Hey email gets cleared by App Store, is now open to everyone
After being blocked from Apple’s App Store, the new email service from Basecamp Hey is now available to download for iOS and iPadOS and open for anyone to join.
Hey was previously only available through an invite-only preview after having spent two years in development. The new email service has now publicly launched after an update was released for the app with changes to meet App Store guidelines.
Future updates for the app were initially blocked by Apple due to violations of its terms and conditions. Users who received an invite to Hey’s preview first had to activate a subscription through the Basecamp website. However, Apple demanded that the company allow its users to sign up for the service directly through the app which would allow the iPhone maker to receive its 30 percent cut of the subscription fee.
In the end though, Apple gave Hey time to create a version of its app that meets its rules and this new version has now gone live. At WWDC 2020, the company also changed its policy to finally allow developers to challenge App Store guidelines.
Hey email
On the pricing page on its website, Hey makes the case that free email services such as Google’s Gmail aren’t actually free as users end up paying by giving up their privacy and personal data. Since the company doesn’t sell ads or collect user data, Hey changes an annual subscription fee of $99.
For that price, users get a @Hey.com address, 100GB of storage space, native apps for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Linux, spy pixel blocking and more. However, if someone wants an ultra-short email address made up of two or three characters, they’ll have to pay either $999 or $349 per year respectively.
Another notable feature of Hey email is The Screener. Essentially when someone sends an email to your @hey.com address for the first time they won’t be able to get through right away. Instead their message will land in The Screener where users can decide with a simple yes or no whether they want to hear from them or not.
Interested users can download the Hey email app now on Apple’s App Store or in the Google Play Store and the company offers a 14-day free trial so you can test out the service for yourself.
Via The Verge
