The founder of UpScrolled says the social network has reached 2.5M users

Social networking sites UpScrolledwhich became known after TikTok changed ownership in the US in January, reached 2.5 million users, the company’s founder Issam Hijazi said at the Web Summit Qatar.

“We launched about six months ago, and we grew to about 150,000 until the beginning of January. And as of a few days ago, we have reached one million users worldwide. Now, as of today, we have exceeded two and a half million users worldwide,” said Hijazi.

UpScrolled is a combination of Instagram and X, and they claim to include all the words. The company says it allows all types of content and does not hide or monitor people.

In his speech, Hijazi called out major tech companies for being inefficient and selling user data for profit, and criticized social media for suppressing Palestinian content and choosing to monitor users at will.

“They don’t care about selling your data to someone else if it means profit for them. And they don’t care about your mental health, as they do something to keep you interested in using the platform as long as it benefits them,” he said.

Users on other platforms to be complained UpScrolled causing a lot of porn and nudity. Hijazi said that although the company will not rely on methods to expand or suppress certain ideas, it will have community guidelines to comply with the laws in different areas. The company is assembling a team of experts to develop community guidelines and is also considering user feedback, he added.

The company has not publicly announced any funding, but Hijazi said social media has been gaining investor interest.

In January, TikTok transferred to new ownership in the US and a partnership made with investors such as Silver Lake and Oracle who are taking a majority stake in the companywhile ByteDance retained 20% ownership. This change caused many users to search for other social media sites. Apart from UpScrolled, AT Protocol from Skylight also got attention, crossing 380,000 users in the days following the end of the TikTok contract.

Although the social network would have benefited from a temporary boost following the organizational change in TikTok, it had to create an image and group to retain users. They also have to make policy decisions and take decisions that may not be popular with users, like Bluesky has found at the end several years.