The news: As user frustrations mount following TikTok’s transfer to US ownership, social apps UpScrolled and Skylight Social are emerging as creator‑friendly alternatives. Both are seeing spikes in downloads, but each offers different feed design and user data structures.

• UpScrolled jumped from 150,000 users to over 1 million in just a few days after the TikTok ownership news, per founder Issam Hijazi.
• Skylight downloads jumped 919% in a week after the news and now has over 380,000 users, per TechCrunch.

Zooming in: UpScrolled frames its platform as more private and user-controlled compared with TikTok’s opaque algorithm. Its FAQ page states, “UpScrolled will never share your data with third parties for marketing, profiling, or commercial gain.”

• The platform features a mix of photos, short‑form video, and text posts. It offers a chronological “Following” feed and an engagement-ranked “Discover” feed and promotes diversity of opinion.
• It currently doesn’t have ads, but will “probably” include them, with “no Google Ads. No third-party tracking. No targeting based on personal data.”

Skylight is a public benefit corporation built on AT Protocol, just like Bluesky, meaning all content is transferrable to other sites using that protocol.

• The platform offers a short-form, vertical-video feed similar to TikTok. It also features a built-in video editor and an option for creators to generate custom feeds for others to follow.
• It currently doesn’t have ads and hasn’t clarified plans to implement them.

Why it matters: The two platforms offer new social opportunities for branded content, as well as unique challenges.

• UpScrolled emphasizes its aversion to “pay-to-play” feeds. Its focus on every post having a fair chance to be seen could help smaller brands gain visibility.
• Skylight’s open infrastructure, creator portability, and customizable feeds could appeal to tech‑savvy creators who are wary of single‑platform lock‑in.

Implications for marketers: The apps could serve as new horizons for TikTok users concerned about its new ownership and errors that arose in the first few days after the transfer, leaving space for UpScrolled and Skylight to succeed, similar to how Threads did around users leaving X.

Marketers should test organic content and creator partnerships to see what resonates while continuing to advertise on TikTok for reach as these newer platforms find their footing.

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