Since yesterday hours, Apple has been offering an update to WebKit on macOS, an internet surfing tool used by Safari, but also other Mac browsers such as Firefox or Chrome.
This new version of the web toolkit aims to plug asignificant security breach, like thepatch sent to iOS, iPadOS and watchOS yesterday.
Until then it was rather advisable to install it. But some users made themselves heard last night on the web and in particular on Twitter, reporting navigation bugs on various popular websites.
The new version of WebKit indeed integrates agross error, as Jake Archibald reports:
😬 localStorage is broken in Safari 14.1.
Tabs end up with seperate localStorage for reading, but the same localStorage for writing. This will likely result in data loss for users. (h/t@forresto)https://t.co/5Ljxl4vvbH
— Jake Archibald (@jaffathecake)May 4, 2021
He explains that opening a new tab in Safari on macOS normally involves creating a new temporary folder to write surfing information. But as it stands, with the latest version of WebKit, the browser uses the same writing folder as for the first opened tab. The consequence of this malfunction is sometimes buggy display of web pages.
The problem would not only affect Safari, as specified above, but also competitors from Mozilla and Google available on macOS. It would not be limited to macOS Big Sur, older versions of the Mac system could also be affected.
An update should definitelyarrive very quickly to correct the situation. In any case, if the version of WebKit currently offered for download provides more security for internet surfing, it does not currently ensure faultless web browsing. The choice is yours: more security? Update WebKit. Keeping a Safari bug-free? Wait for the next version.
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By : Keleops AG
Editor-in-chief for iPhon.fr. Pierre is like Indiana Jones, looking for the lost iOS trick. Also a long-time Mac user, Apple devices hold no secrets for him. Contact: pierre[a]iphon.fr.
