Image: UpScrolled
UpScrolled says it has passed 2.5 million users after TikTok’s US ownership change, as the rival app scrambles to scale and set moderation rules.
Alternative social network UpScrolled has announced it has surpassed 2.5 million users, following a surge in sign-ups after TikTok’s US ownership change in January.
The social network, which blends elements of Instagram and X, pitches itself on inclusivity and not selling user data to advertisers. Users are rarely banned or censored, according to founder Issam Hijazi.
UpScrolled has been available since mid-2025 and has grown to about 150,000 users in January 2026. It saw its first major spike last month following the sale of TikTok’s US business to a consortium of investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX.
According to the app intelligence platform AppMagic, the app was downloaded 3.2 million times in January, a nearly 9,000% increase from the previous month.
“They don’t care about selling your data to someone else if that means profit for them. And they don’t care about your mental health, as in they will design something just to keep you addicted to using that platform as long as it’s profitable for them,” said Hijazi at Web Summit Qatar.
UpScrolled’s aim to be a platform for all has also led to it becoming a haven for porn, nudity, and other content blocked on rival social networks. Hijazi has said he is assembling a team of experts to develop community guidelines aligned with regional laws and ethical regulations, though he wants them to be more relaxed than Meta’s approach.
The acquisition of TikTok’s US operations has raised concerns among some users about how content will be managed, particularly after the Trump administration pressured these investors to lead the deal. Oracle co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison is a friend of President Trump, while the president has ties to MGX through an investment in his family’s cryptocurrency company.
TikTok owner ByteDance will retain a 19.9% stake in the US business and license its recommendation algorithm to the new owners. User data will be collected and processed at Oracle data centres in the US, which the Trump administration says will prevent Chinese state interference.
Similar shifts in user behaviour have occurred several times following policy or product changes at major platforms. Most recently, millions of users left X for Mastodon after Elon Musk acquired the company, and millions more followed after policy changes to Bluesky and Threads. A further exodus occurred in 2025 due to the failings of its chatbot, with its former CEO resigning from the company and the EU opening an investigation.
There have been numerous attempts to break into the social app market over the past five years. TikTok has been the most successful, with its short-video format copied by Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. Threads and Bluesky also capitalised on shifting user preferences after Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, positioning themselves as microblogging alternatives.
However, the market is littered with more failures than successes. Pandemic-era hits such as Houseparty and Clubhouse failed to retain users post-pandemic. BeReal attracted millions with its once-per-day posting concept, but struggled to maintain momentum, and apps such as Lemon8 and Rednote have built niche audiences but failed to break into the mainstream.
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David Curry is a tech journalist and analyst with over a decade of experience writing for established outlets. He holds a master’s degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and has covered the technology sector since the early 2010s. His work focuses on B2B technology, data journalism, mobile apps and app markets, artificial intelligence, digital platforms, and emerging technologies. He earned a BA from the University of Lincoln and an MA from the University of Leeds.
