Substack is rolling out the ability for writers to draft and publish new posts directly from their phone via its iOS app, the company announced on Thursday. Until now, users have only been read content through the app. With this update, Substack is catching up with Medium and WordPress’ mobile apps, both of which allow users to draft and publish.
The first version of mobile editor includes text and image publishing functionality. Later versions will include additional features, such as the ability to sync in-app drafts to the web dashboard. While the editor is currently only available on iOS, Substack plans to bring it to Android soon.
The company also plans to add post scheduling and editing functionality to the app, along with the ability to create video and podcast posts.
Substack notes that while it will take some time for the app to match the web editor’s functionality, it believes the simplified version will make it more convenient to write on the go, and could allow writers to share quicker updates between longer posts or give subscribers a peek behind the scenes.
Writers can access the new editor in the app by tapping the orange “plus” button on the home screen and then selecting “Post.” The draft is autosaved while writing, and users can add images and embed options. When they’re finished writing, they can tap the “Next” button and then choose their publish and paywall settings.
Substack says an in-app post editor was one its most requested features for the app, which launched in March 2022. The company says more than 25% of subscriptions originate from the app, and that app users have 50% more paid subscriptions than non-app users.
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