What is Upscrolled? Everything You Need to Know

Upscrolled is a social media platform for microblogging and short-form video sharing that launched in June 2025. Founded by Palestinian-Australian developer Issam Hijazi, a former IBM and Oracle engineer, the platform was created as an ethics-first alternative to mainstream social networks. Unlike the algorithm-heavy feeds that dominate platforms like TikTok and Instagram, Upscrolled emphasizes chronological content distribution and transparent ranking systems.

The platform combines features familiar from multiple social networks. Users can post text updates (similar to X/Twitter), share photos and short-form videos (like Instagram and TikTok), and engage through likes, comments, and reposts. What distinguishes Upscrolled isn’t so much the format as the promise behind it: no shadow banning, no hidden algorithms, and no preferential treatment based on opaque scoring systems.

Upscrolled is backed by Tech for Palestine, an incubator supporting technology ventures with Palestinian connections. The platform operates through Recursive Methods Pty Ltd, an Australian company, and is currently available for both iOS and Android devices.

The platform’s growth has been nothing short of explosive. Here are the key metrics:

• 2.5 million users reached by early February 2026, just eight months after launch
• 2,850% increase in downloads between January 22-24, 2026, according to reports
• #1 most downloaded app in the social networking category on Apple’s App Store in the United States by January 29, 2026
• #2 overall in all App Store downloads, ranking behind only ChatGPT
• 700,000 global downloads by late January 2026, with approximately 400,000 in the US alone
• 1.8 million Android downloads with an average of 59,000 downloads per day over a 30-day period, according to AppBrain statistics
• 4.49-star rating on Google Play based on over 20,000 user reviews

The app has shown particularly strong traction in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Australia. The surge was so intense that Upscrolled’s servers temporarily crashed over a weekend in late January due to the flood of new users.

Upscrolled’s interface blends elements from X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. The platform offers:

Chronological Following Feed: Posts from accounts you follow appear in time order, without algorithmic reranking. This is reminiscent of social media from the mid-2010s, before personalized feeds became ubiquitous.

Transparent Discover Page: Content is ranked based on engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares) with time decay and some randomness, all displayed chronologically. According to founder Issam Hijazi, the platform deliberately avoids addictive design patterns despite having the technical capability to implement them.

Multi-Format Content: Users can share text posts, photos, and short-form videos. While the platform supports video, early usage patterns show users gravitating more toward text and photo content rather than the video-first approach of TikTok.

Direct Messaging: Private messaging between users is supported.

No Shadow Banning: The platform promises that content won’t be silently suppressed or boosted based on hidden criteria. All users get equal visibility within the community guidelines.

Clear Community Standards: While promoting free expression, Upscrolled maintains that it will enforce community guidelines and comply with regional laws. The company is actively hiring policy experts to refine moderation as the platform scales.

Upscrolled’s growth surge in January 2026 didn’t happen in a vacuum. Several converging factors created the perfect conditions for its rise:

Following its acquisition by a group of US investors including Oracle’s Larry Ellison, TikTok underwent significant changes that raised concerns among users about content moderation and censorship. Allegations emerged that certain types of content were being suppressed on the platform, prompting calls for users to migrate to alternative apps.

Users have grown increasingly frustrated with opaque algorithms and unexplained drops in reach. Creators on Instagram, TikTok, and X have long complained about shadow banning, the practice where content visibility is reduced without notice or explanation. Upscrolled’s promise of transparency directly addresses this pain point.

The platform’s narrative – Palestinian-founded, backed by Tech for Palestine, and explicitly positioned against billionaire-owned networks – resonates with users seeking alternatives that align with their values. As Hijazi stated at Web Summit Qatar, “Big Tech over the last couple of years has proven they’re not really in it for ethics. They prioritise profit over people, they sell user data, they design platforms to keep you addicted.”

Upscrolled has tapped into larger debates about platform power, digital sovereignty, and who controls online spaces. The platform attracted high-profile endorsements from influencers frustrated with mainstream networks, amplifying its reach through word-of-mouth and social media campaigns.

Upscrolled has emerged as one of 2026’s most fascinating social media stories. Whether it becomes a sustained alternative to incumbent platforms or proves to be a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon driven by a specific moment of platform migration, its rise reveals important truths about what users want from their digital spaces.

Available for free on both iOS and Android, Upscrolled may be worth exploring – if not for immediate marketing opportunities, then as a window into the future of social media and digital community building.