When it comes to app updates, it depends on developers if they wish to add release notes to the update. For those unfamiliar, release notes/changelogs are basically a list of changes that the developer made to an app in the update. This helps users decide if they want to update an app or if they want an understanding of what’s different.
However like we said, it depends on the developer on whether or not they want to add release notes in the first place. That could change in the future as Google is making some changes and are making it compulsory for developers to add release notes whenever they issue an update to their apps.
According to reports from developers who have noticed this change, Google is now making it mandatory to fill out the release notes section before an app update listing is completed. While it sounds like Google is “suggesting” that developers fill it out, the fact that the update cannot be complete without filling it out makes it seem mandatory as opposed to optional.
However like we said, the details will depend on developers on how much they want to fill out, or if we will just get the boilerplate “Bug Fixes and Improvements”, but either way we guess Google wants to encourage developers to keep their users in the loop and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.