UpScrolled, a young social network pitching itself as politically neutral and algorithmically transparent, is suddenly riding a wave of attention in the wake of TikTok’s new U.S. ownership structure. The app climbed to No. 12 overall in Apple’s App Store and No. 2 in the social networking category as downloads accelerated sharply following last week’s deal that put TikTok under majority American control.
Early growth spurts are common in social media, but the scale and timing of UpScrolled’s surge suggest spillover from TikTok’s turbulence and mounting user anXiety about moderation and privacy changes.
A Neutrality Pitch Meets A Volatile Moment
UpScrolled blends a feed of photos, videos, and text posts with direct messages and discovery features that feel familiar to users of Instagram and X. Its differentiator is more philosophical than technical: it promises “no shadowbans,” a clearer path for posts to earn exposure, and independence from external political agendas.
The app was founded in 2025 by Issam Hijazi, a Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian technologist, who positions the service as a user-first platform with transparency at its core. The team has leaned into that message during the influx, telling users it is scaling rapidly to keep pace after servers buckled under a sudden load.
Downloads Spike Amid Ongoing TikTok Uncertainty
Market intelligence firm Appfigures estimates UpScrolled added roughly 41,000 installs from Thursday through Saturday, the period immediately after TikTok’s deal closed. That three-day stretch accounted for nearly one-third of the app’s lifetime installs, with average daily downloads up to about 14,000 — a 2,850% jump from prior norms.
All told, UpScrolled has reached approximately 140,000 lifetime downloads, Appfigures data shows, including about 75,000 in the U.S. The app is available on both iOS and Android, though iOS rankings indicate most of the recent momentum was visible on Apple’s storefront.
In a post to its social channels, the company acknowledged the rush of new users and said its small team was scaling infrastructure “on caffeine” to restore stability — a candid nod to the operational strain that often accompanies breakout moments.
TikTok’s Deal And Fallout Create Openings
The migration comes as TikTok formed a majority American-owned joint venture led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, with ByteDance retaining under a 20% stake. While the move averted a potential shutdown, it also kicked up a new round of scrutiny over political influence and governance.
Over the weekend, users and several high-profile figures, including Senator Chris Murphy and singer Billie Eilish, accused TikTok of limiting the reach of content critical of immigration enforcement and protests in Minneapolis. TikTok attributed disruptions to an ongoing data center outage and denied intentional suppression.
Separately, an updated privacy policy that expands GPS data collection sparked fresh concerns and calls in some corners to delete the app. Those debates — part perception, part product reality — have historically driven bursts of experimentation with alternatives, from Mastodon and Threads during X’s upheavals to privacy-forward photo apps after Meta controversies.
Can UpScrolled Convert Curiosity Into Habit?
Surges are table stakes; retention is the exam. Industry benchmarks from firms like Sensor Tower and Adjust suggest that social apps commonly see steep drop-offs after the first week, with month-one retention often in the low teens. For UpScrolled, converting this moment into durable daily engagement will hinge on creator tools, recommendation quality, and trust in its moderation playbook.
The competition is heating up alongside it. Skylight, an open source TikTok alternative, says it has surpassed 380,000 sign-ups during the same window. Multiple options vying for disaffected TikTok users could fragment attention unless one platform catalyzes a clear network effect or a breakout creator community.
UpScrolled’s promise of impartiality resonates in the current climate, but it will be tested by hard calls around safety, misinformation, and political content at scale. Transparent ranking models and appeal mechanisms could become features users actively evaluate, not just marketing copy.
For now, the data show a real shift in user behavior — not just chatter. If the team can stabilize performance, ship fast on discovery and creation features, and keep its neutrality pledge credible, this flash of growth could evolve into a foothold. If not, it risks joining a long list of social apps that spiked on controversy and faded with the news cycle.
