App Store

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Apple Approves ‘Hey’ Email App, Developer Adds Free Burner Accounts

Andrew Orr ·

Apple has approved a new version of the Hey email app once the developers added a free option for users. You can now create a free, temporary email account that expires after 14 days, making it a new privacy service for burner emails.

…the company will now offer iOS users a free temporary Hey email account with a randomized address, just so the app is functional when it is first opened. These burner accounts will expire after 14 days. Hey is also now able to work with enterprise customers, as Apple initially took issue with the app’s consumer focus.

I like the burner option. Find it in the App Store here.

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Phil Schiller Speaks Out on ‘Hey’ Email Controversy

Andrew Orr ·

A controversy over the past few days has been about an email app called Hey that was initially approved by the App Store review team, then rejected later. Phil Schiller spoke about the issue in an interview.

One way that Hey could have gone, Schiller says, is to offer a free or paid version of the app with basic email reading features on the App Store then separately offered an upgraded email service that worked with the Hey app on iOS on its own website. Schiller gives one more example: an RSS app that reads any feed, but also reads an upgraded feed that could be charged for on a separate site. In both cases, the apps would have functionality when downloaded on the store.

My opinion is that Apple could stand to reduce its cut from 30% down to 15-18%. But we definitely don’t need other proposals, like downloading apps from outside the App Store like you can on the Mac.

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Apple’s “Secret” Monopoly

Andrew Orr ·

Will Oremus wrote an essay on Medium in which he argues that Apple is a monopoly, specifically when it comes to the App Store. I think a few good arguments could be made in support of this accusation. But my opinion lies with this quote:

Apple’s platform is significantly less open than Google’s: Unlike its rival, Apple doesn’t allow any app stores on the iPhone other than its own, and it doesn’t allow users to “sideload” apps downloaded from the web or elsewhere. The company says its goal is to ensure users can trust every app they download; allowing unapproved apps could expose users to privacy violations or malware.

The App Store isn’t perfect, but I believe it contains far fewer malware than Google’s Play Store. Apple’s restrictions also make it better for privacy, and thus better for people. I think price is a better argument than the walled garden. Or, I at least have more sympathy for indie developers rather than billion-dollar competitors to Apple.