Everything to Know About Palestinian-Founded TikTok Alternative UpScrolled

As TikTok undergoes major changes in its U.S. ownership and content moderation approach, a new social media platform called UpScrolled has surged into the spotlight as an alternative for users seeking greater transparency and fewer algorithmic restrictions.

UpScrolled is a social networking app launched in June 2025 by Issam Hijazi, a Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian developer with prior experience at tech giants such as IBM and Oracle. The platform combines features familiar to users of Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, allowing posts of short-form video, photos, and text, along with likes, comments, and reposts.

The app was developed under the Australian company Recursive Methods Pty Ltd and backed by initiatives including Tech for Palestine, a project aimed at supporting tech ventures that centre voices often marginalised on mainstream platforms.

UpScrolled has rapidly climbed app store rankings, including hitting No. 1 in the “social networking” category on Apple’s App Store in the U.S., reflecting explosive download growth in early 2026. Estimates suggest around 400,000 downloads in the U.S. and 700,000 globally since its launch, with the bulk occurring in the week after TikTok’s U.S. ownership transition.

This surge ties closely to user dissatisfaction with perceived censorship and algorithmic bias on TikTok, concerns that intensified after TikTok’s U.S. operations were acquired by a consortium including American investors like Oracle, prompting fears about the suppression of certain political content.

Proponents of UpScrolled praise its commitment to “transparent tech”, with a chronological or user-driven feed rather than opaque algorithmic promotion and a pledge to moderate content only to remove illegal or harmful posts.

Hijazi has described his motivation for creating UpScrolled as rooted in the need for a space where marginalized perspectives, particularly around issues like the situation in Gaza, are not algorithmically suppressed. On the platform’s own site and in interviews, he emphasises a vision of social media that returns power to users rather than automated systems or hidden agendas.

The app’s Discover feed highlights trending topics and has been noted for hosting a high volume of posts relating to global issues that users feel are underrepresented elsewhere.

UpScrolled’s rise comes at a moment of heightened scrutiny over digital platforms’ role in shaping public discourse. As users explore alternatives amid concerns over algorithmic control and content visibility, UpScrolled represents one of several emerging options that promise different approaches to moderation, privacy, and feed curation.

Whether UpScrolled’s early momentum will translate into sustained global engagement remains to be seen, but its rapid ascent highlights a growing appetite for alternatives to established social networks.

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