TikTok users in the US are cancelling their subscriptions following a change in ownership and a new privacy policy dictated by the Trump administration. Will Australia’s UpScrolled save the day, Joshua Barnett asks?
TikTok has more than 180 million monthly users in the US. However, since users were forced to accept new terms last week, daily cancellations have surged by 150%, according to CNN and other sources.
The new privacy policy followed the announcement of TikTok’s new ownership consortium, openly supported by Donald Trump and led by Oracle, the domain of vocal Israel supporter Larry Ellison. According to Wired, TikTok now collects even more data on its users, including their precise location.
The new leadership has openly signalled they will be limiting accounts criticising Zionism, reducing their reach while simultaneously promoting pro-Israel content.
Users are opting out, while Benjamin Netanyahu is opting in to the fight.
🇮🇱 Netanyahu: ‘We will win the social media battle’
“Social media is the new battlefield.
This is where we must counter with our own weapons.
We’re late in the game.
But we will win this battle too, because we are developing the means to fight this.”pic.twitter.com/Fb9LjD11J1
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 26, 2026
Enter UpScrolled
It’s not just TikTok, of course. Social Media users everywhere are questioning the way social media companies are collecting data and manipulating their feeds, and being less than transparent about how it all works. Concerns new social media entrant UpScrolled wants to address.
UpScrolled is operated by Recursive Methods Pty Ltd, registered in NSW on 28 June 2021, with Issam Hijazi listed as director and secretary. Their app is available on Apple and Android platforms, and is currently downloaded around 15,000 times a day.
According to the app’s FAQ, UpScrolled is privately funded by founder Issam Hijazi together with a small group of individual investors who share the mission and values; there is currently no corporate, government, or venture capital ownership. The platform also states funding comes with no editorial influence over content, data or product decisions.
UpScrolled is pitching what the big platforms won’t touch: a social media feed built on visible rules, not a black box like we are used to with Google and Meta. It promises an app free of censorship with a road map designed with the user experience in mind, instead of maximising shareholder value.
A transparent algorithm?
UpScrolled is unusually up-front about how its feeds work. They state that their ‘Following feed’ is fully chronological, no reshuffling, with a ‘Discovery feed’ ranked by likes, comments and reshares, with a time delay to favour newer posts, plus a small element of randomness so smaller accounts still get seen.
AI content is an optional opt-in feature instead of the litany of AI slop being pushed by Meta and Google.
Their roadmap appears to have the user in mind, including web and desktop versions, community-written context notes to add sources and background to disputed posts, and monetisation tools aimed at creators rather than just advertisers. Private messaging encryption and clearer explanations of how new features affect ranking are also flagged.
How do they make money?
UpScrolled’s FAQ indicates the platform plans to generate revenue through carefully controlled in-app advertising and future creator monetisation tools, including payouts and branded content options, rather than relying on third-party ad networks.
The company says it will not use Google Ads or personal data targeting and will design and manage ads itself. App Store listings also show the app contains advertising and offers paid features such as verification tiers. Taken together, the model appears to be platform-run ads and optional paid features, not a system where users pay to artificially boost reach like Elon Musk’s X.
No Google Ads. No third-party tracking. No targeting based on personal data.
Censorship and hate speech
UpScrolled positions itself as a response to concerns about political bias and opaque moderation on larger platforms like TikTok. Its founder publicly expresses pro-Palestine views and argues for open political discourse.
The platform says it does not censor viewpoints based on ideology, but instead focuses moderation on unlawful content and direct harm, drawing a line between political speech and hate speech. How that balance is enforced in practice, especially on highly polarised issues, will be a key test of its free speech claims.
“We don’t censor opinions. But we do enforce a standard that keeps the platform safe, respectful, and responsible for all users.”
Avoiding enshittification?
This is where the track record of social platforms bites. Many begin by serving users, then drift toward advertisers and partners, before squeezing everyone once network effects take hold, the slide Cory Doctorow dubbed enshittification. Even the “good” alternatives face that pressure. Bluesky built credibility with protocol-level identity and domain-based handles, yet is now developing paid subscriptions while promising they will not influence reach.
The question is whether Upscrolled can cover infrastructure, marketing, distribution, and moderation costs without creeping back to the tactics of its competitors: paid reach, Google-tracking ads, engagement farming and ragebait?
UpScrolled is entering a space littered with platforms that promised openness before commercial interests took over. Whether it can prove that transparent rules stay transparent once money, moderation pressure and scale arrive is the real question. We’ve put these issues to the founder and will update with his response.
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Josh is a professional musician and cameraman who is now working with Michael West Media to develop The West Report and other visual content across major social media channels