With this article, I propose an alternative to research platforms in the urban ‘south'. The debate on platform impacts has been divided between those embedded in platform determinism, predicting a utopian urban environment mediated by the digital, and those critics who see platforms as the portrayals of dystopian urban futures. However, some recognize ‘glitches’ in platforms as opportunities for corrections, opening the debate for flexible and negotiable futures of platforms in cities. This ‘glitchiness’ of platform urbanism (Leszczynski 2020) is particularly evident in the evolution of platforms in cities from the global south. Regulatory stagnation and fragile governance put platforms in the space of marginality, requiring a minor theory of ‘glitchy’ platform urbanism to understand their impacts. Through the narration of the interface between mobility platforms and three cities in Latin America, I recognize the ways in which platform glitch theory informs how digital actors re-shape cities in real-world contexts. I explain how a perspective on the everyday bottom-up practices on platform mediated realities show an alternative way to research platform urbanism and the new digital denizens. Ultimately, this can allow for building new possibilities in which southern urban policy, theory and futures can be engaged in their relationship with technology.