where 10 separate bugs could be fixed for everyone in the Linux ecosystem. This would help address the growing backlog of bugs. Looking at just one source of potential kernel security flaws, the syzkaller dashboard shows the number of open bugs is currently approaching 900 and growing by about 100 a year, even with about 400 a year being fixed.

More engineers for code review

Beyond just squashing bugs after the fact, more focus on upstream code review will help stem the tide of their introduction in the first place, with benefits extending beyond just the immediate bugs caught. Capable code review bandwidth is a limited resource. Without enough people dedicated to upstream code review and subsystem maintenance tasks, the entire kernel development process bottlenecks.

Long-term Linux robustness depends on developers, but especially on effective kernel maintainers. Although there is effort in the industry to train new developers, this has been traditionally justified only by the "feature driven" jobs they can get. But focusing only on product timelines ultimately leads Linux into the Tragedy of the Commons. Expanding the number of maintainers can avoid it. Luckily the "pipeline" for new maintainers is straightforward.

Maintainers are built not only from their depth of knowledge of a subsystem's technology, but also from their experience with mentorship of other developers and code review. Training new reviewers must become the norm, motivated by making upstream review part of the job. Today's reviewers become tomorrow's maintainers. If each major kernel subsystem gained four more dedicated maintainers, we could double productivity.

More engineers for testing and infrastructure

Along with more reviewers, improving Linux's development workflow is critical to expanding everyone's ability to contribute. Linux's "email only" workflow is showing its age, but the upstream development of more automated patch tracking, continuous integration, fuzzing, coverage, and testing will make the development process significantly more efficient.

Additionally, instead of testing kernels after they're released, it's more effective to test during development. When tests are performed against unreleased kernel versions (e.g. linux-next) and reported upstream, developers get immediate feedback about bugs. Fixes can be developed before a flaw is ever actually released; it's always easier to fix a bug earlier than later.

This "upstream first" approach to product kernel development and testing is extremely efficient. Google has been successfully doing this with Chrome OS and Android for a while now, and is hardly alone in the industry. It means feature development happens against the latest kernel, and devices are similarly tested as close as possible to the latest upstream kernels, all avoiding duplicated "in-house" effort.

More engineers for security and toolchain development

Besides dealing reactively to individual bugs and existing maintenance needs, there is also the need to proactively eliminate entire classes of flaws, so developers cannot introduce these types of bugs ever again. Why fix the same kind of security vulnerability 10 times a year when we can stop it from ever appearing again?

Over the last few years, various fragile language features and kernel APIs have been eliminated or replaced (e.g. VLAs, switch fallthrough, addr_limit). However, there is still plenty more work to be done. One of the most time-consuming aspects has been the refactoring involved in making these usually invasive and context-sensitive changes across Linux's 25 million lines of code.

Beyond kernel code itself, the compiler and toolchain also need to grow more defensive features (e.g. variable zeroing, CFI, sanitizers). With the toolchain technically "outside" the kernel, its development effort is often inappropriately overlooked and underinvested. Code safety burdens need to be shifted as much as possible to the toolchain, freeing humans to work in other areas. On the most progressive front, we must make sure Linux can be written in memory-safe languages like Rust.

Don't wait another minute

If you're not using the latest kernel, you don't have the most recently added security defenses (including bug fixes). In the face of newly discovered flaws, this leaves systems less secure than they could have been. Even when mediated by careful system design, proper threat modeling, and other standard security practices, the magnitude of risk grows quickly over time, leaving vendors to do the calculus of determining how old a kernel they can tolerate exposing users to. Unless the answer is "just abandon our users," engineering resources must be focused upstream on closing the gap by continuously deploying the latest kernel release.

Based on our most conservative estimates, the Linux kernel and its toolchains are currently underinvested by at least 100 engineers, so it's up to everyone to bring their developer talent together upstream. This is the only solution that will ensure a balance of security at reasonable long-term cost.

