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Plain-English summary
Substack's terms include mandatory arbitration and a class action waiver, meaning disputes must be settled individually through arbitration in San Francisco, California. The company has limited liability, capping potential damages at $100 or the amount you paid in the last 12 months. Substack operates on an "as-is" basis with no warranties, and can remove your content or terminate your account at its discretion, sometimes without notice. Furthermore, you are solely responsible for content you post and for interactions with other users or third parties, releasing Substack from liability in such disputes.
90% confidence
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Risk Flags
4 findings
These are the most critical potential harms to be aware of, all of which are explicitly stated in the policy.
medium90% confidence
Broad Indemnification Clause
You agree to indemnify and hold Substack harmless from claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses arising from your use of Substack or violation of the Terms.
Why it matters: You are responsible for covering legal costs and damages incurred by Substack if a third party makes a claim related to your use of Substack or your violation of the terms.
To the fullest extent allowed by applicable law, you agree to indemnify and hold Substack, its affiliates, officers, agents, employees, and partners harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages (actual and consequential), losses and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising from or in any way related to any third party claims relating to (a) your use of Substack (including any actions taken by a third party using your account), and (b) your violation of these Terms.
Why it matters: Substack's maximum liability for any damages is either $100 or the amount you paid them in the past year, whichever is greater, potentially limiting your ability to recover significant losses.
Any amount, in the aggregate, in excess of the greater of (1) $100 or (2) the amounts paid and/or payable by you to us in connection with Substack in the twelve-month period preceding the applicable claim.
Posting Content on Substack, paragraph 18 · Citation strength: strong
medium90% confidence
Disclaimer of Warranties
Substack is provided "as-is" without any express or implied warranties, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or that the service will be uninterrupted or error-free.
Why it matters: Substack does not guarantee that its service will work without errors or interruptions, or that it will meet any specific purpose, meaning you use the service at your own risk regarding its functionality and quality.
Substack is provided to you on an “as-is” basis. This means we provide it to you without any express or implied warranties of any kind. That includes any implied warranties of merchantability, warranties of fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or any warranty that the use of Substack will be uninterrupted or error-free.
Posting Content on Substack, paragraph 19 · Citation strength: strong
medium90% confidence
Service Termination Without Notice
Substack reserves the right to remove any content from the service at any time, for any reason, in its sole discretion, and without notice.
Why it matters: Your content can be removed from Substack at any time, for any reason, without prior warning, potentially leading to the loss of your published material.
We reserve the right to remove any content from Substack at any time, for any reason (including, but not limited to, if someone alleges you contributed that content in violation of these Terms), in our sole discretion, and without notice.
Posting Content on Substack, paragraph 6 · Citation strength: strong
Data Use
All clear
How the company collects, uses, and shares your data.
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Cancellation and Renewal
3 findings
Details about how your subscription can be canceled or renewed.
medium90% confidence
Account Termination at Substack's Discretion
Substack is free to terminate (or suspend access to) your use of Substack, or your account, for any reason at its discretion.
Why it matters: Substack can terminate or suspend your account and access to its services at any time, for any reason, based solely on its own judgment.
Substack is free to terminate (or suspend access to) your use of Substack, or your account, for any reason at our discretion.
Terminating Your Account, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
medium90% confidence
Account Termination Without Notice
Substack may not provide advance notice before terminating your account if it determines it would be impractical, illegal, not in someone's safety interest, or otherwise harmful to Substack's rights or property.
Why it matters: Substack may terminate your account without giving you prior notice, especially if they deem it impractical or harmful to their interests, potentially leaving you unable to retrieve your content.
We will try to provide advance notice to you prior to our terminating your account so that you are able to retrieve any important Posts you may have uploaded to your account, but we may not do so if we determine it would be impractical, illegal, not in the interest of someone’s safety or security, or otherwise harmful to the rights or property of Substack.
Terminating Your Account, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
medium90% confidence
Survival of Obligations After Termination
Certain obligations, such as payment, indemnification, limitations on liability, intellectual property rights, and dispute terms, will remain in force even after your account is terminated.
Why it matters: Even after you terminate your account, you will still be bound by specific obligations, including financial responsibilities and agreements regarding disputes or intellectual property.
All of the following terms will survive termination: any obligation you have to pay us or indemnify us, any limitations on our liability, any terms regarding ownership or intellectual property rights, terms regarding disputes between us, and any other terms that, by their nature, should survive termination of these Terms.
Terminating Your Account, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
Gotchas
1 finding
Terms that are non-obvious or require close inspection.
medium90% confidence
Disclaimer of Responsibility for User Interactions and Third Parties
Substack is not responsible for your interactions with other users or third parties, including payments for Creator publications, and cannot guarantee user identity.
Why it matters: Substack will not be held responsible for any issues, damages, or losses that arise from your interactions with other users or third-party services, including financial transactions.
Other Users on Substack: Your interactions with organizations and individuals found on or through Substack, including payment for Creator publications, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such organizations and individuals. You agree that Substack shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings. We can’t guarantee the identity of any users with access to Substack and are not responsible for which users gain access to our products and services.
Posting Content on Substack, paragraph 15 · Citation strength: strong
Protections
2 findings
These are explicit commitments the company makes to safeguard user rights and privacy.
Protection95% confidence
User Ownership of Created Content
You own what you create; any original content you post, upload, share, store, or otherwise provide to Substack remains yours and is protected by copyright and other applicable intellectual property laws.
Why it helps: This clause confirms that you retain full ownership and intellectual property rights over the original content you create and share on Substack, ensuring your work remains yours.
First and foremost, you own what you create. Any original content you post, upload, share, store, or otherwise provide to Substack remains yours and is protected by copyright and any other applicable intellectual property laws.
Posting Content on Substack, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
Protection95% confidence
Non-Collection of Personal Information from Children Under 16
Substack does not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifiable information from children under 16.
Why it helps: This commitment helps protect the privacy of children by explicitly stating that Substack does not intentionally collect personal data from users under 16.
We do not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifiable information from children under 16; if you are a child under 16, please do not attempt to register for Substack or send any personal information about yourself to us.
Privacy on Substack, paragraph 1 · Citation strength: strong
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