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
Substack now discloses that it shares account identifiers, such as email addresses and usernames, with trusted industry child safety organizations to detect and prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse. The policy also establishes that Substack will respond to privacy rights requests within one month, or up to three months for complex requests, providing more certainty about response timelines. Additionally, the policy clarifies that direct message recipients may retain messages even if you request deletion or delete your account, which is now explicitly stated rather than implied.
View change record →The updated policy no longer commits to responding to privacy rights requests within one month or within three months for complex requests. This removes a procedural timeline that previously bound Substack's response obligations. Additionally, the explicit disclosure that Substack shares account identifiers with child safety consortia to detect online child sexual exploitation has been removed from the policy, though the practice itself is not stated to have ended. The direct message retention language is now framed more directly: recipients may retain messages even if you request deletion or close your account.
View change record →How other platforms handle this
We may receive Personal Data in the form of Technical Data and Usage Data about you from various third parties, such as analytics providers or advertising networks.
Some of our ad partners may also enable us to collect similar data directly from their website or app by integrating our or our affiliates' advertising technology.
you may refer a friend to Instacart or send an Instacart gift delivery or gift card to someone. In these cases, we collect the recipient's name, email, and delivery address, as applicable.
"We may also obtain additional information from third parties and sources. We use this information to supplement the information we collect about you in order to provide more relevant, safer experiences.Excerpt from Substack's Privacy Policy
Netflix updated its Privacy Statement on April 18, 2026, disclosing voice recording collection and expanded household ad profiling for the first time.
Google's Privacy Policy covers Search, Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and every site running Google Analytics. Here is what it actually authorizes.
Get the research letter
Companies change their terms quietly. We read every version and catch what actually changed. One email a week on the changes that matter and what they mean.
The clause states: “We may also obtain additional information from third parties and sources. We use this information to supplement the information we collect about you in order to provide more relevant, safer experiences.”
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 296 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Substack.