Apple Threatens to Remove Email App 'Hey' From App Store Over Lack of In-App Subscription Option [Updated]

A new email app called "Hey" from the team at Basecamp has run into trouble with Apple for refusing to offer a subscription option that can be purchased in the iOS app.

heyemailapp
Hey, which launched on Monday, is priced at $99 per year. Subscriptions for the service must be purchased on the Hey website and are not offered in the iOS app because Hey's developers don't want to pay Apple a 15 to 30 percent cut of their fees.

Apple, however, has told the Hey team that customers need to be able to purchase the service in the iOS app and that if in-app purchases are not implemented, the Hey app could be removed from the App Store. Apple has a long running rule that apps can't link to outside purchase options and must use the in-app purchasing tools when offering paid content or subscriptions, but many apps skirt that rule by avoiding in-app purchases and not providing links to outside websites.

Netflix and Spotify, for example, do not allow customers to sign up for or subscribe to their services on the iPhone or the iPad, and do not link to their respective websites. Each app instead offers a message about sign ups being unavailable in the app.

The Hey email app does the same thing, and as Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson explains in an interview with Protocol, the team thought that it would be exempt from Apple's rules because it's following in the footsteps of apps like Netflix.

Downloading the Hey app presents a simple sign in screen with no sign up option, and tapping on the "Help Me" link informs users that there are no sign up options in the app. Like Netflix and Spotify, it does not direct users to the website to sign up.

Updates for Hey have been stalled until the developers comply with Apple's request to add in-app purchase options, and despite appeals and escalation requests, Apple has held firm on the requirement. Apple says that Hey does not qualify as a "reader" app, which means new users need to be able to sign up within the app using in-app purchases.

Apple didn't respond to a request for comment. But on Tuesday afternoon, it sent Basecamp a slightly softer written notice. "We noticed that your app allows customers to access content, subscriptions, or features they have purchased elsewhere, but those items were not available as in-app purchases within the app," it said. Because Hey didn't qualify as a "Reader" app, Apple said that existing subscribers could log in as normal but Hey needed to make all subscriptions available to new users as in-app purchases.

It's not entirely clear why Apple is requiring Hey to provide an in-app subscription option when it allows Netflix and Spotify to decline to offer in-app purchase options while still having their apps in the ‌App Store‌.

Hey's developers do not intend to comply with Apple's request for in-app purchase options. "There is never in a million years a way that I am paying Apple a third of our revenues," Heinemeier Hansson told Protocol. That is obscene, and it's criminal, and I will spend every dollar that we have or ever make to burn this down until we get to somewhere better."

Update: Apple provided a statement to Protocol and said that it made a mistake approving the Hey app in the first place when it didn't conform to Apple's guidelines. Apple said that sign-in only apps are allowed for business services, but not consumer products.

Apple told me that its actual mistake was approving the app in the first place, when it didn't conform to its guidelines. Apple allows these kinds of client apps -- where you can't sign up, only sign in -- for business services but not consumer products. That's why Basecamp, which companies typically pay for, is allowed on the App Store when Hey, which users pay for, isn't. Anyone who purchased Hey from elsewhere could access it on iOS as usual, the company said, but the app must have a way for users to sign up and pay through Apple's infrastructure. That's how Apple supports and pays for its work on the platform.

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 17 Models Rumored to Feature Redesigned Dynamic Island

Monday July 7, 2025 7:38 am PDT by
iPhone 17 models will feature a redesigned Dynamic Island user interface, according to a post today from Digital Chat Station, an account with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account has accurately leaked some information regarding future Apple products in the past. The account did not share any specific details about the alleged changes that are ...
Prime Day 25 Feature Warm Triad

The Best Prime Day Deals on AirPods, iPads, MacBooks, and More

Monday July 7, 2025 10:55 am PDT by
Amazon is back with its annual summertime Prime Day event, lasting for four days from July 8-11, the longest Prime Day yet. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront. With the event now underway, we're tracking numerous all-time low prices on Apple gear right now. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a...

Top Rated Comments

CWallace Avatar
66 months ago
As Apple have already set a precedent with Spotify and Netflix (plus others) then, frankly, "Hey" should be allowed to do the same since they are not offering links to their website, either.
Score: 118 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Appleman3546 Avatar
66 months ago
Good job Apple...give the EU some more evidence of anti-competitive behavior the day that the investigation is launched
Score: 110 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
66 months ago

”That is obscene, and it's criminal, and I will spend every dollar that we have or ever make to burn this down until we get to somewhere better.”
Maybe build your own mobile operating system, build your own App Store, then put your own app in it. Boom! There’s a solution. Then you don’t have to pay anyone, except yourselves
That argument isn't really valid because Apple FORCES you to distribute your app in their store. If you could sideload iOS apps, then Apple would have a valid argument if you wanted your app in their store.

To provide another Apple example, if Hey wanted to distribute a Mac app they'd be able to do so without having to implement in-app purchases, outside of the app store.

I wish people would stop the excuse that "Apple is letting you use your store; you should compensate them for that." Apple isn't LETTING you use their store, they're FORCING you to use it just to have access to a significant portion of the market.

Note, I like Apple products and services. I'm just willing to call them out on stuff like this.
Score: 89 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SteveJobs2.0 Avatar
66 months ago
Hey is developed by a small business and is relatively unknown. It is more difficult to boss around bigger players like Netflix or Spotify.
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
btrach144 Avatar
66 months ago
I like Apple but this behavior from them is frustrating
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EfratBarTal Avatar
66 months ago
Well done. Devs are getting ripped off. 30 percent? Apple, seriously!
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)