TikTok Users Are Fleeing – But Where Are They Going?

41,000 users downloaded a relatively unknown social media app in just three days. Their destination? UpScrolled, a platform most people had never heard of until last week. Following TikTok's U.S. ownership change announcement, users are actively seeking alternatives – and they're not just talking about it.

The Great Migration Begins

UpScrolled now sits at 12th place overall in Apple's App Store and 2nd in the social networking category. Between Thursday's TikTok deal announcement and Saturday, the app saw approximately 41,000 downloads – nearly one-third of its lifetime installs compressed into a single weekend.

The growth trajectory is staggering. Daily downloads have averaged 14,000 since Thursday, representing a 2,850% increase from previous levels. The app has reached 140,000 total downloads, with 75,000 coming from U.S. users.

"Well, this is new… You showed up so fast our servers tapped out," the company posted on X, clearly overwhelmed by the sudden surge. "Frustrating? Yes. Emotional? Also yes. We're a tiny team building what Big Tech stopped being."

The Promise of Platform Neutrality

UpScrolled was founded last year by Issam Hijazi, a Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian technologist. The app combines familiar features from Instagram and X, allowing users to share photos, videos, and text posts while promising something different: political impartiality.

"UpScrolled is the foundation for a digital ecosystem that puts power back into the hands of the people — not the corporations," Hijazi stated. The platform pledges to avoid shadowbanning and give "every post a fair chance to be seen" – a direct contrast to recent concerns about TikTok's content moderation.

This promise of transparency resonates particularly strongly as users grow skeptical of algorithmic manipulation and hidden agendas. The app markets itself as "a platform that belongs to the people who use it — not to hidden algorithms or outside agendas."

Why Users Are Jumping Ship

TikTok's announcement last Thursday revealed a new ownership structure: Chinese parent ByteDance now holds less than 20% of the entity, while Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX each hold 15% stakes.

But users aren't celebrating this "American-ization." Instead, they're worried about the new investors' potential political allegiances to Trump. High-profile users including Senator Chris Murphy and singer Billie Eilish have raised concerns about content suppression, particularly posts criticizing ICE.

Users also reported inability to search for information about ongoing protests in Minneapolis following the killing of Alex Pretti by border patrol agents. While TikTok attributed these issues to data center outages, user trust has been shaken.

The updated privacy policy allowing GPS tracking didn't help matters. Some users are encouraging mass deletion of the app, with UpScrolled emerging as a popular alternative.

The Broader Platform Exodus

UpScrolled isn't alone in benefiting from TikTok's troubles. Skylight, another TikTok alternative built on open-source technology, has topped 380,000 sign-ups and continues growing.

This migration represents more than platform switching – it signals a fundamental shift in user expectations. People are no longer passive consumers of whatever algorithm serves them. They want transparency, control, and genuine choice in their digital experiences.

The timing is particularly significant. As regulatory pressure mounts globally on big tech platforms, smaller alternatives are positioning themselves as user-first alternatives. Whether they can scale while maintaining their founding principles remains an open question.

The Scaling Challenge Ahead

Success brings its own problems. UpScrolled's server crashes highlight the challenge facing any platform trying to compete with established giants. Building infrastructure that can handle viral growth while maintaining user experience requires significant resources.

The app's team acknowledges they're "scaling on caffeine" – a romantic notion that may not survive sustained growth. History is littered with social media platforms that couldn't handle their own success.

Yet there's something different about this moment. Users aren't just seeking features – they're seeking values. They want platforms that align with their beliefs about digital rights, privacy, and content moderation.