UpScrolled, a brand-new social media app, has jumped above TikTok as one of the most-downloaded apps around, but what is it all about?
Over the last year or so, TikTok’s standing in the United States has been under pressure. The short-form video platform was threatened with a ban due to its ownership by ByteDance, with government officials warning of security concerns.
TikTok had been banned in different states across the US during that time, but a nationwide ban was stopped when the North American arm of the company was licensed to Oracle owner Larry Ellison.
With the app being under pressure to change prior to that new ownership, alternative platforms popped up, with many users taking to Instagram reels and YouTube shorts instead. Now, however, they’ve got UpScrolled as an option.
How does UpScrolled work?
While it has jumped over TikTok and become an app that TikTokers have taken to, UpScrolled looks and works in a similar way to Threads, X, and BlueSky.
Users have the ability to post whatever they want, including text, photos, and videos. “Time to scroll differently. Shadowbanned elsewhere? Not here. UpScrolled is the social platform where every voice has equal power. No shadowbans. No algorithmic games. No pay-to-play favoritism,” the app’s website says.
As noted, it has lept to the top of the charts on iOS, becoming the most-downloaded social media app on the US and UK charts. It has also entered the top three in Australia.
UpScrolled goes down due to influx of new users
That new-found popularity caused issues on January 26, however, as the app suffered a little bit of downtime.
“You showed up so fast our servers tapped out. Frustrating? Yes. Emotional? Also yes,” they posted on X.
As noted, plenty of social media platforms have popped up over the last few years, especially as users have gotten frustrated with bigger apps.
The likes of Threads, Hive, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Lemon8 have taken in users from X and TikTok previously.
It remains to be seen just how long UpScrolled will stick around in the thinking.
