Popular social media app TikTok has a new rival in the form of UpScrolled. UpScrolled has already surpassed TikTok on Apple’s App Store. Fans have been critical of TikTok over privacy concerns, censorship, and outages.
TikTok gets competition from new rival app, ‘UpScrolled’
TikTok has some serious competition in the form of a rival app called UpScrolled. According to CNN, certain users have allegedly complained that TikTok is censoring their content, especially content critical of the government. However, TikTok denied this and instead blamed a recent data‑center power outage.
A lot of TikTok users are looking to switch over to UpScrolled, a free and fast-growing social media app that boasts functions similar to TikTok. Young social media users are drawn to UpScrolled and it has jumped into the top ranks of U.S. app stores.
As of January 27, UpScrolled ranks second on the U.S. App Store, just behind ChatGPT. Interestingly, TikTok does not even appear in the top 25. According to UpScrolled, the app avoids shadowbans and algorithmic manipulation. Additionally, it claims not to indulge in heavy censorship of content, as long as users adhere to community rules. (via The Enquirer Cincinnati).
According to TechCrunch, Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian technologist Issam Hijazi founded UpScrolled. It is headquartered in Australia and was launched in 2025. TechCrunch reports that the app has been downloaded 140,000 times in total, with 41,000 of those downloads happening in just a few days. The app has features similar to Instagram and X, allowing users to share photos, videos, and text posts. Users can browse new content and message fellow users directly.
Hijazi said in a statement on UpScrolled’s website, “UpScrolled is the foundation for a digital ecosystem that puts power back into the hands of the people — not the corporations. It’s more than just an alternative to Meta, X, or TikTok — it’s a reimagining of what social media should be: a space where creators, communities, and businesses thrive independently, with real control, transparency, and accountability.”
Originally reported by Anwaya Mane on Mandatory.
