Apple approves Hey Email app after fight over App Store policies

Hey Email App (Image credit: HEY)

What you need to know

Apple has approved the latest version of Hey Email.
The developer has added a free 14-day trial to the app.
This seems to have appeased the App Store guidelines.

In a surprise twist the morning of WWDC, Apple has reportedly approved the Hey Email app from Basecamp to remain in the App Store.

The approval seems to stem from a new update to the app. Hey Email now supports a free 14-day trial account that users can either let "burn" after the 14 days or, turn that burner account into a full-fledged account by going to the Hey website and subscribing for the full $99/year plan.

David Heinemeier Hansson, CEO of Basecamp and one of the founders of Hey, tweeted out that the latest version of their app, which includes the free 14-day trial, has been approved by Apple.

Apple has approved HEY for iOS 1.0.2 without IAP!! We've submitted 1.0.3 for final, definitive approval with a new free option and HEY for Work. SO NOW WE WAIT. CAN THIS STAND-OFF END IN A TRUCE? https://t.co/0x0UAYgM80Apple has approved HEY for iOS 1.0.2 without IAP!! We've submitted 1.0.3 for final, definitive approval with a new free option and HEY for Work. SO NOW WE WAIT. CAN THIS STAND-OFF END IN A TRUCE? https://t.co/0x0UAYgM80— DHH (@dhh) June 22, 2020 June 22, 2020

Hey Email's move seems to have satisfied the requests of Apple and Phil Schiller, who had suggested a few different ways Hey could change its app to meet the guidelines of the App Store. The offering of a free trial appears to have exempted Hey from offering in-app purchases, which will allow the company to avoid paying Apple 30% of sign-ups.

But I'm not going to pop the champagne just yet 🚱. We firmly believe we did what @pschiller asked us to do, but Apple still holds all the power. All we can do now is pray that feverishly working the Father's Day weekend is enough to appease Apple 🙏But I'm not going to pop the champagne just yet 🚱. We firmly believe we did what @pschiller asked us to do, but Apple still holds all the power. All we can do now is pray that feverishly working the Father's Day weekend is enough to appease Apple 🙏— DHH (@dhh) June 22, 2020 June 22, 2020

Heinemeier Hansson says that over one-hundred thousand people have signed up for invites to the email service, which rose to recent fame after its public fight with Apple over its App Store policies.

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.