UpScrolled and Skylight rising: Users race to TikTok alternatives after U.S. takeover

Downloads of UpScrolled, a new short-form video app, are surging after TikTok’s recent change to U.S. ownership.

Developed by Palestinian-Australian Issam Hijazi, the social media app currently ranks #2 in the U.S. in the Apple store among free apps, following ChatGPT, and markets itself as a place “where every voice gets equal power.”

“No shadowbans . . . No pay-to-play favoritism. Just authentic connection where your content reaches the people who matter most,” reads UpScrolled’s website.

Last week, Chinese-owned TikTok closed a $14 billion deal, brokered by the The President administration, to avoid a ban in the U.S., creating an American subsidiary with new ownership going to a joint venture that includes The President allies Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell.

The surge in downloads is also happening amid allegations that TikTok censored videos of ICE agents in Minnesota and other anti-The President content.

What is UpScrolled?

UpScrolled is a platform for sharing photos, videos, and text. It says its mission is to “always remain impartial to political agendas, conflicts, and unjust views.” It brands itself as a “no-censorship” platform with a focus on free speech. It’s available on iOS and Android.

UpScrolled says it was developed as an alternative to popular Big Tech-run social media platforms such as Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta and Instagram, Elon Musk’s X, and, of course, TikTok.

“UpScrolled exists because we were tired of waiting for Big Tech to do the right thing,” its website states. “We needed a place where people could speak freely without playing algorithm games or being punished for telling the truth.”

Other TikTok alternatives are also seeing a surge

UpScrolled is not the only TikTok alternative seeing a surge after the U.S. deal.

Skylight Social, or Skylight, also saw an uptick to over 380,000 users, per TechCrunch. Backed by Mark Cuban and built on open source tech, has over 42 million users.

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