Just tried two widget extensions on a blank new app, one that uses location and one that does not. Verified that only when adding widgets to the home screen from the extension that declares NSWidgetWantsLocation that the prompt for location permissions is displayed. Thanks!

Widgets provide a Timeline of TimelineEntry objects, where each TimelineEntry object declares a Date property so it can be ordered in the Timeline. Providing multiple TimelineEntry objects isn't "updating" per se, updates happen when the Widget is asked for a new Timeline. Updating too frequently is discouraged, but Apple also recommends (somewhere in their docs or WWDC sessions, can't remember) to provide up to 24 hours of entries on each update when possible I'm going to assume the app in question is providing a new entry for each minute, so the analog clock would visually update each minute, but otherwise the widget is only "updated" once (and returns one Timeline per day).