[rvz]

Maybe they should follow what Netflix is doing, since they don't have in-app purchases in iOS which is why they don't allow registrations at all and force you to sign up on the web.

Not sure about Netflix's Android app though, but Google has sort of done this to Epic Games but only allowing logins and no registrations + card checks might bypass the Apple 30% tax.

[philistine]

Be honest. Have you read articles about the subject thoroughly?

Hey is implemented exactly like Netflix. This is exactly why it’s making such a ruckus. Because big streaming giants get Better treatment than the little guy trying to reinvent email.

[rvz]

> Be honest. Have you read articles about the subject thoroughly?

Since we'll be both breaking the 'rules', first of all be very very honest, have you read the HN guidelines recently?

>> Please don't comment on whether someone read an article. "Did you even read the article? It mentions that" can be shortened to "The article mentions that."

> Because big streaming giants get Better treatment than the little guy trying to reinvent email.

Unless they are 'reader' apps under guideline 3.1.3(a) [0]. Thus it isn't quite like as you said: 'Hey is implemented exactly like Netflix.' as Hey isn't a reader app, therefore they are not exactly under the same category of apps like Netflix. Nice try though, thanks for playing. I still look forward to the anti-trust battle.

[0] https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#rea...

[rydre]

This. Many of the commentators on this issue are really lazy people. Please before making suggestions, get background information.

[gecko]

They did—or at least, are trying to. The issue is Apple is saying, based on unwritten rules, that Netflix is allowed to do it, while Hey isn’t. And that’s the crux of the problem

[MoroCode]

The reason Netflix is allowed to do it is because they are classified as a reader app

> if an app is a way to exclusively consume content purchased elsewhere, like songs or movies or podcasts, they don't have to have in-app purchases.

According to apple an exclusive email client is not classified as a reader app and so they are forced to offer in app purchases. The guidelines are super confusing and in my opinion pretty crap but it's not a case of favouritism or giving special exemptions to Netflix for example

[imtringued]

Read the article and Guideline 3.1.3(a). The rules aren't unwritten. Stop making things up.

[philistine]

I’m looking forward to Apple having to argue in front of a legislative body why streaming services are given a different treatment than any other software.

[ijpsud]

Are you sure Netflix is able to do this (genuine question)? According to this[0] article, Apple says that apps that target consumers (as opposed to businesses) must allow the user to sign up for the service from within the app:

> 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.

[0] https://www.protocol.com/hey-email-app-store-rejection

[MoroCode]

I thought that was what they hey app was doing

> Users cannot use the app to access email or perform any useful function until after they go to the Basecamp website for Hey Email and purchase a license to use the HEY Email app. This violates the following App Store Review Guidelines

The problem is it's not classified as a reader app according to Apple's guidelines. If you are not a reader app and there is something to be purchased, you must also offer in app purchases.

> if an app is a way to exclusively consume content purchased elsewhere, like songs or movies or podcasts, they don't have to have in-app purchases.

[PhilipA]

HEY has (accordingly) done the same. You basically can only log in, you have to go to the web to sign up.

[misnome]

It looks like this is exactly what they are doing, and what Apple is complaining about?