Americans FLEE TikTok for Anti-Censorship Haven

A scramble for “no-shadowban” social media is exposing how quickly Americans lose trust when a major platform’s rules and ownership change overnight.

Story Snapshot

UpScrolled, a new social network founded in 2025, surged in downloads immediately after TikTok’s U.S. takeover deal closed in late January 2026.
Market data cited by TechCrunch showed UpScrolled adding about 41,000 downloads in roughly two days and averaging about 14,000 daily downloads afterward—an increase measured in the thousands of percent.
User complaints centered on alleged suppression of anti-ICE and protest-related posts and a TikTok privacy-policy update that raised GPS-tracking concerns, though TikTok attributed problems to a data center outage.
UpScrolled markets itself as “power to the people,” promising transparency, user control over visibility, and no shadowbanning—while trending topics reflected highly political activist energy.

Download Surge Follows TikTok’s U.S. Takeover Deal

TechCrunch reported that UpScrolled spiked in popularity after TikTok finalized a U.S. ownership shift into a majority American-owned joint venture, with ByteDance holding under 20% and investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX each taking sizable stakes. In the window immediately after the deal closed (around Jan. 22, 2026), UpScrolled added roughly 41,000 downloads from Thursday to Saturday and then sustained about 14,000 downloads per day.

The numbers matter because they show a “trust shock,” not just curiosity. TechCrunch said total installs reached about 140,000, with roughly 75,000 in the U.S., and the app climbed the iOS charts (including a high social-networking rank). UpScrolled’s team acknowledged strain from the sudden traffic, a familiar reality for small platforms that go viral when big tech faces controversy or outage-driven frustration.

TikTok users are fleeing to a new upstart social media called UpScrolled after Larry Ellison purchased the platform.

UpScrolled is founded by a Palestinian and promises no censorship and no billionaires.

Yesterday, it broke into the top 15 most downloaded apps.

Come join us! pic.twitter.com/u4Ctx77rm1

— YourFavoriteGuy (@guychristensen_) January 24, 2026

What Users Say Changed on TikTok—and What’s Verified

Reports described users claiming their posts were being restricted after the U.S. deal, particularly content critical of immigration enforcement. TechCrunch noted complaints about suppression of anti-ICE posts and Minneapolis protest content following the killing of Alex Pretti by border patrol, with public figures also amplifying the claims. TikTok, however, blamed a data center outage for disruptions, leaving the censorship allegation itself difficult to verify from the limited sourcing available.

Privacy also played a role in the backlash. TechCrunch reported a TikTok privacy policy update that enabled GPS tracking, which many users interpreted as another step toward tighter monitoring and control. For Americans who already watched years of tech companies “moderate” speech with vague standards, sudden policy updates—paired with unexplained content reach issues—are the kindling that ignites an exodus. The public can see the policy change; the rich decisions are far harder to prove.

UpScrolled’s Pitch: “No Shadowbanning,” More User Control

UpScrolled’s core promise is structural: less opaque algorithmic control and more transparency over what gets seen. TechCrunch described the app as blending familiar elements—photo/video/text posting, discovery, and direct messages—while promising impartiality and user control over content visibility. Founder Issam (also spelled Islam) Hijazi framed the goal as building a digital ecosystem with real control, transparency, and accountability, positioning the platform as a rejection of billionaire-driven gatekeeping.

That message resonates with conservatives who have lived through years of shifting moderation goalposts across major platforms. Still, the available research also shows UpScrolled’s momentum is tied to specific activist networks and narratives. AJ+ highlighted that the app has support from the “Tech for Palestine” incubator and that pro-Palestine tags like #FreePalestine and #Gaza was trending during the surge. This makes UpScrolled less of a purely neutral refuge and more of a protest-driven alternative—at least in its current breakout moment.

The Bigger Fight: Speech, Corporate Power, and Political Pressure

The TikTok-to-UpScrolled migration underscores a core reality: Americans across the spectrum sense that corporate platforms can shape politics by shaping visibility. TechCrunch framed the moment around fear of political censorship under new U.S. ownership, while TikTok denied wrongdoing and pointed to outages. With only a few major sources, the evidence for intentional censorship remains largely anecdotal; the evidence for platform distrust and rapid user movement is strong and measurable.

For the Trump-era conservative audience that’s tired of “approved speech” culture, the practical takeaway is not to assume any single app will protect open debate forever. A platform can promise “no shadowbanning,” but scaling, investor pressure, app-store rules, and crisis moderation tests quickly collide with those promises. The surge is real, but so is the question of durability: download spikes do not automatically translate into long-term freedom, stability, or a truly viewpoint-neutral public square.