I learned something about Substack today that I don’t think many people know, and should, if you are a subscriber or follower of my newsletter Tierney’s Real News or use the Substack app to follow others. If you use the Substack app, it may be deciding for you (without your knowledge) what you see and what you don’t see. How can that be?
It looks to me like Substack wants to compete with Facebook and X for users with their app (a noble goal) and become more of a scrolling news platform than one primarily used to deliver newsletter content from writers like me to individual users.
I heard from a long-time subscriber today who said she suddenly stopped receiving my email newsletters after 5 years. That concerns me.
I’ve heard this issue before but I’ve been hearing it more often lately. I’ve also been seeing more people “follow” me on the Substack app instead of actually subscribing and receiving my newsletter in their email box. That also concerns me.
Why? Because it is putting control of my newsletter in the hands of Substack - instead of the reader.
My long term email subscriber said she could see there was a “new” newsletter from me in the Substack app but there was no email in her inbox - which is what she wanted.
If that is what you want, that’s fine. But if you don’t, that is a problem, because it takes control away from us and gives it to the provider.
For example, Substack could be bought in the future by a company who decides to limit what we see through the app - just like Facebook and Twitter (X) does and other platforms have done through censorship. Not only could they limit what you see, but because I do not deliver my content directly to you through your inbox, and I don’t know your email address - I have no way of reaching you directly any more.
This happened with Parler, remember? That happens every time we rely on a “platform” to maintain contact with our friends and supporters - instead of doing it ourselves through mail, email or text.
I started this newsletter in 2018 on another platform called WIX and published over 1000 newsletters through email on that platform. I used email specifically to bypass censorship on all social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter (X) and others because they were shadow-banning my work and choosing what people were allowed to see. They were also banning me when they didn’t like my content and the same happened to many of my friends.
When Substack became popular and more functional, I transferred the email addresses of my readers to Substack and started using it the same way as WIX. Substack became my primary editor and email provider. Back then, Substack did NOT have an app and only offered email delivery & a website.
I was able to bring over several of my old posts (maybe 200) from Wix to Substack in 2022 but not all of them (there are transfer limits) so many of my old posts are still sitting in Wix waiting until the day I can figure out how to bring them all over so they be published and made searchable.
I asked Substack why my email newsletters are suddenly not being delivered to all free and paid subscribers (who expect to get them by email) and this is what it said:
When free or paid subscribers download the Substack app, they may be defaulted to "Smart notifications" which primarily sends push notifications through the app instead of emails, and only sends email notifications for posts they've missed if they haven't opened the app in a while. This isn't happening to ALL free and paid subscribers - it only affects those who selected "Smart notifications" or "Prefer push" when setting up the app.
If your subscriber uses the Substack app, they may have their notification preferences set to 'push notifications only' or 'smart notifications,' which stops emails from being sent. Here's how they can fix this:
Open the Substack app
Tap the profile icon in upper-right corner
Tap 'Settings' at bottom
Select 'Notifications'
Update preferences to either 'In email and app' or 'Only in email'
On the Substack iOS and Android app, you can choose to receive push notifications about new posts, receive email newsletters, or receive notifications about new posts both via push and email.
If you're not receiving email newsletters, it's possible that when you downloaded the Substack app, you selected "Smart notifications". With smart notifications, you'll primarily receive push notifications about new posts in the app and may receive email notifications about posts you've missed if you haven't opened the Substack app in a while.
How can I resume email deliveries of new posts from Substacks I'm subscribed to?
If you've stopped receiving emails since downloading the Substack app and would like to resume email delivery, you can change your settings on your desktop or directly on the app itself.
On Android
Tap your profile picture and select Settings. On Settings, tap Notifications and scroll to the Newsletter Delivery section. Tap "Prefer email". New posts will now be delivered via email and can be read directly in your email provider or in Inbox on the Substack app.
On iOS
Tap your profile picture and select Settings. On Settings, tap Notifications and scroll to the Newsletter Delivery section. Tap "Prefer email". New posts will now be delivered via email and can be read directly in your email provider or in Inbox on the Substack app.
On desktop
Head to your Substack account settings page and scroll to the Notifications section. Under Newsletter delivery, select "Only in email".
If you use the Substack app but want to make sure you get my newsletters in your inbox, I suggest you sign up and subscribe with an email address (it’s free) at this link:
https://tierneyrealnewsnetwork.substack.com/subscribe
Then, make sure your preferences are set to receive email.
If you don’t do this, you will be at the whim of another major corporation who can decide which posts you see and which you don’t. We’ve seen how that plays out and it’s NEVER in our favor, folks.
If I had my wish, I would send out my newsletters ONLY through email and text - to make sure people got them and could respond to me directly if they didn’t.
Thank you.
My work is free and supported by your generous donations. Thank you to all who have donated in the past. I truly appreciate your generosity!
If you like my work, you can fund me by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack, donate by credit card here or you can send me a check to Peggy Tierney, PO Box 242, Spooner, Wisconsin 54801. Or just send me a note or a card! I love hearing from you.