Substack releases Twitter-like Notes feature for all users

Newsletter platform Substack has released its Notes feature for all users. This Twitter-like feature lets users share short messages with each other. The company announced the feature last week and will make it available “soon”.

Substack Notes has been available to everyone since Tuesday, writes the company in a blog post. This gives users access to a new platform where they can “publish and share short messages with other writers and readers.” The function is reminiscent of Twitter in terms of structure and concept. In addition to text, users can also share URLs, images, and excerpts from Substack newsletters. However, it is not possible to share videos on the platform.

There is no character limit when publishing Notes messages. Users can add up to six images and gifs to a note. Messages published through Notes do not end up in the inboxes of subscribers to a Substack newsletter, but are only viewable on Substack itself; the feature will be available in a separate tab in the Substack app and website. Two feeds will become available: ‘home’ and ‘subscribed’. The former contains posts from writers to whom users have subscribed, in addition to “recommended” posts. ‘Subscribed’ only shows messages from newsletter writers to which the user is subscribed.

Substack says it has been testing its Notes feature with a limited number of users in recent weeks. The company expects the feature to have “bumps, bugs and imperfections” and that the feature will “develop rapidly in response to feedback.” Notes should make it easier for writers to find new subscribers for their newsletter.

The company announced Notes last week. The company said at the time that the feature would be available soon. Soon after, interaction with Substack posts was blocked on Twitter. Twitter users could not reply to, retweet, like or bookmark such tweets. That block has now been lifted. Twitter owner Elon Musk claimed last week that Substack “tried to download a large chunk of the Twitter database” for the Notes feature, but did not share any further evidence. Substack denies Musk’s message.