eSAFETY GUIDE

Substack

16+
Minimum age according to Substack
16+ Minimum age according to Substack

What is Substack?

Substack is an online publishing platform for writers, journalists and content creators. Creators can post articles, newsletters, videos, podcasts and other types of content. They can choose to offer their content for free or charge a subscription.

On Substack, there is a home feed you can scroll through, similar to a social media feed. The feed shows previews of creators’ published content, which you can select to open and view in full. The feed also includes ‘Notes’, which are short posts with text, images or videos, similar to posts on social media platforms like X and Bluesky. You can like, comment and ‘restack’ content. You can browse your feed using the ‘Following’ tab to see content from people you follow, or the ‘For you’ tab to see content and creators recommended by Substack. You can also direct message other users, and creators can host private chats with their subscribers.

There are different ways to keep up with a creator on Substack:

  • Follow – their activity and Notes appear in your Substack feed.
  • Subscribe for free – you receive their free posts by email and see them in Substack.
  • Paid subscription – you pay the creator to access content they have made available to paid subscribers. You receive these posts by email and see them in Substack.

It is free to publish content on Substack. Creators who offer paid subscriptions earn money from their subscribers. For each post, creators can choose whether it is available to everyone or only to paid subscribers. As a creator you own the copyright for your work. The platform keeps a percentage of your earnings to meet operational costs, such as managing the payment system.

Substack has a hands-off approach to censorship and content moderation, but has guidelines against porn, hate speech and harassment.

Substack is owned by Substack Inc and operated out of San Francisco in the United States.

Website: substack.com
Apps: Android app, Apple iOS app

How do people use Substack?

Learn more about the benefits and risks associated with how people use online publishing platforms like Substack.

Substack is used for: content creation, in-app purchasing, live streaming, messaging/online chat, photo/video sharing and screen capture.

How can you report online abuse, ask for content to be removed or block someone?

These links are provided by Substack:

How can you moderate comments and tagging?

This link is provided by Substack:

How can you protect your personal information?

These links are provided by Substack:

Key safety links

These links are provided by Substack:

  • Help centre
    Help and support topics on using Substack.  
  • Content guidelines
    The types of content and behaviour that are allowed on Substack.  
  • Terms of use
    Your rights and obligations when using Substack as a content creator and as a reader or subscriber.

Related eSafety links

Find other resources to help keep you safe online:

Other eSafety Guides:

About this Guide

This guide is provided by the eSafety Commissioner to help people stay safe online and better understand digital platforms.

Social media changes

From 10 December 2025, certain social media platforms are not allowed to let Australian children under 16 create or keep an account.

Find out more at eSafety’s social media age restrictions hub.

About The eSafety Guide

The eSafety Guide helps you find out how to protect your personal information and report harmful content on common social media, games, apps and sites. Entries are for information only and are not reviews, endorsements or assessments against any legislative definition by eSafety. Before choosing to use any online service or platform it’s best to:

  • do your own research to understand the risks and benefits
  • check the age rating and requirements
  • consider privacy
  • check the permissions and other settings
  • check the in-app reporting options.

If you are a parent or carer who is deciding whether a child should be allowed to use an online service or platform, you can also:

  • consider your child's readiness for the types of content and experiences they might encounter
  • help them understand what to do if they need help
  • provide ongoing support and monitoring, for example through regular check-ins with your child
  • agree to some rules about use of each service or platform.

To find out more, you can read the App checklist for parents, as well as information about parental controls in social media, games and apps and mental wellbeing resources for families.