There’s some confusion in the world of Chromecast devices and whether or not they are still receiving critical security updates, thanks to a reddit post that was picked up and spread.
A user there noticed that Google had changed the status of almost all Chromecast devices and that they had “reached end of life today or yesterday.” They didn’t say what exactly changed, but I’m assuming they noticed a switch from “Yes” to “No” in a column that showed the status of a device “Currently receiving critical security updates.” According to their post, the Chromecast (2nd gen), Chromecast Audio, Chromecast Ultra, Chromecast (3rd gen), and Chromecast with Google TV (4K) were all moved to “No,” signaling that they were no longer expected to see critical security updates. The only device not mentioned was the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) model.
However, they didn’t include proof of the change, but we went to confirm moments ago and all of the Chromecast devices on the list currently say “Yes,” that they are all still receiving critical security updates. The only device not is the original Chromecast (1st gen).
And since Google foolishly killed off Google Cache a few years back, finding these minor changes is almost impossible today unless you are actively tracking the page. This is not a page we track, so it’s tough to say what Google changed here.
Here’s a current screenshot of the page:
You can view the Google support page yourself, but we included the bottom portion starting with Chromecast (3rd gen) that still says “Yes.” You can also see the same status for Chromecast Ultra, Chromecast Audio, and Chromecast (2nd Gen). The “Yes” column is the “Currently receiving critical security updates” column.
My guess is that a Googler mistakenly changed these and has since flipped them back after the change made headlines.
I miss Google Cache.
