In brief
- New users briefly overwhelmed UpScrolled’s servers after pushing it into the top 10 free apps on Apple’s App Store.
- The surge followed renewed criticism of TikTok over alleged political bias, and censorship, which the company has denied.
- UpScrolled markets itself as a censorship-free alternative, though it remains untested at scale.
Frustration with TikTok following a U.S.-backed Oracle-led takeover has fueled a surge of interest in Australian startup UpScrolled, a short-form video app whose servers were briefly overwhelmed by an influx of new users this week.
The platform climb came amid criticism that TikTok was suppressing political content. As of Monday, UpScrolled reached number two in the social media category on the Apple App Store, above TikTok at number three.
While the UpScrolled team welcomed the influx of new interest, it also strained the platform’s infrastructure.
“Crazy load on our servers. So exciting! haven’t slept in two days folks lol,” UpScrolled founder Issam Hijazi posted on Sunday. “Sorry about the errors and glitches. We are increasing our capacity to handle the load. We expect things to become more stable in the next 12-24 hours.”
What is UpScrolled?
Launched in July of last year by Issam Hijazi, a former IBM employee who also worked as a consultant at Oracle, UpScrolled supports short-form video, photos, and text posts.
The company says it does not censor content or use shadowbans, does not prioritize political or commercial agendas, and does not boost posts through paid promotion, relying instead on user engagement for visibility.
Posts from followed accounts appear in chronological order, while the discovery feed ranks content by engagement, according to the company. UpScrolled says it does not use paid promotion and that neither political nor commercial interests influence visibility. Whether the platform can sustain its rapid growth or maintain that approach remains unclear.
The UpScrolled surge mirrors a spike in interest seen last January ahead of Trump’s second inauguration, when users briefly flocked to the Chinese social media platform RedNote.
“UpScrolled’s increased adoption appears to be more organic, driven largely by word of mouth on TikTok and X before any major media coverage,” Head of Insights and Media Resources at AppFigures, Randy Nelson, told Decrypt.
Nelson said UpScrolled recorded about 41,000 downloads between Thursday and Saturday, roughly one-third of its 140,000 lifetime installs. Since Thursday, UpScrolled has averaged about 14,000 daily downloads, about 29 times higher than its pre-surge average of roughly 460 installs per day, according to AppFigures.
“That said, it’s still too early to project even the app’s near-term performance, but we’ll be tracking it in order to provide that data as soon as possible,” Nelson added.
RedNote recorded about 292,000 U.S. downloads in its first three days, compared with roughly 41,000 for UpScrolled, which is about 14% of RedNote’s three-day total, he added.
“Compared with the three days before it took off, RedNote’s average installs during its first three days were about 3,368%, or roughly 35 times higher,” Nelson said.
TikTok backlash
The latest migrations follow turbulent years for TikTok in the U.S.
To avoid a federal ban, the company spun off its U.S. operations into a new entity called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, backed by investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, Susquehanna International Group, and Emirati investment firm MGX.
Since the change, several high-profile figures, including Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and musicians Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, have raised concerns about possible political bias on the platform, accusing TikTok of suppressing content critical of U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. immigration enforcement actions. Users of X pointed to similar suppression during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Liberals and Blue MAGA ignored us when we were screaming about this under Biden, and now they’re acting shocked that OF COURSE, this was gonna be the next step,” artist and songwriter Blakeley wrote on X.
TikTok has denied censorship, saying on X that a power outage at a U.S. data center caused the recent feed delays and publishing issues.
“Since yesterday, we’ve been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate,” TikTok wrote. “We’re working with our data center partner to stabilize our service. We’re sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon.”
Despite the claims, skepticism among users persisted and has helped drive interest in alternative platforms, including Kick, Rumble, and Spill, which are attempting to lure content creators to their respective platforms.
While UpScrolled claims it does not censor or shadowban, the company also added that it will not tolerate abuse.
“We have no tolerance for objectionable content or abusive behavior,” the company wrote in its Rules and Polices. “Any content or conduct involving hate speech, harassment, sexual exploitation, violence, or threats will be removed, and the responsible accounts may be suspended or permanently banned.”
UpScrolled has yet to respond to Decrypt’s requests for comment.
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