Substack

Ben L

2 years ago

I used to like the app, but a recent update has made it so links are automatically shortened. This cuts off sentences mid-word, sometimes multiple times per post. This is completely unacceptable, and needs to be fixed immediately. If the author wanted to make the link shorter, they would have written their post that way. EDIT The issue with the links has been resolved!

Nathaniel Hamovitz

2 years ago

Lots of good writers and a p decent interface for reading! Update: recently running into a weird behavior where the anchor text for hyperlinks is truncated if it's more than a few words, with an ellipse at the end. Many of the writers I like cite quotes by making all or most of the text a link to the source, which makes this behavior very jarring. Wish this would not happen! Also, I appreciate having both Archive and Save functionality, but I wish the distinction was explained somewhere.

Tiara Stoltenberg

2 years ago

I'm quite fond of the platform. It's easy to use, easy to navigate, and simple to learn. My two pieces of feedback are 1.) I would love the ability to write posts directly on the app. Not toggling to the desktop browser. 2.) On first installing /subscribing, if you click several people you might be interested in following, your email is flooded horribly with all their welcome emails. Maybe make it Opt-in to email notifications, rather than Opt-out. Took me a solid hour or more to sort it out.

Scott Kurtzeborn

2 years ago

I installed this after subscribing to my first substack. The experience is okay if all you want to do is read the article. In many other ways, the mobile browser experience on your phone is better. For example, if you're going back to an article you already read, there's no "find in page" search option!? This seems like a basic thing in an article reading app.

Benjamin Carnes

2 years ago

Some gripes, but the potential is there So I only have one channel follow, but he's got great content I'm looking for, His videos run 5 to 20min depending on the day. My biggest issue is if I pause and "alt tab" to another app I can't get the video to resume, I have to close the app and go back to it. The next issue is, there is no Fullscreen option on the videos? That's absolutely Unacceptable and really negatively impacts the information I'm trying to gather. And videos let screen to time out

Steven K

2 years ago

It would be great if there was an option to mark an article as unread. Sometimes I scroll through an article to see how long it is before reading it, but then it gets marked as read. Sometimes the app can lag quite a bit and be unresponsive. Overall, I really appreciate what Substack stands for an how it enables open discussion that is being crushed elsewhere.

Luke Andersen

2 years ago

I think the app is a bit undercooked for a service that otherwise has been a godsend for writers, and readers of writers, alike. The content on here is great, but two pretty critical things are missing from this app. First, there is no ability to adjust font size, which is crucial for accessibility, and it just helps with eye strain on higher resolutions. Second, not being able to work on your drafts in the app itself, instead having to use a browser, can be a real pain.

B. H.

1 year ago

After entering replying on email, entering the name, got to notification... it got frozen. After several attempts, the same page opened & and is still frozen. Is this a paid app? On Google Play under the name, it doesn't mention it is the subscription app,but on the Q & A page, when first opened the page, it says it. Disappointed? Yes! Uninstalling it? Yes! Why not mention it? It is a subscription. Do not install if you can't afford it. The truth.

geekgurl2000

1 year ago

I love Substack for content. However, both the app and site drive me batty. As i scroll while reading, the top and bottom expand down as if it was a Flash-based menu, obscuring the text. If I could turn it off, it would be ok, but we can't. The constant jumping of the top and bottom inch and a half of the phone screen is extremely distracting. I also realize I'm a digital hoarder, so I tried turning off emails, but then somehow, I don't get app notifications for everything.

Googoo Wei

1 year ago

Love the content, but the navigation is queasy. I get a notification that someone liked my comment; okay; I click the notification; in the ensuing screen, all I see is the comment, not even a [back arrow] to the original article. Also, the writer/publication duality can render things confusing for the readers. Most writers only write the one thing, and most readers don't think the way the app-makers have envisioned it. Can we not have a HOME button?

Celestial Rae

1 year ago

It has the potential to be great, but it keeps buffering on me when I try to post or save a profile bio. It rarely works. Also, the UI needs to be improved, or rather, you need better sorting options. I can't look back at previous posts to see if anyone had also responded to a post, like I do on reddit. I like that this seems to be geared towards authors. I just wish the app would be improved. I'll change my rating if they fix it.

Kevin Fontenot

1 year ago

Updated 4/21/24. Continues w/ no fix. Wont transition from webpage to app anymore. Takes me to the play store download for the app instead of opening the existing app. Once its opened from playstore, it doesnt open the original post article. Failure to continue the waterfall effect. Also, in app "search" index for posts is useless.

John Brownson

1 year ago

Tried many times to create a handle. Unable to do so. Keep getting message "only letters and numbers", which is what I'm doing. Tried different combinations, upper and lower case, different numbers, etc. No go. Sorry. Looks like a great app, but not ready for prime time.

Andrew Gilreath

1 year ago

The world's in dire need of independent, unbiased, decimination of news. This app has the potential to be a game changer. However, they have a lot of work to do. Nothing is intuitive. it's difficult to sort publications or save articles in lists. I've deleted it several times for the email/push notifications, alone. After learning a workaround, I've finally gotten that in check. Most importantly, there is a wealth of great content. Please make it easier to agrigate this wonderful content.

Ben Hong

1 year ago

I paid for 1 year plan. I canceled auto-renew. It just cancelled the subscription. I tried emailing, but didn't get any response. So I filed a charge-back. Substack team sends bunch of logs to credit card company and now I lost the dispute. I didn't have access to any of the paid content. I just kept reading free content. What is this? I can't reach out to anyone. AI bot keeps saying it can't do anything. What is this?

Jeff Damens

1 year ago

Substandard experience compared to viewing in a browser or email. You can't pinch zoom to increase the size of text or images in posts; graphics which would I could expand to be readable in a browser are completely illegible in the app. I'm using the app because I was forced to: several authors I subscribe to have begun sending "free" posts which come with an email preview, but in order to see the entire post I have to use the app.

Dalitso Banda

1 year ago

I love the app. They are always adding new features that are pretty neat. However, sometimes they are A few kinks in the use experience. For example, sometimes if you highlight a piece of text, but you don't want to copy it or restack it, you cannot escape the highlight until you copy or restack it. I find this a little annoying. The app also crashes sometimes if you're on it for too long. But other than that, it's a pretty nice idea.