Direct messages are not end-to-end encrypted

Substack personnel may access messages for service and safety purposes, and automated tools may scan them; recipients may keep them or disclose them.

Substack says it may track activity after you leave

Cookies may collect information about your online activity after you leave Substack, and the service says it does not support Do Not Track requests.

When you subscribe, the Creator receives your name and email

Substack says it gives the Creator your name and email to provide publications; the Creator's own privacy practices govern information it collects.

This applies when you subscribe to a Creator's publication.

Substack says it does not sell personal information or share it for ads

It says it does not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, but may share anonymized information with unspecified trusted partners.

If you enable it, your reading activity may be shared

Substack says an option may let it share what you have read or are reading publicly or with accounts socially connected to you.

This applies only if you choose to enable the reading-activity sharing option.

If you post, Substack gets a worldwide, lasting license

You keep ownership, but the terms make licenses royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable; sharing a post also licenses other users to use it through Substack.

The license to other users applies if you share a post with them.

The terms let Substack suspend or end access for any reason

Substack says it may terminate or suspend your account at its discretion and may withhold advance notice in specified circumstances.

Deleting your account may not remove public posts everywhere

Associated posts are deleted, but public posts may remain, copies stored by other users may remain visible, and backups may not be fully cleared.

Persistence is described for public posts, backups, and posts copied or stored by other users.

The terms require individual arbitration in San Francisco

The terms specify arbitration in San Francisco and say claims must be brought individually, not as class, consolidated, or representative proceedings.

The terms seek to cap Substack's liability and exclude damages

The terms seek to exclude indirect damages and cap total liability at the greater of $100 or amounts paid or payable in the prior 12 months.

If you pay, refunds are generally at the Creator's discretion

For paid Creator publications, refunds are generally at the Creator's discretion, with Substack facilitating them under a separate Refund Policy.

This applies if you buy a paid subscription to a Creator's publication.