Is Parler Back Online? - MakeUseOf

It can be hard to keep up with Parler. It has been kicked out of app stores, online, offline, online but not functional, and involved in various legal battles since it launched.

So where does the site stand today? Is Parler back and easy to access? Here's everything you need to know...

Parler Is Back

The short answer is that yes, Parler is back. You can access it through its web browser version and its mobile apps.

Apple allowed Parler back on the App Store in May 2021 with additional moderation policies in place. As of 2022, the Parler app remains banned from the Google Play Store, although Parler allows users to download and sideload an Android app.

If you're confused about how and why the app was banned, as well as its history of downtime, here's a summary of the site's journey over the past few years...

What Happened to Parler?

Parler launched in 2018 but really started growing in 2020. Social media platforms had already been struggling with their role when it came to their users’ political speech, action, and sometimes misinformation.

With its focus on free speech, Parler seemed like a promised land to internet socialites who saw themselves targeted by the moderation practices of platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Following the storming of the capital on January 6, 2021, however, the company faced a number of bans.

Google, then Apple, and then Amazon announced that Parler would be banned from the Play Store, the App Store, and Amazon Web Services.

The companies said that Parler’s moderation strategies weren't in compliance with their hosting policies. Parler called it “a coordinated attack by the tech giants to kill competition in the marketplace”.

Parler appeared online again a few days after being shut down but had only an error message and a few posts from company executives.

When Did Parler Come Back?

About a month later, the website came back online with a different web host. The company also had an interim CEO. While Google still isn’t satisfied with Parler’s moderation practices, the company has made a lot of changes in order to regain its place on the App Store.

Between November 2021 and March 2022, Parler retooled its internal policies, including updated Terms of Service, Community Guidelines, and a document detailing the platform’s Guidelines Enforcement Process. All of these specifically mention potentially violent content, which contributed to Parler’s problems in the first place.

Parler has also made statements directly to its users regarding its stance on the First Amendment and free speech in the context of law enforcement, human safety, and public forums. Additionally, Parler split with its CEO and co-founder, apparently over differences regarding content moderation.

Parler Has New Competition

When Parler launched the first time, it was something of an oddity. Most of the "free speech-first" corners of the internet were less like social media platforms and more like old-fashioned chat rooms or forums. Parler ticked a lot of the boxes for both categories, giving it appeal.

MUO Report

Stay updated with the latest tech trends, expert tips, and product reviews in the world of technology with MUO's Newsletters. Subscribe

MUO Report

Stay updated with the latest tech trends, expert tips, and product reviews in the world of technology with MUO's Newsletters. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Since then, a number of platforms have taken up a similar model in part to fill up the vacuum left by Parler's brief but noticeable absence. Only one example is Donald Trump's Truth Social.

Not only that, but a tectonic shift may be occurring in higher-traffic social media sites. One of the reasons that Elon Musk has given for his ongoing wooing of Twitter is to make the platform more friendly to free speech. If the deal ever goes through, it could bring back users who left Twitter for Parler in the first place.

Where Does This Leave Parler?

It’s easy for Parler executives and even its users to argue that the site was bullied into compliance by bigger tech companies. But the relaunch resulted in a better user interface, seemingly fewer bots, and a cleaner look.

Parler is back, and it's better off for its troubles. For all that, it still faces competition and challenges.