Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
- Parler returned to the App Store on Monday after it had been kicked off in January.
- On Apple devices any posts that are identified as hate speech will not be visible.
- The company's chief policy officer said it will be like a "PG" version of Parler.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Parler returned to Apple's App Store on Monday after it had been kicked off following the January 6 Capitol Siege.
Apple announced last month that it had approved several changes to the app related to hate speech. Upon its return, Parler will look different – at least on Apple devices. While the Parler website allows any legal content to be viewed, the App Store version includes "enhanced threat-and-incitement reporting tools," according to the listing on the App Store.
That means that posts identified as participating in hate speech will be removed from Apple devices, while the same posts labeled as "hate" will still be visible on Parler's website.
Parler's interim CEO Mark Meckler told Insider in a statement that the site worked to meet Apple's standards, while maintaining its focus on free speech.
"The entire Parler team has worked hard to address Apple's concerns without compromising our core mission," Meckler said. "Anything allowed on the Parler network but not in the iOS app will remain accessible through our web-based and Android versions. This is a win-win for Parler, its users, and free speech."
Parler's chief policy officer, Amy Peikoff, told The Washington Post that the company is pressing Apple to allow the content to remain on the app, but with a warning label. Apple had listed banning the content as one of its conditions for allowing the application back on its store.
Peikoff told The Washington Post the milder version of Parler that is on Apple devices could be called "Parler Lite or Parler PG."
"Where Parler is different [from Apple], is where content is legal, we prefer to put the tools in the hands of users to decide what ends up in their feeds," she said.
In the past, the social-media app has avoided censoring its content, identifying itself as a "free speech" alternative to Twitter. The app tried to return to Apple devices in February but was blocked by the company. Apple cited several examples of hate speech, including Nazi symbols, in its decision to not allow the app to return.
Parler was removed from the App Store in January - at the time it was the most downloaded app on the store - after numerous Capitol rioters used the site to organize the insurrection at the Capitol. Following the Capitol insurrection, other web providers including Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services banned Parler.
Parler's website was restored when SkySilk began hosting it in February, but it has yet to return to the Google Play store. Apple and Google spokespeople were not immediately available to comment.