According to 9to5Mac, the recent U.S.-led takeover of TikTok has been plagued by technical glitches and service disruptions over the past week. This, combined with political concerns about the new owners, has triggered a user exodus. Many of those users have landed on a previously obscure app called UpScrolled, developed by Australian company Recursive Methods and its founder, Issam Hijazi. The app, which launched just seven months ago and was last updated on November 2, 2025, rocketed to the top of the App Store charts and is now sitting at #2, right behind ChatGPT. Hijazi just announced that UpScrolled has crossed 1 million users, growth he called dream-like.
The Vacuum Effect
Here’s the thing about social media: it abhors a vacuum. When a giant like TikTok stumbles—even temporarily—it creates a massive opening. And we’re not talking about a slow, planned migration. We’re talking about millions of bored, scrolling thumbs suddenly with nowhere to go. That’s an instant market. UpScrolled was just sitting there, a seven-month-old app, and basically got hit by a tidal wave of opportunistic users. It’s a classic case of being in the right place at the right time with a product that’s “good enough.” The timing is everything. If this TikTok transition had gone smoothly, would anyone be talking about UpScrolled? Probably not.
What Is UpScrolled, Really?
Now, the big question: can it stick? Reaching #2 on the App Store because of a competitor’s crisis is one thing. Building a lasting community is another. We don’t know much about its business model or revenue strategy yet. Is it ad-based? Subscription? The article doesn’t say. That’s a huge piece of the puzzle. The founder, Issam Hijazi, seems to be riding the wave, posting a celebratory video and sharing his background. But the real test is what happens in a month. When TikTok (presumably) fixes its bugs, how many of these new users will drift back? The beneficiaries here are clearly Hijazi and Recursive Methods, who just got a lifetime’s worth of free marketing and user acquisition in a week.
The Bigger Picture
This whole episode is a brutal reminder for every social platform, no matter how big. You’re always one major misstep away from fueling your competitor’s growth. TikTok has around 2 billion users. Even a “small subset” fleeing is a nation-sized audience for an app like UpScrolled. It also shows how app store charts are driven by these sudden, news-driven surges. One day you’re unknown, the next you’re topping the App Store. But it’s fragile. I think the lesson is that there’s always latent demand for an alternative, waiting for a catalyst. The next time a major platform annoys its users, we’ll probably see this play out again with a different app. For more tech news like this, you can follow the source, 9to5Mac on Twitter, or check out their YouTube channel.
