A new social media app called UpScrolled is rapidly climbing the charts as frustrated TikTok users search for alternatives amid renewed fears of political suppression.
Marketed as a platform with "no shadowbans" and no data sales, the app gained traction after TikTok's recent ownership changes reignited privacy concerns, especially among left-wing and pro-Palestine creators, about who controls visibility online and who gets silenced.
It's a bit closer to Instagram in format than TikTok, but for some, the perks may outweigh the UX.
UpScrolled claims no suppression or data sales
As a major TikTok outage led to glitches during the same time as folks on the platform were sharing videos discussing Alex Pretti, fatally shot by ICE in Minneapolis on Saturday, rumors swirled that the app was intentionally suppressing left-wing content, though no evidence has surfaced to support that claim.
A video by musician Finneas sat at zero views while others just read "ineligible for recommendation," or wouldn't upload at all.
The outage seems related to a recent update impacting TikTok's algorithm and privacy policies.
The update follows the finalization of the U.S. entity that took ownership of the app to get around the federal ban. One of the majority owners is Oracle, the multinational tech company owned by Larry Ellison.
Ellison, one of the wealthiest men in the world, has been exclusively supporting Republicans with massive donations since 2016. He donated $16.6 million to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces in 2017.
The new ownership and privacy policies spread alarm among TikTokers who already felt silenced for their pro-Palestine content. That was about when they started taking more notice of UpScrolled as an alternative.
"Shadowbanned elsewhere? Not here," the website reads.
"UpScrolled is the social platform where every voice gets equal power. No shadowbans. No algorithmic games. No pay-to-play favoritism. Just authentic connection where your content reaches the people who matter most."
It also vows not to sell your data ever, to provide a chronological feed option, and to cultivate "human-led" and "transparent" moderation. Many also feel encouraged by the fact that the 2025 app was created by Palestinian-Australian developer Issam Hijazi.
Is UpScrolled the future?
The word spread across social media over the weekend. UpScrolled supports image posts as well as video, making it more of an Instagram clone, but that didn't stop the downloads.
UpScrolled reportedly hit number six on the App Store's "Top Apps" list on Monday, though it sits at 12 at the time of writing. That's still one spot above TikTok.
Judging by the reviews from leftists, UpScrolled could easily become the new Bluesky.
"UpScrolled isn’t perfect, but it’s ours and it’s where this movement goes next," wrote @guychristensen_.
"I posted the same video on TikTok and Upscrolled," said @ShaykhSulaiman. "After 5 hours the video on TikTok is still being processed. On Upscrolled it already has over 350 likes."
"Upscrolled is the future."
"My engagement on UpScrolled with 60 followers is better than on X with 19,000 followers," claimed @KnoxieLuv. "Houston, we have a problem!"
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