Palestinian social app Upscrolled removed from Google Play Store

Submitted ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://en.royanews.tv/news/67740/Palestinian-social-app-Upscrolled-removed-from-Google-Play-Store

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.

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Comments

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Solrac@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
And this is why, we sold have joinloops.org instead

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- Lumidaub@feddit.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  That’s a different type of platform though. Upscrolled = insta, Loops = tiktok.
  
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  - diemartin@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    So, join Pixelfed?
    
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- DaMummy@hilariouschaos.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Not just an alternative to TikTok, but also need one for Google Play, and Android too while we’re at it. (Yes, I know they exist. Just making a point)
  
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  - wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    brb buying an iPhone
    
    ‘no wait not like that’
    
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pkjqpg1h@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Google is a fucking monopoly. (Please do not use any Google product. If you care about freedom, there are tons of alternatives for most products.)

Start with:

switch to DuckDuckGo search or Brave Search

switch to Firefox on your phone and use uBlock Origin (not the weak lite version, but the full Origin version)

Good job you’ve done 80% of the work. You can continue to de-Google

btw

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- scala@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Don’t use brave it’s still chromium/ pays Google
  
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  - pkjqpg1h@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I use Firefox bro 🦊
    
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  - nforminvasion@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    And yet it has some of the best fingerprint randomization techniques. Down to some insane details. And before you say, just use the Tor browser for that… I do. But that is a different type of resistance, uniformity. Which is great for some use cases, but randomization also works even better in other situations… Eg, personalized browsers with a few extra extensions and customizations.
    
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- geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Nice
  
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- benny@reddthat.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I switched to Vivaldi and ecosia, barely notice a difference.
  
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  - pkjqpg1h@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Ecosia is OK, but if you use Vivaldi (I’m guessing it’s Chromium) you will give power to Google. If we want to fight Google, there are three main areas.
    
    1 - The most important is search (fortunately they suck and it’s easy to change).
    
    2 - The second most important is Chromium (there is only one alternative, Firefox - I don’t count Safari because it’s for Apple devices). Firefox has Manifest V2; if we lose this, we lose great power.
    
    3 - The third most important is YouTube. I think this is the hardest one because maintaining a video-sharing platform is very expensive, and it’s not something that can live just with donations.
    
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- TractorDuffy@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  the only thing I can’t replace yet is Maps. reviews, photos, in-trip driving instructions, it’s just so full-featured I can’t imagine myself without it
  
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  - pkjqpg1h@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    
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- QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  My main problem now is that Google has a monopoly on the Android app store. Plus, most banking apps use play services, so good luck using your own phone ROM.
  
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  - njordomir@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    My bank has a mobile site that is more functional than their app. I guess that’s not the case for every bank.
    
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  - pkjqpg1h@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I use a custom ROM (idk if this is the right word). I don’t have Google Services or any Google apps. My previous banking app didn’t accept custom ROMs, so I just canceled that and switched to one that does accept them. Now my banking app works great and I have no problems on my phone.
    
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voodooattack@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Clickbait? The developer is Palestinian/Australian, the app’s audience is global, and it’s not just Palestine-specific. So what’s up with the sensationalised title?

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- geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  It’s an app developed by a Palestinian which got popular because of recent increasing censorship on TikTok and Instagram against Palestine.
  
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  - voodooattack@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I’m aware. But it’s not just Palestine being censored, it’s currently anything the current U.S administration doesn’t like. So anything anti-trump/Zionist/Israel/ICE falls into this category.
    
    I’m saying the title is misleading because it could be construed as “a social media app/platform specifically made for Palestinians”, which is what most people that haven’t heard of the app before would assume by reading the title alone.
    
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- bossito@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  If anything the app is Australian, Australian made, the developers are in Australia… this is clickbait
  
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Pika@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
De-listed where? It’s listed still for me.

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- surewhynotlem@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  It’s back. It was gone for just a few hours it seems
  
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  - darkevilmac@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    The more I work for tech companies the more I genuinely end up believing that stuff like this being removed is in fact just incompetence at least 50% of the time
    
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  - fortnitefinn@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    This is what Google does. They censor content and keep it gone as long as there isn’t a sufficient retaliation.
    
    It’s what they did to remove AdNauseam from their addon repository. The only difference is nobody fought back so it remains gone to this day without justifiable reason.
    
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- geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  The devs confirmed it was delisted. Not sure what its current status is. Seeing mixed messages online so it might be regional delisting.
  
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Feyd@programming.dev ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
No website is certainly a choice

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MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
EU, what about Google monopolies??

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arcine@jlai.lu ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Ditch Google Play !

You can use Obtainium and F-Droid to install apps as directly from the Developer as possible.

You can use Aurora Store to get things from the App Store anonymously.

If you want, you can install /e/os (any phone) or GrapheneOS (Pixels only) to de-google your Android as much as possible !

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- pkjqpg1h@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  F-Droid (main repo + izzy’s repo) is enough for 70-80% of app needs and their quality is very good (in play store there is millions app but most off them is scam and trash)
  
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  - arcine@jlai.lu ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I tend to prefer getting the apps directly from the code repositories via Obtainium, but I use F-Droid to search for apps !
    
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mrodri89@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I hope Europe makes their own App Store and sells cool flip phones like they have in Japan.

Sell it to us too.

Kindly, An American wanting to starve the corrupt beast of my government.

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Jankatarch@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
They still haven’t removed twitter for the Aai generated child porn.

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CovfefeKills@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
It’s back I am downloading it now. Good guy google with the streisand effect.

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merdaverse@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Has anyone here actually tried the app? The first (and thankfully last) time I tried it, it was full of nazis and actual CSAM. Maybe too censorship resistant for its own good??

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- geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Yeah I haven’t seen any of what you saw.
  
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fortnitefinn@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Jews control most of the world and get angry whenever there’s something popular that they can’t manipulate.

Major corporations are their tools.

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- fortnitefinn@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Make sure everyone checks the modlog to see how the mods are serving Israel’s interests.
  
  It’s gotten so bad we can’t even say how bad it is.
  
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  - fulgidus@feddit.it ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Tbf the comment wasn’t about Israel or Sionism… It was blatantly antisemitic
    
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- deltaspawn0040@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Please go back to reddit. Or Facebook. Just anywhere but here.
  
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  - fortnitefinn@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    You first.
    
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- pressanykeynow@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  By most of the world you probably mean what is called the West that’s actually only 14% of the world.
  
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  - fortnitefinn@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    The West’s power and influence stretches far beyond its borders and populations.
    
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avidamoeba@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
No politic here!

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Mrkawfee@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I fucking despise israel and their bootlickers.

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SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
LOL WHAT?

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.upscrol…

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gwl@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Tbh until today I had zero idea if was Palestinian

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dissentiate@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I don’t have any accounts on the fash friendly state-funded/corpo social platforms, but has anyone seen if the developer has made a statement online since the app got relisted?

Either way, I wouldn’t use this app at this point. Not because of anything the developer has done, rather because Google can man-in-the-middle any version of the app he submits. Might sound a little far fetched, but given the continous fealty to this administration, and Google’s deep relationships with Gov entities going back decades…

Well… why trust them to not be supplying whatever alphabet agency with user data?

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suddenlyme@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I just downloaded it from my playstore

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