Substack updated its app to make it even more like TikTok

Substack is taking one more step towards becoming an all-in-one social media / creator platform by adding a vertical video feed to its app. Technically, the new TikTok-style feed is a redesign of the existing Media tab that the company added to the app in 2024, but either way Substack’s intentions are clear: It wants a piece of the short-video pie currently being shared by Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

The feed features scrollable videos from creators you’re subscribed to and others that have been algorithmically suggested. Multiple forms of short-form content can be included, like videos posted through Substack Notes, the company’s Twitter-esque microblogging feature, clips from longer video posts and eventually previews of podcasts.

Adding multimedia features like podcasts and videos has been a boon to creators, according to Substack. The company says that “82% of Substack’s top-earning writers are using multimedia, up from just over 50% last April.” Supporting short-form videos is an attempt to push things even further.

Substack added support for native video in 2022, expanded those features in 2023 and more recently, gave creators the ability to host live video streams in 2024. The company has been pretty upfront that it views Substack as a home for more than just newsletters, and it’s been trying to court TikTok creators specifically since at least 2024.

Redesigning the Substack app gives subscribers a new way to find creators to follow, and makes the platform a better home for a whole new type of creator. The timing of Substack’s change is purposeful. The extra breathing room President Trump gave TikTok by not enforcing the app’s ban is supposed to end in April, meaning there could be room for alternative vertical video apps.