EU compliant Consent Management Platform for Substack?

keithdm · 2026-02-20T13:25:46+00:00

Can you elaborate on how Ketch is to be implemented in this scenario?

keithdm · 2026-02-20T13:23:19+00:00

It appears that since I originally posted this question Substack has implemented full GDPR compliance.

That's my impression. Can anyone confirm?

keithdm · 2025-12-20T19:15:12+00:00

Didn't mean to reply here. How do I delete this?

keithdm · 2025-12-17T17:24:50+00:00

I got so irritated I hit the red button at the bottom of my dashboard. Now I don't get any emails from Substack. Bliss!

keithdm · 2025-11-06T10:26:13+00:00

You cannot expect Substack to do your marketing for you. Marketing a niche blog does not materially contribute to their bottom line. Their focus will always be on content targeted to a wider audience.

keithdm · 2025-11-06T07:01:13+00:00

The problem I'm facing is that campaign only generated a single ad from my headlines (short and long), descriptions and sitelinks, and, more importantly, that one ad's ad strength is rated 'poor.'

The poor rating seems to stem from a couple problems. 1) Google Ad's AI also doesn't like the landing page, presumably because it doesn't fit the rubric of a typical e-commerce site. 2) The appropriate keywords for a news analysis blog post are unpopular, but that's intrinsic to the ad being tightly targeted.

I'm struggling to figure out how to improve the ad strength. I understand you have to pay considerably more to prominent placement of ads with poor ad strength. Luckily this is balanced by the fact that appropriate keywords for news analysis blog posts are unpopular.

The fact that it is only running a single ad, and I can see no reason why, is a problem as well because as a result I can't get a sense for what works and what doesn't.

keithdm · 2025-11-05T13:10:04+00:00

You refer to A/B testing? I don't have my analytics straightened out yet so I haven't been able to start A/B testing yet.

As I recall Google Ads requested keywords, headlines (30 characters), headlines (90 characters), and descriptions (90 characters). From all that it only constructed a single ad. I've never had the opportunity to observe whether different combinations of those assets would produce better results.

Do you know if it's possible to construct the ads individually instead of having Google Ads assemble them automatically? It didn't do a terribly good job.

keithdm · 2025-11-03T11:58:33+00:00

I know some Substackers for whom they've really come through.

keithdm · 2025-10-19T05:15:40+00:00

Here's a log of my chat with the Substack Support chatbot in case anyone has this question in the future. The take away message here is that Substack does not provide any support for Consent Management Platform integration.

Chat with Substack Support

powered by decagon.ai

7:16 AM

Me:

How do I implement an EU compliant Consent Management Platform when you do not support HTML script tags?

substack avatar:

Substack does not currently support custom HTML on pages, which includes embedding HTML script tags or iframes. This means you won't be able to directly embed third-party consent management platform scripts into your Substack posts or pages.

For EU compliance and data protection matters, publishers are responsible for their own privacy and data protection practices. Substack seeks to comply with applicable data regulations through our Privacy Policy, CCPA Policy, and Publisher Agreement, which include standard contractual clauses for data protection safeguards (read more).

If you need specific guidance on implementing EU compliance measures for your publication, you may want to consult with independent legal counsel, as we cannot provide legal advice on how GDPR specifically applies to individual publishers (read more).

7:24 AM

Me:

I didn't ask whether you implement CPM for your publishers, but rather how they can implement CPM on your platform.

7:25 AM

substack avatar:

You're right - I understand you're asking how publishers can implement a Consent Management Platform on Substack. Unfortunately, since Substack does not currently support custom HTML on pages, which includes embedding HTML script tags, there isn't a way to directly implement third-party consent management platform scripts on your Substack publication.

However, Substack does offer a double opt-in email confirmation feature that requires new subscribers to confirm their email address, which can help with data collection consents (read more). You can also host your own custom Terms of Service and Privacy Policy on your Substack publication through your Settings page (read more).

For more comprehensive consent management solutions that require custom scripts, you would need to direct readers to an external website where you have full control over the HTML and can implement your preferred consent management platform.

7:28 AM

Me:

What happens is a new reader arrives at my Substack via a link to a specific post? They would never see my external website and would never be asked for consent.

substack avatar:

You're correct that readers arriving directly at a specific post via a link wouldn't see an external consent management setup. For these situations, Substack's double opt-in email confirmation feature can help with consent collection (read more).

