This analysis describes what Substack's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
The updated policy discloses that Substack obtains additional information from third parties and sources beyond what it directly collects from you on the platform. This third-party information is combined with platform data to provide what Substack describes as more relevant and safer experiences, and to improve platform analytics. The policy also clarifies that Substack shares account identifiers with child safety industry consortia and receives information from them to detect CSAM. You can review Substack's full privacy policy to understand which third parties may be sources of this information and how your data may be combined with external sources.
View change record →The updated policy discloses that Substack shares account identifiers (email addresses and usernames) with trusted child safety organizations to detect and prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse. Users now have the right to object to processing of their personal information for personalization purposes on grounds relating to their particular situation, and Substack commits to responding to privacy rights requests within one month. The policy also clarifies that while recipients of direct messages may retain them independently, the platform may restrict your access to messages when other users delete or block you. You can exercise your right to object to personalization processing by contacting privacy@substackinc.com.
View change record →How other platforms handle this
You have the right to access, correct, delete, or object to the processing of your personal data. You also have the right to data portability and to file complaints with the NPC.
Keep other people's personal information private and don't create content that poses privacy or security risks to any person.
If you have enabled a legally recognized browser-based opt out preference signal (such as Global Privacy Control) on your browser, we recognize such preference to the extent required by applicable law.
"Your account privacy settings may allow you to limit the other users who can see the Personal Information in your user profile and/or what information in your user profile is visible to others.Excerpt from Substack's Privacy Policy
Ad personalization controls removed. Contact scanning added. Advertiser data partnerships quietly dropped. A timeline of every change.
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Companies change their terms without announcing it. We capture governance documents, compare each new version with the last, and publish what changed, with the source text behind it. One email a week on what we found and what we could not reach.
The clause states: “Your account privacy settings may allow you to limit the other users who can see the Personal Information in your user profile and/or what information in your user profile is visible to others.”
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 277 platforms. See the full comparison.
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