New investment in Aotearoa New Zealand

New Zealand is often described as an ‘island of innovation’, and when it comes to technology, it’s true that we Kiwis regularly punch above our weight. At the same time, there’s always more progress to be made, and greater opportunities ahead


As we approach 15 years on the ground in New Zealand, Google is investing to put down stronger roots here — including by establishing an engineering presence in Auckland.


This week, our teams move into the first purpose-built Google office in Auckland, a space that has been designed to bring the best of Aotearoa to Google — giving visitors a taste of the diverse landscapes that New Zealand is known for around the world. We have kayaks for a reception desk, the largest digital ceiling in New Zealand and a cafe that takes its likeness from a chilly bin (or a ‘cooler’, as some people call them ?). Teams will use our new “Pāua” event space to host business leaders, technologists and the wider community. And the space as a whole has been designed to suit our new hybrid approach to work.

  • A photo of the carved wooden letter 'G' in the reception area of Google's new Auckland office
  • A photo of the colourful 'digital ceiling' in Google's new Auckland office, with a Googler working on a laptop at a table underneath the ceiling.
  • A photo of the Paua event space in Google's new office in Auckland, showing a group of visitors gathered around tables in a communal space
  • A photo of Google hardware in front of a window overlooking Auckland's harbour

With space to grow, we'll also start recruiting Google’s first New Zealand-based engineers. We hope to attract local software talent, engage research institutions and contribute to the understanding and application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in Aotearoa.


In addition to our new office and engineering presence, we’ve launched a new Google Cloud Dedicated Interconnect location in Auckland and our second Australia-New Zealand Google Cloud region, in Melbourne. This investment will help us better serve our local Cloud customers, connecting New Zealand to Google’s private secure network and ensuring customer data never traverses the public internet. 


Kiwi organisations like Trade Me and ANZ are already using Google’s Cloud capabilities, and our expanded footprint means we can help more businesses take advantage of the cleanest cloud in the industry.   


I’m so proud of the work our teams do to support New Zealand’s businesses, communities, nonprofits and governments. With these new commitments, we’re more focused than ever on building a better future for all Kiwis.

New investment in Aotearoa New Zealand

New Zealand is often described as an ‘island of innovation’, and when it comes to technology, it’s true that we Kiwis regularly punch above our weight. At the same time, there’s always more progress to be made, and greater opportunities ahead


As we approach 15 years on the ground in New Zealand, Google is investing to put down stronger roots here — including by establishing an engineering presence in Auckland.


This week, our teams move into the first purpose-built Google office in Auckland, a space that has been designed to bring the best of Aotearoa to Google — giving visitors a taste of the diverse landscapes that New Zealand is known for around the world. We have kayaks for a reception desk, the largest digital ceiling in New Zealand and a cafe that takes its likeness from a chilly bin (or a ‘cooler’, as some people call them ?). Teams will use our new “Pāua” event space to host business leaders, technologists and the wider community. And the space as a whole has been designed to suit our new hybrid approach to work.

  • A photo of the carved wooden letter 'G' in the reception area of Google's new Auckland office
  • A photo of the colourful 'digital ceiling' in Google's new Auckland office, with a Googler working on a laptop at a table underneath the ceiling.
  • A photo of the Paua event space in Google's new office in Auckland, showing a group of visitors gathered around tables in a communal space
  • A photo of Google hardware in front of a window overlooking Auckland's harbour

With space to grow, we'll also start recruiting Google’s first New Zealand-based engineers. We hope to attract local software talent, engage research institutions and contribute to the understanding and application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in Aotearoa.


In addition to our new office and engineering presence, we’ve launched a new Google Cloud Dedicated Interconnect location in Auckland and our second Australia-New Zealand Google Cloud region, in Melbourne. This investment will help us better serve our local Cloud customers, connecting New Zealand to Google’s private secure network and ensuring customer data never traverses the public internet. 


Kiwi organisations like Trade Me and ANZ are already using Google’s Cloud capabilities, and our expanded footprint means we can help more businesses take advantage of the cleanest cloud in the industry.   


