Substack's CEO now trying to scare people into *only* distributing their content through their proprietary app, not email. (The link he posted warns users away from email.) It's not enough that Substack's locking in publishers & readers with "notes" and comments, now they're escalating tactics.
Apr 21, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Is Substack Notes a ‘Twitter clone’? We asked CEO Chris Best
Substack Notes just dropped. Can the startup survive this foray into social media?
Substack Writers Concerned as Subscriptions ‘Plummet’ Due to Follow Feature
Substack writers are expressing their concerns about the platform’s following feature on social media, which some argue is suppressing their subscription growth.
Substack Doesn't Want You to Leave - Aaron Ross Powell’s Blog
Substack's business model is unsustainable—unless they lock all their writers in.
Has Substack’s subscription model really “maxed out?”
Scott Carney and Taylor Lorenz posted on Substack about downward subscriber trends they’re seeing. Carney pins it on subscription fatigue and feeling like “The only way to grow is to pillage the paid subscribers from other creators.” Lorenz questions Substack’s direction, saying “more and more like this app is becoming another social media feed.” When we recently wrote about writers who are leaving Substack, they mentioned control, pricing, and the social feature creep among their reasons for choosing competitors like Ghost and Behiiv. [Link: Writers are fleeing the Substack Tax | https://www.theverge.com/tech/927294/substack-tax-ghost-beehiiv | The Verge]
Destacked: Why I Avoid Substack As Much as Possible - Jacky Alciné
From Substack LLC's attempt to capture the concept of a newsletter as a verb to their overt encouragement and support for Neo-Nazi content, don't expect me to post anything on that platform. I explain why.
Substack Doesn't Want You to Leave - Aaron Ross Powell
Substack's business model is unsustainable—unless they lock all their writers in.
Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters
Exclusive: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism
Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters
Exclusive: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism
Oh God, It's Raining Newsletters
On the rise of newsletter production, consumption, and monetization, and how email is one of the most powerful and resilient publishing platforms.
Bill C-22’s Groundhog Day: Why the Government’s Dismissal of Signal, Apple and the U.S. Congress Concerns Runs Back the Disastrous Online News Act Playbook - Michael Geist
Secure messaging service Signal yesterday became the latest company to warn that Bill C-22, the lawful access bill, could force it to leave the Canadian market rather than comply with provisions it says would compromise its end-to-end encryption and create new cybersecurity risks. Signal vice-president Udbhav Tiwari told the Globe and Mail that the company “would rather pull out of the country than be compelled to compromise on the privacy promises we have made to our users.” The comments are part of a steady stream of similar warnings from Apple, Meta, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Cybersecurity Advisors Network, and the chairs of the U.S. House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees. Despite growing concern, the government’s response has been to launch a misleading social media campaign and repeatedly insist that the experts and companies are mistaken.
Tim Sweeney on Twitter / X
Google is opening up Android all the way with robust support for competing stores, competing payments, and a better deal for all developers. So, we've settled all of our disputes worldwide. THANKS GOOGLE! https://t.co/Dq6eXNnZd0— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) March 4, 2026
Matt Pocock on Twitter / X
I don't know what the fuss is about. Anthropic's rules on using subscriptions are very simple:Claude Code = OKClaude's online platform = OKAgent SDK running in personal software = OK... ish?Agent SDK running in commercial software = NOT OKClaude Code running in CI = ??Oh,… https://t.co/IDYSh7QPOo— Matt Pocock (@mattpocockuk) April 4, 2026
US Department of Homeland Security has reportedly demanded personal information about ICE's critics from Discord, Reddit, Google, and Meta—and at least 3 of those platforms have complied
DHS has issued hundreds of subpoenas to major online platforms to obtain the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of accountholders who criticize ICE.
revolution.social with @rabble
Can you really leave Substack? Substack was built on the promise that creators could leave whenever they wanted, taking their audience & payments with them. Then they built an app, started processing payments through Apple & Google Pay, & now if you leave, you lose everything.
This is a disappointing and reductive take by @prospect.org It's a mistake to think of Substack only when thinking of independently published journalism and analysis.
The American Prospect
At their best, Substacks combine a probing brand of journalism with deep scholarly knowledge and a willingness to express a point of view at a time when many legacy newspapers have become timid and cautious.