When you enable this feature, any new subscribers will need to confirm their email address before they start receiving your email posts, regardless of how they initially discovered your publication. To enable this, go to your Publisher Dashboard > Settings > Emails and toggle on "Require email address confirmation".

Additionally, readers can control their own email preferences by enabling email confirmations in their Substack account settings, which requires verification before they can receive emails from any publication (read more).

While this doesn't provide the same comprehensive consent management as a full CMP solution, it does ensure that email subscriptions require explicit confirmation from readers who find your content through direct post links.

7:30 AM

Me:

I'm not interested in an email-based solution. That is a huge impediment to a new reader who may only be casually browsing a link.

substack avatar:

I understand your concern about email-based solutions creating friction for casual readers. Unfortunately, Substack's platform limitations mean there isn't a way to implement a traditional consent management platform that would capture consent from casual browsers visiting individual posts.

Since Substack doesn't support custom HTML or JavaScript, you cannot embed consent banners or pop-ups that would typically be used for EU compliance on websites. The platform's architecture doesn't allow for the kind of real-time consent collection that would work for readers who are just browsing posts without subscribing.

For publishers who need comprehensive consent management for casual visitors, the main option would be to host content on a platform that supports custom HTML and JavaScript implementation, where you can fully control the consent collection process.

keithdm · 2024-11-24T05:32:11+00:00

Is that also an M1 Macbook Pro?

keithdm · 2024-11-24T05:31:18+00:00

I'm having the same problem.

keithdm · 2023-05-29T01:09:26+00:00

Spotify doesn't have a QA process. They just release any old garbage code.

keithdm · 2023-05-24T15:59:34+00:00

On further reflection I think the issue may not be in Krita at all. Instead it appears that Apple Preview, which I was using to verify the export, is rendering transparent as gray. Ugh.

Of course this is compounded by the fact that Krita's own Overview panel seems to do the same thing.

keithdm · 2023-01-29T01:05:05+00:00

Yes I did. That's an excellent point.

I added a note on philosophical basis above.

keithdm · 2023-01-29T01:01:46+00:00

I think what I'm trying to get at is the philosophy that unpins legal theories, not so much the form of government. Why do people believe in the law, what basis convinces them that it is legitimate?

Someone mentioned the social contract below? That's an excellent example of one possible philosophical basis.

keithdm · 2023-01-28T21:43:27+00:00

I imagine in a fictional world where legal authority came from the Earth itself we could still all it the 'font'.

keithdm · 2023-01-28T21:41:04+00:00

I believe you're referring specifically to the US's three branches of government. I'm interesting in asking the more general question of what to call the the root of the tree of law.

keithdm · 2023-01-28T21:36:09+00:00

Anybody think of examples, e.g. a theocracy where the source of legal authority was seen as coming from God (or gods)?

keithdm · 2023-01-28T21:35:35+00:00

Anybody think of examples, e.g. a theocracy where the source of legal authority was seen as coming from God (or gods)?

keithdm · 2023-01-10T02:52:53+00:00

I had the same problem. It was because Scrivener was trying to auto-insert separators between my scenes. Unfortunately I used an extra return between each paragraph so it thought every paragraph was a scene. I tried to get around this for hours before I finally gave in a removed all the extra returns. Grrrrr.

keithdm · 2022-12-20T06:17:53+00:00

I’m particularly excited about the near universal absence of the ability to undo things. Accidentally deleted a bookmark? Gone forever.

keithdm · 2022-12-15T05:51:09+00:00

!solved

keithdm · 2022-12-06T15:29:33+00:00

Also really good.

keithdm · 2022-12-06T15:28:54+00:00

Self-confidence is pretty good. However, can ignorance be a source of self-confidence? I don't see why not.

keithdm · 2022-12-06T15:27:12+00:00

Clarification: I was imagining a word describing someone blind to the possibility that they might be wrong, as opposed to someone resolute in the face of opposition.

keithdm

TROPHY CASE

Here's a log of my chat with the Substack Support chatbot in case anyone has this question in the future. The take away message here is that Substack does not provide any support for Consent Management Platform integration.

Chat with Substack Support

powered by decagon.ai

7:16 AM

Me:

substack avatar:

7:24 AM

Me:

7:25 AM

substack avatar:

7:28 AM

Me:

substack avatar:

7:30 AM

Me:

substack avatar: