For American social media users, TikTok’s future in the country has been going on for a while now. After all, discussions of whether the app would be banned or bought by another entity have been going on for years, seemingly with no end in sight. However, on Jan. 22, it actually happened: TikTok announced that its Chinese owner, ByteDance, struck a deal with a group of non-Chinese investors, creating a separate U.S. TikTok, ending a years-long legal battle but bringing up even more concerns among its user base.
Following the deal, ByteDance maintains 19.9% of TikTok U.S. ownership, but this joint venture is now majority-owned by primarily American investors (80.1% in total) — a collection of corporations including private equity group Silver Lake, investment firm MGX, and tech company Oracle. According to an announcement from TikTok, the United States’ user data and the algorithm is now to be stored in Oracle’s U.S.-based cloud environment.
Since this change, users have reported anecdotal evidence of the app glitching, including months-old videos resurfacing on their FYPs, issues uploading or editing videos, posts getting stuck at zero views, and more — TikTok cited a data center power outage for such issues. Despite the platform’s explanation, many users are also raising concerns and speculating about privacy and potential censorship on the app, considering not much is publicly known about the deal, which was backed by President Donald Trump.
With all of these fears arising among the American TikTok user base, many are jumping ship — or, at least, beginning their search for alternative social media platforms. Interest in apps such as Rednote and Neptune took the internet by storm in early 2025, when a TikTok ban was looming, as “TikTok refugees” flocked to other short-form content platforms. But now in 2026, two new apps have emerged as potential TikTok replacements, both rapidly climbing app store: Upscrolled and Skylight Social. Here’s what to know about them.
Upscrolled
Upscrolled was founded in 2025 by Issam Hijazi, a technologist who has experience working at Oracle, with a focus on an easy-to-understand, transparent algorithm. As stated on the Upscrolled website: “We exist to put fairness back at the center of social media. Every voice deserves real reach and equal treatment. No shadowbans, no hidden throttling, no pay-to-play favoritism — ever. We don’t push agendas — political, commercial, or otherwise. Our rules are clear and applied evenly. Our ranking is explainable, our decisions accountable, and influence comes with responsibility.”
Upscrolled is more than just an alternative to TikTok; the app actually has many features similar to X (aka Twitter, because still in 2026, no one actually calls it X) and Instagram. Users can share videos, images, text posts, and send direct messages. The app is available on iOS and Android, and is already surging with new users, seeing an average of about 14,000 daily downloads since Jan. 22 — a 2,850% increase in daily downloads. From the United States alone, the app has been installed more than 75,000 times, according to TechCrunch.
Skylight Social
Also launched in 2025, Skylight Social is built on the AT Protocol, or Authenticated Transfer Protocol, which, as described on the Skylight Social website, is “the powerhouse behind next-gen social networks like Skylight and Bluesky. Designed for total user control, it syncs your content, connections, and followers across multiple services. This means your online community stays with you — making your social presence both secure and flexible. Surprise bans not included.”
You can connect your Bluesky account to sign in to Skylight. Once in the app, Skylight offers a built-in video editor, user profiles, support for likes, commenting, and sharing, and the ability to create and share custom feeds for others to follow. Just as with Upscrolled, Skylight Social experienced a boom of new and returning users, with CTO Reed Harmeyer noting on Bluesky that the app has seen a 150% increase in signups.