🤦♂️ Apple Threatens to Remove Email App ‘Hey’ From App Store Over Lack of In-App Subscription Option
As much as I want to build an iOS app for my project, this is the exact scenario that scares me, being bullied by Apple just cause I’m smaller than Netflix and others.
@zorn Aren’t the IAP rules pretty clear about this scenario in 3.1.3(b)? Instead of ranting on Twitter, they could just add an IAP. But, this does get Hey a ton of publicity. App Review should have caught this in 1.0, but now that it is flagged, I don’t see anything nefarious from Apple. Am I missing some details?
@stolton I subscribe to a business gmail account and use the Google Gmail app to access it. How is this different?
@zorn I use Outlook and they have IAPs. Also, both MS and Google offer free accounts where Hey only offers a short trial, which is probably what gets them flagged. Besides, you can always find apparent exceptions to App Review guidelines, they are intentionally and necessarily somewhat subjective, but you still need to follow them as best you can. I think it was pretty obvious that the guidelines covered this scenario. If one is unsure, it’s always best to assume the most restrictive interpretation. What the rules are and what they should be are separate conversations that are being conflated. But, now that the app is flagged, I think a reasonable dev accepts reality and moves on, but DHH does seem to love his sanctimonious Twitter screeds.
@zorn I think this is an excellent conversation topic for SPS this month, especially after WWDC with everyone thinking about new apps. Building a business on a propriety platform has trade-offs and risks. I think your thoughts on this matter would be particularly relevant since, as you mentioned, you are concerned about this kind of scenario for your business.
@zorn My view of App Review is that they are subjective guidelines, interpreted by many different reviewers on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes mistakes are made or policies change between app versions. Whenever I submit any update for any app, I warn the team that we need to pad the timeline to account for a possible rejection. Each submission is its own unique snowflake. So, the fact that 1.0 was accepted, but not the following version doesn’t surprise me. That has happened many times before with apps (including with my university app!) and is bound to happen when you have a system with humans interpreting ever-evolving guidelines. That’s why there is an appeal procedure, but appeals don’t always go your way. From what I’ve gathered, Apple may be cracking down on IAP avoidance for whatever reason and Hey got caught in that change in focus.