Parler is back on the App Store with a 'PG' version that only cracks down on hate speech on Apple devices

• 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.

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 and the Android version that can be downloaded from the site allow 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 suspended Parler.

Parler's website was restored when SkySilk began hosting it in February, but it has yet to return to the Google Play store. An Apple spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.

A Google spokesperson told Insider that Parler has yet to submit an updated version of their app to Google Play.

"Parler has remained available on Android because of the openness of the platform even if it isn't currently distributed through Google Play," the spokesperson said. "As we stated back in January, Parler is welcome back in the Play store once it submits an app that complies with our content moderation policies, which preclude things like physical threats to individuals and inciting violence."

The same day the app was restored to Apple devices, the company also announced new leadership. Meckler left the company on Monday after serving as interim CEO for three months. He said he plans to focus more of his attention on his role as CEO of Convention of States Action, a group focused on "stopping the runaway power of the government."

He was replaced by former Chief Operating Officer George Farmer. The new CEO has been active in both political and business spheres. He was a financial supporter and candidate for the Brexit Party, and is also married to political commentator and activist Candace Owens.

"For the past two months I have worked with an incredible team of people, under the leadership of Mark Meckler, to bring Parler back online and return to Apple's App Store after we had been unfairly maligned by the media and its allies in Big Tech and Congress," Farmer said in a public statement. "I look forward to leading this company into the future and continuing to offer a social media experience that respects users and their privacy, and rejects viewpoint discrimination."