TikTok competitor UpScrolled has surged up Apple’s App Retailer rankings after customers started turning to the brand new platform en masse. In keeping with social media sentiment, many are on the hunt for options to TikTok after new U.S. homeowners had been formally instated this week, with anticipated algorithm adjustments elevating questions on what content material American TikTok customers might be proven.
UpScrolled unexpectedly climbed to the high 10 in Apple’s U.S., UK, and Australian App Shops on Sunday, with and is now the second ranked free app within the former two — whereas TikTok is not even breaking the highest 25.
The App Retailer charts on the time of writing.
Credit score: Mashable screenshot / App Retailer
The app’s inflow of recent customers overwhelmed its servers over the weekend. “Loopy load on our servers. So thrilling!” UpScrolled founder and CEO Issam Hijazi posted on the platform on Sunday. “Sorry concerning the errors and glitches, we’re rising our capability to deal with the load. We anticipate issues to turn into extra steady within the subsequent 12-24 hours.”
Credit score: Mashable screenshot / UpScrolled
Launched in 2025 by Hijazi as an different to social media platforms reminiscent of TikTok and Instagram, UpScrolled permits customers to share photographs, movies, and textual content posts, and includes a chronological feed for accounts you comply with. There’s additionally a uncover feed, which UpScrolled says orders content material by likes, feedback, and reshares, “plus a contact of randomness to make sure each submit nonetheless has an opportunity to be seen.”
The platform has said it’s growing extra feeds which can use AI to advocate content material primarily based in your previous behaviour. Nonetheless, UpScrolled claims that such options might be “opt-in, honest, and clear” in how they function.
TikTok deal provides new U.S. homeowners. This is what this implies for customers.
“We exist to place equity again on the middle of social media. Each voice deserves actual attain and equal therapy. No shadowbans, no hidden throttling, no pay-to-play favoritism — ever,” UpScrolled’s mission assertion reads. “We do not push agendas — political, business, or in any other case. Our guidelines are clear and utilized evenly. Our rating is explainable, our choices accountable, and affect comes with duty.”
Mashable Pattern Report
So, why are customers flocking to UpScrolled?
The curiosity in UpScrolled notably follows TikTok’s announcement final Friday that its U.S. operations have been taken over by a brand new, majority American-owned three way partnership. TikTok’s new U.S. possession has raised fears concerning censorship on the platform, which was compounded by an outage concern that swiftly adopted the change of palms.
Notably, U.S. lawmakers beforehand accused TikTok of pushing pro-Palestinian content material to customers, citing this as considered one of their causes for supporting the app’s ban within the nation. TikTok’s new homeowners, TikTok USDS Joint Enterprise LLC, have said they are going to retrain and replace its advice algorithm, and take management of U.S. content material moderation.
Meta’s censorship of Palestine content material is ‘systemic,’ Human Rights Watch finds
Some TikTok customers have additionally expressed privateness issues concerning comparatively minor adjustments to TikTok’s phrases of service, which now state that the app might acquire exact location information until you choose out. Even so, many individuals transferring to UpScrolled, who’re posting about it on-line, have cited different platforms’ alleged censorship of pro-Palestinian content material as the explanation, with some additional claiming suppression of anti-ICE sentiments. TikTok itself has stated it is investigating claims of the phrase “Epstein” disappearing in direct messages, however stated it wasn’t intentionally censoring the title of the convicted little one intercourse offender.
UpScrolled founder Hijazi has expressed unequivocal assist for Palestine, creating the app in late 2023 as a response to on-line discourse and “selective censorship” on social media platforms. Headquartered in Australia, the app was formally launched in mid-2025 and lists pro-Palestinian organisations reminiscent of Tech for Palestine and Watermelon Photos amongst its companions. Hijazi himself is Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian, and has voiced concern about censorship of pro-Palestinian content material by huge tech corporations.
“Larry Ellison, the proprietor of Oracle, is the largest contributor to the Buddies [of the Israeli Defence Force] charity,” Hijazi stated, talking at ArabCon 2025 final September. “And that tells you one thing. If that individual, who’s mates with [Israeli prime minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel basically goes to personal 80 % of TikTok transferring on, and if Netanyahu himself is saying the significance of utilising TikTok and X to unfold their narrative, that tells you plenty of issues.”
Oracle is considered one of TikTok’s new homeowners within the U.S., holding a 15 % share within the three way partnership, whereas its government vice chairman Kenneth Glueck sits on the board of administrators. It’s additionally accountable for storing and securing U.S. TikTok customers’ information.
As such, many TikTok customers who assist Palestine now take into account UpScrolled to be a lovely different.
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The sudden surge of curiosity in UpScrolled is paying homage to the X customers’ seek for options reminiscent of BlueSky after Elon Musk took management of the microblogging platform in late 2022. 1000’s of customers fled X within the following months, tanking the app’s income as advertisers left as nicely. Extra lately, many TikTok customers turned to Rednote, aka Xiaohongshu, when it seemed as if a U.S. ban can be put in place.
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