Thousands of creators are deleting TikTok and flocking elsewhere just days after a change in ownership and mounting claims of widespread censorship and shadowbanning, or reduced reach, on the app.
But where are they going?
One of the apps that saw millions of downloads in the aftermath of TikTok’s U.S. operations becoming a majority controlled by an American-owned joint venture is UpScrolled — a new Sydney-based platform pitching itself as a censorship-free app and created by a Palestinian tech developer.
Why is there a reported exodus from the massively popular app and how are new users reacting to the new platform?
What is UpScrolled?
The app, which launched in 2025, was created by Issam Hijazi, an Australian Palestinian entrepreneur born in Jordan.
On its website, UpScrolled describes itself as the social platform “where every voice gets equal power,” was designed to counter reported suppression of pro-Palestinian content on rivalling mainstream platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X.
“No shadowbans. No algorithmic games. No pay-to-play favouritism. Just authentic connection where your content reaches the people who matter most,” it said.
Hijazi said he noticed social media restrictions and decreased visibility while “watching the genocide in Gaza unfold in real time.” That experience inspired him to create and self-fund the platform as an alternative.
“UpScrolled does not tolerate hate speech, propaganda, or bad-faith behaviour, but it also refuses to silence voices quietly or without explanation,” he wrote. “It is not a free-for-all; it is a space built on dignity, accountability and respect.”
Why are users deleting TikTok?
Censorship claims, technical problems and a report of a surge in app deletions are just some of the challenges TikTok, which is used by more than 200 million Americans, is facing as it adjusts to its new U.S. ownership structure.
The group that will form the new TikTok U.S. joint venture includes software giant Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX. Oracle is run by billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison, drawing widespread concern over potential censorship under the new ownership.
After a deal was reached to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., some users accused the app of censoring their posts. CBC’s fact-check team breaks down the facts about the deal.
TikTok’s U.S. algorithm will be retrained with only Americans’ data, according to the reported agreement. The new investor-controlled entity will set content moderation rules around what is permitted and what is not.
Bisan Owda, an Emmy-award winning journalist and activist, who shared harrowing stories out of Gaza amid Israel’s deadly two-year offensive in the enclave, is one of the latest creators to join UpScrolled.
Last week, Owda said she had regained her TikTok account after it was deleted shortly following the acquisition.
She told Al-Jazeera she believed the international outcry and media attention played a role in getting her account restored, adding that she’d received a message from TikTok saying many of her posts were ineligible for recommendation.
A spokesperson for TikTok told CBC News at the time the account was live and operating normally.
Following the acquisition, market intelligence firm Sensor Tower told CNBC the daily average of U.S. users deleting the TikTok app has increased nearly 150 per cent in the five days following the move, compared with the previous three months.
Users were quick to raise concerns last week that the company is “censoring” videos, including ones critical of U.S. President Donald Trump, ICE or mentions of Jeffrey Epstein. The complaints were enough for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to announce on X Monday that he is launching a review into whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring Trump-critical content.
“The truth is, there’s no way to know for sure whether censorship did occur in the first week of the takeover, or whether it’s still occurring in less obvious ways now,” wrote Jaigris Hodson, an associate professor of interdisciplinary studies at Royal Roads University.
“Regardless of whether direct government interference is an issue, the algorithm still filters content in ways that often lead to misinformation spreading among a global user base.”
How many users switched over to UpScrolled?
Last week, the newly-created platform ranked number one in the social networking category of App Store free apps on Apple, in the U.S.
It was also among the top apps downloaded by Apple users in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
The flood of new users in late January briefly crashed the platform’s servers, according to UpScrolled.
According to Sensor Tower, UpScrolled has amassed more than two million downloads last month.
How are people reacting to new platform?
As more users join, many are testing whether UpScrolled’s promise of visibility without censorship holds up.
On the App Store reviews, one user said “Unlike other platforms, it does not impose political censorship.”
Another user described the move over to UpScrolled as a “refreshing change.”
“After using UpScrolled, going back to TikTok suddenly feels… **neutered**. You know the feeling — the weirdly strict community guidelines that seem to flip overnight, the audio that gets mysteriously removed, the constant dance of ‘is this gonna get shadow-banned?’ It’s exhausting,” the user wrote.
Another user wrote that while they like the app, they say their reports of pornography on the 17+ rated app have gone unheard.
“I have reported I think over 7 different accounts for posting pornography along with the video and I keep seeing them pop back up,” they wrote.
Another user complained about the algorithm, adding that it has potential to grow.
“I love the idea of an ethical social media app and would like to try to get my friends on here but the algorithm needs some work. Maybe the reason why the algorithm is so bad is because the app isn’t invasive but I can’t get my [For You Page] to show me anything I’m interested in,” they said.
Can UpScrolled continue to see massive growth?
Associate professor Hodson said unless TikTok “continues its explosive growth, people are unlikely to continue to choose it over the more established TikTok.”
Hodson points to Facebook and X as prime examples of “surviving the exodus of both high-profile and regular users.”
“Every couple of years, it seems, news outlets publish articles about reasons to leave Facebook. But Facebook and X are still going strong,” she wrote, adding that it is likely due to network effects, which is when a product or platform becomes more useful or valuable as more people use it.
“At best, we might see a Twitter/X effect, which is where TikTok will host more pro-U.S. government content creators and those people who want to follow them, and UpScrolled will host more critical content creators and their followers,” Hodson wrote, citing the 2024 growth of BlueSky, an emerging alternative to X post U.S. election, when many politically left-leaning users flocked to the app — but X remained popular for “news influencers,” according to a Pew news study.
“Because each social network engages in or facilitates different types of content filtering, each provides a different kind of echo chamber that people self-select into or out of.”