UpScrolled Sees 2,850% Surge After TikTok Changes

When people want a fresh start online, they vote with their downloads.

UpScrolled, a social media platform promising transparency and user control, saw downloads skyrocket by 2,850% after TikTok's ownership change last week. The app added 41,000 new users between Thursday and Saturday alone, nearly one-third of its total lifetime installs.

The timing tells a story. As TikTok's new ownership structure raised questions about content policies and privacy, users started searching for alternatives that put them first.

Founded last year by Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian technologist Issam Hijazi, UpScrolled blends familiar features from Instagram and X. Users can share photos, videos, and text posts while discovering new content and connecting through direct messages.

The app now ranks 12th overall in Apple's App Store and second in social networking. Of its 140,000 total downloads, 75,000 came from American users looking for something different.

What makes UpScrolled stand out is its promise. The platform pledges to avoid shadowbanning and give every post a fair chance to be seen, regardless of political views or outside pressures.

"UpScrolled is the foundation for a digital ecosystem that puts power back into the hands of the people, not the corporations," Hijazi said. His team describes the app as a space where creators and communities can thrive independently with real transparency.

The sudden growth pushed the small team to their limits. "Well, this is new. You showed up so fast our servers tapped out," the company posted on X, acknowledging the frustration while working around the clock to scale up.

Why This Inspires

This surge shows something powerful: people care about who controls their digital spaces. When given the choice, thousands are picking platforms that promise openness over size, transparency over algorithms, and user control over corporate agendas.

The movement goes beyond one app. Skylight, another TikTok alternative built on open source technology, has topped 380,000 sign-ups and continues growing.

These aren't just downloads. They're votes for a different vision of social media, one where users come first and transparency isn't optional.

Small teams are building what many thought impossible: real alternatives that put people over profits.