Google Play has delisted UpScrolled, the “censorship-resistant” social media app founded by Issam Hijazi, following its rapid growth to over 2.5 million users and its brief stint as a top-ranked alternative to TikTok.

While the app remains available for existing users, Google has not provided a specific reason for the removal; UpScrolled’s team confirmed they are working with the Play Store for reinstatement while maintaining their commitment to unfiltered content.

This development follows the app’s rapid ascent in popularity, particularly amid concerns over content moderation on competing platforms like TikTok.

  • benny@reddthat.com
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    6 hours ago

    While I agree with what you’re saying, this is letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Funding sources and incentives also matter, GPL projects don’t enshittify, but it can be harder to build a community with those developers who would like a more permissive license, while most but maybe not all Apache projects can remain faithful to their missions and not enshittify. More competition means I as a user can choose from features and other things too, and not just the license.