There’s been a lot of news about HEY’s new calendar app being rejected by App Store Review. In a lengthy X thread discussing the issue, David Heinemeier Hansson revealed that HEY has resubmitted the app to Apple, this time with some built-in content that seems awfully familiar:
You’re going to love our “make it do something” implementation (and hopefully @appstore will too!). If you don’t have a HEY account, you can use the calendar to explore Apple’s history. Check this out: pic.twitter.com/j8cXnfOsaf
— DHH (@dhh) January 8, 2024
He goes on:
This is essentially a digital version of the 2024 Apple History Calendar that raised over $40,000 on Kickstarter. Apple has a rich history that lots of people want to relive, and we’re giving them that inside the beautiful HEY Calendar app. For free! https://t.co/gPdfrlj35q
— DHH (@dhh) January 8, 2024
For each of my three Kickstarters, I’ve included digital versions of the highlighted dates for people to import into their calendar apps.
Here’s HEY’s included calendar data:
…and some of the work I’ve done over the years:
To be clear, from these screenshots, it doesn’t seem like HEY copied my direct work or research, and I only came across this after someone sent me a link to DHH’s tweets.
(Also: I think Apple’s rejection of HEY’s app is silly, just as it was last time, despite the company’s history.)
It’s a real bummer to feel like I’ve been ripped off by a much bigger company, seeing them pitch something I’ve worked hard on as a free feature in their app. There’s some irony there.
Update: On January 9, Apple approved Hey Calendar, complete with the demo data.