Hello, the new Basecamp email service that has been the subject of the latest fight over Apple’s app store policies has announced that starting today it will be open for anyone to join, no code required of invitation.
The public launch of the service comes along with second good news for Hey: Apple has approved the Hey update that contains the proposed changes to meet the App Store guidelines. The app version 1.0.3 update is now available, offering free 14-day Hey accounts with random addresses for iOS users, making the app “functional” as defined by Apple when first downloaded time. Hey is also adding support for multi-user corporate accounts with this update, as Apple had originally struggled with Hey’s purely consumer-centric nature.
Hey had originally been launched as an invitation-only service that costs $ 99 per year to use. Unlike other email apps, like Superhuman, which are effectively additional layers over an existing Gmail account, Hey is a completely new email service, offering features like contact detection and advanced sorting options.
The drama surrounding Hey started shortly after the new email service began rolling out to customers in mid-June. After the initial Hey app was approved in the iOS app store, Apple rejected an update with bug fixes, claiming that Hey, by not offering an in-app purchase option, which Apple removes, was violating the App Store. Policies Hey responded by publicly calling Apple, with David Heinemeier Hansson, the CTO of Basecamp, saying that Apple was acting as “gangsters” in their app.
Apple initially doubled its stance, arguing that “when users download their app, it doesn’t work” because a subscription is required but not offered, something that goes against the rules for apps, with exceptions for just a few. Reader “”, Like Netflix. Also, according to Heinemeier Hansson, if Hey didn’t update the app to support Apple’s built-in purchases or gave it some kind of Apple-approved functionality, Apple had threatened to remove the app entirely from the App Store .
However, just as things were coming to a head, Apple quickly scaled down the fight, approving of the bug fix patch rejected by Hey, and giving the company time to create a version of the app that complies with the Apple rules (the new version, with the 14 days previously mentioned free burner accounts, released today). Apple also quietly modified its development rules at WWDC 2020 to allow developers to formally appeal violations of the App Store guidelines, and promised that it would no longer delay app updates with bug fixes for guidelines violations.
