A large number of Android users over the past few hours have been encountering continuous Gmail and other app shutdowns, with some finding that uninstalling Android System WebView will stop the crashing.
If this bug is impacting your device, all Android apps that use the WebView system component, which is responsible for showing web content and is updated alongside Chrome every few weeks, will keep crashing. This includes Gmail — which many users are seeing broken right now — and many other third-party applications. Google has acknowledged the email issue and is actively working on a fix. Users are advised to visit the web interface:
“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.” – Google spokesperson
The immediate solution to this problem involves finding the Play Store listing for Android System WebView either by visiting this link directly, or going to the “My apps & games” page, swiping left to the “Installed” tab, and scrolling down — it should be one of the first apps. After that, tap “Uninstall” and confirm on the prompt that appears.
