Does Substack Detect Ad Blockers? What You Need to Know

For content creators, especially those looking for an alternative to Google AdSense, Substack is emerging as a potential platform. However, a common question is: Can Substack detect ad blockers, and how does this affect revenue? This post will help you understand how Substack handles ad blockers, the impact on monetization, and how tools like Hidemium can support effective account management, ensuring stable revenue.

1. What does Substack bring to content creators?

Substack is the ideal platform for writers, bloggers, and independent content creators. Although its primary model is subscription-based, advertising still plays a significant role in generating income.

• Revenue from reader subscriptions: Substack allows you to monetize directly through paid subscriptions. This allows you to not rely entirely on ads – especially useful if your readers use ad blockers.

• Increase engagement with niche audiences: Quality, targeted content helps build a loyal audience – people who are willing to spend money to support you.

• Diversify your income sources: In addition to advertising, Substack offers paid newsletters, premium content, and other monetization tools. Leveraging these features effectively can help you expand your revenue channels sustainably.

However, ad blockers like uBlock Origin or Adblock Plus can block third-party scripts from running, preventing Substack from serving ads and reducing its ability to monetize free content. To combat this, Substack — like many other platforms — has developed techniques to detect ad blockers in order to optimize display and revenue.

>>> Learn more: Ad Blocking Extensions: Which is the Best Choice in 2025?

2. How does Substack detect ad blockers and how does it affect earnings?

Like many platforms that rely on advertising revenue, Substack also equipped with a detection system when the user is using its ad blocker. This mechanism allows the platform to identify ad blocking behavior, thereby proactively adjusting the way content is distributed and protecting revenue for advertisers creator.

Using ad blockers can prevent ads from showing, leading to a significant loss in impression and engagement revenue. To remedy this, Substack may suggest users upgrade their account, sign up for a paid newsletter or get access to exclusive content.

If you are someone who is generating income through platforms like Google Adsense, you might be wondering: Can Substack detect ad blockers? How does this affect your ability to monetize? In this article, we'll break down how Substack handles ad blockers, and introduce Hidemium tool– a solution to support multi-account management, optimize operations and maintain stable revenue for creators.

>>> Learn more: How to Unblock YouTube Using Proxy

3. Benefits of Substack for Publishers

Substack is a prominent platform for independent writers and content creators, especially popular for its subscription-based model of high-quality content. In addition to revenue from subscribers, Substack also allows creators to earn revenue from third-party advertising – especially useful for free content to reach a larger audience.

Here are ways publishers can leverage Substack to optimize revenue:

• Earn money from subscribers: Substack allows creators to charge readers directly through paid subscriptions. This reduces your reliance on advertising and keeps your income steady, even if users use ad blockers.

• Building a community of loyal readers: By creating valuable and relevant content for your target audience, you can develop a community of loyal subscribers who are willing to pay for exclusive, in-depth content.

• Diversify your income sources: Substack offers a variety of monetization tools beyond advertising, such as paid newsletters, premium content, or membership programs. Tapping into these features will help you diversify your revenue streams and grow your personal brand sustainably.

However, it’s important to note that the effectiveness of ads on Substack can be limited if readers use ad blockers like uBlock Origin or Adblock Plus. These tools block third-party ad scripts, making it difficult for the platform to display ads. So, like many other platforms, Substack has implemented measures to detect and deal with users who block ads, in order to ensure revenue from free content.

>>> Learn more: What is AdGuard DNS? How to configure AdGuard DNS on any device

4. Learn about Ad Blocker Detection on Substack

Similar to many platforms that rely on advertising revenue, Substack also implements mechanisms to detect users using Ad Blocker. These techniques help the platform identify and address the negative impact of ad blocking, which directly impacts creators’ income. When Substack detects that a user is blocking ads, it can adjust its content distribution strategy or suggest alternative monetization methods, such as paid subscriptions or upgrades to premium content.

4.1. How does Substack detect ad blockers?

Substack uses a variety of methods to detect ad blocking, including:

• Bait Elements: Substack can add hidden HTML elements commonly used in ads. If these elements are blocked, the platform will determine that Ad Blocker is active.

• Script Monitoring: The system monitors ad script loading. If it is blocked, Substack will flag the user as using a blocker.

• User behavior analysis: If the browsing behavior does not match standard interaction patterns (e.g. no ads are shown), the system suspects Ad Blocker interference.

While ad blockers improve the user experience, they disrupt the revenue stream from advertising on Substack — especially if creators use Google AdSense or Substack's own native advertising system.

4.2. How does Substack react when it detects ad blockers?

When Substack detects that a user has an Ad Blocker enabled, it may take a number of actions, including:

• Restricted access to content: Some articles or features may be restricted to users using blockers.

• Request to disable Ad Blocker: The platform may display a message asking users to disable their ad blocker to continue reading the content.

For publishers, this means that some of their readers may not be able to view the content, leading to reduced potential revenue and limits the ability to expand advertising monetization channels.

5. How does Antidetect Browser Hidemium support publishers on Substack?

Users’ use of ad blockers can directly impact their ability to monetize on Substack. While the platform has mechanisms in place to detect ad blockers, users can still bypass them by installing multiple layers of blocking. To protect their revenue, creators should consider using Hidemium antidetect browser – a tool to help manage multiple Substack accounts safely and efficiently.

Hidemium allows creating multiple independent browser profiles, each profile carries a unique browser fingerprint, making it difficult for systems to detect or link accounts. This is especially useful for publishers, allowing you to experiment with content, split your business strategies, and expand your revenue streams without risking flagging.

Hidemium's key benefits for Substack publishers:

• Experiment with flexible content strategies: You can create multiple profiles to test different topics, writing styles, and customer files without worrying about being marked as a duplicate account.

• Multi-Business Model Management: If you develop multiple channels or forms of income at the same time, Hidemium helps you separate each project, ensuring operational efficiency and enhancing security.

• Optimize your income: With the ability to operate multiple accounts at the same time, you can easily deploy different forms of monetization such as advertising, paid subscriptions, premium content... without being limited or affecting the main account.

Integrating Hidemium into your workflow not only protects your income, but also expands your flexibility and adaptability in today's competitive digital content environment. It's a powerful solution that makes working on Substack a breeze safe, effective and sustainable.

6. Conclusion

Substack is an ideal platform for publishers and creators looking to monetize quality content. However, barriers from ad blockers can limit your ability to generate revenue. Fortunately, with the help of tools like Hidemium, you can easily manage multiple accounts, deploy a variety of money-making strategies without interruption. Taking advantage of the right tools and the right direction, you can completely succeed on Substack and build stable, long-term revenue.