I’m so proud of the work our teams do to support New Zealand’s businesses, communities, nonprofits and governments. With these new commitments, we’re more focused than ever on building a better future for all Kiwis.

Stable Channel update for Chrome OS

  The Stable channel is being updated to 92.0.4515.130 (Platform version: 13982.69.0) for most Chrome OS devices. Systems will be receiving updates over the next several days.

This build contains a number of features, bug fixes and security updates, please find release notes here.

If you find new issues, please let us know by visiting our forum or filing a bug. Interested in switching channels Find out how. You can submit feedback using ‘Report an issue...’ in the Chrome menu (3 vertical dots in the upper right corner of the browser). 

Marina Kazatcker,

Google Chrome OS


Chrome for Android Update

Hi, everyone! We've just released Chrome 92 (92.0.4515.131) for Android: it'll become available on Google Play over the next few weeks.

This release includes stability and performance improvements. You can see a full list of the changes in the Git log. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug.

Krishna Govind
Google Chrome

Updated emoji experience in Google Chat

What’s changing

It’s now easier to express yourself more authentically in Chat. We’re making the following updates to the emoji experience in Chat on web and mobile:
  • Emoji set is updated to the latest version (Emoji 13.1), reflecting the latest emoji set and diversity and inclusion options
  • Addition of a gender-neutral option for gender-modifiable emojis
  • Emoji skin tone and gender preferences are saved per individual emoji

Image of emoji picking on Android phone showing the Add Reaction optionImage of emoji picking on Android phone showing the emojis available
Two screenshots showing the emoji picking experience on an Android phone: Choosing the Add reaction option and the listing of emoji available to react to a message.


Who’s impacted

End users


Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: This feature will be ON by default and can not be disabled by the user.

Rollout pace

  • Web and iOS:
    • We anticipate this feature to become available for Google Chat on web and iOS in the coming weeks. We will provide an update on the Google Workspace Updates Blog at that time.

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Google Chrome Releases 2021-08-02 20:04:00

The Stable channel has been updated to 92.0.4515.131 for Windows, Mac and Linux which will roll out over the coming days/weeks

A full list of changes in this build is available in the log. Interested in switching release channels?  Find out how here. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues.

Security Fixes and Rewards

Note: Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix. We will also retain restrictions if the bug exists in a third party library that other projects similarly depend on, but haven’t yet fixed.


This update includes 10 security fixes. Below, we highlight fixes that were contributed by external researchers. Please see the Chrome Security Page for more information.


[$20000][1227777] High CVE-2021-30590: Heap buffer overflow in Bookmarks. Reported by Leecraso and Guang Gong of 360 Alpha Lab on 2021-07-09

[$20000][1229298] High CVE-2021-30591: Use after free in File System API. Reported by SorryMybad (@S0rryMybad) of Kunlun Lab on 2021-07-14

[$10000][1209469] High CVE-2021-30592: Out of bounds write in Tab Groups. Reported by David Erceg on 2021-05-15

[$5000][1209616] High CVE-2021-30593: Out of bounds read in Tab Strip. Reported by David Erceg on 2021-05-16

[$N/A][1218468] High CVE-2021-30594: Use after free in Page Info UI. Reported by raven (@raid_akame)  on 2021-06-10

[$1000][1214481] Medium CVE-2021-30596: Incorrect security UI in Navigation. Reported by Mohit Raj (shadow2639)  on 2021-05-29

[$TBD][1232617] Medium CVE-2021-30597: Use after free in Browser UI. Reported by raven (@raid_akame)  on 2021-07-24


We would also like to thank all security researchers that worked with us during the development cycle to prevent security bugs from ever reaching the stable channel.



As usual, our ongoing internal security work was responsible for a wide range of fixes:

  • [1229408] Various fixes from internal audits, fuzzing and other initiatives


Many of our security bugs are detected using AddressSanitizer, MemorySanitizer, UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer, Control Flow Integrity, libFuzzer, or AFL.




Srinivas Sista
Google Chrome