Amid controversy over social media sites like Facebook and Twitter flagging misinformation or banning members for violating platform policies, an alternative social network has made headlines.

You may have come across news about Parler. But what is it and how different is it from larger and more recognizable social media platforms?

What Is Parler?

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Parler has been around since 2018 but began to explode in popularity in 2020 when the other social media sites were criticized for content banning and flagging in and around the US election.

The platform, which calls itself "the world's premier free speech platform", is built on the idea that social media sites shouldn't interfere with users' expression of their views, billing itself as an alternative social network to Twitter and other major platforms.

"Biased content curation policies enable rage mobs and bullies to influence community guidelines," Parler's Values page states.

"Parler's viewpoint-neutral policies foster a community of individuals who tolerate the expression of all non-violent ideas."

Parler does have what it refers to as a "Community Jury" to enforce their community guidelines based on "fair and just legal precedent". However, it's unclear exactly how this jury actually works. In its guidelines, Parler also reserves the right to remove a user's content or ban them from the platform "at any time for any reason".

The site does give users a wide variety of tools to control the content they see. This includes blocking users or filtering out posts with certain keywords.

Parler positions this as a way that you can moderate your own world while not interfering with the general content on the platform.

Related: Popular Services to Avoid If You Value Free Speech

Parler is not just about free speech, however. The platform also competes with other social media sites by promising to never sell user data, something that other social media platforms are infamous for.

It also has a special "Parler Citizen Verification" process to prevent bots. Earlier in the platform's life, bots had been a significant problem and the site was little more than a marketplace for adult content. Fortunately, it has shaped up quite a bit since then. Now, more of the content is genuine.

Is Parler Still Banned?

If you lost track of Parler, it may be due to the multiple bans faced by the app in 2021. The app was removed from the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store, while Amazon suspended the company from its AWS cloud hosting service. As for why the Parler app got banned, there were a number of reasons.

Content in and around the January 6 riots in the US Capitol was cited as the reason that Parler got taken down from the app stores and hosting provider. Both Google and Apple removed the apps for not complying with their policies around moderation of content.

However, the website relaunched over a month later with a new hosting provider, CEO, and some updated tech specs.

Parler returned to the App Store later in 2021 after revamping its app to comply with the store's policies. According to The Washington Post, the iOS app includes a moderation system that filters out posts marked as "hate".

However, as of January 2022, the app is still banned from the Google Play Store as a new moderated version has not been launched for Android. Rather, Android users need to download the app from Parler and sideload it onto their device.

Download: Parler for Android | iOS

How Does Parler Work?

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Functionally speaking, Parler works similarly to other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Users are provided with recommended people and topics to follow while they populate and curate their own news feeds.

You can also reshare content, with these shares dubbed "echoes" on Parler. Every post also has a button allowing you to block echoes of the post if it doesn't interest you.

The site allows you to post photos and GIFs, as well as videos from YouTube. Though, the majority of users that we encountered during our time on the site almost exclusively posted links to external sites.

Early in the site's life, profiles awarded badges and had a very transparent points system regarding community engagement with a user's content, similar to Twitter Analytics. In an update of the site, these features have been removed, making for a simpler user experience.

Who Is Parler For?

Parler claims to be a site that treats all users as equals.
Image Credit: Parler

According to Parler's onboarding pages and advertorial information, the site is "here to help people with varying life experiences and from all walks of life communicate on a platform which treats them as equals".

Despite its claims to openness, diversity, and inclusion, the site has a decidedly conservative feel due in no small part to its largely far-right userbase.

While most of the users on the platform might be cut from similar cloth, there's not necessarily anything in the way that the website is set up and run that privileges any given group.

However, it should be noted that when we created a profile the first two notifications we received were welcome messages; one from Parler Support and one from a Team Trump account. Revisiting the platform a year out, this spirit had calmed down some but sponsored content from decidedly conservative political figures remains a common occurrence.

Parler might not pick sides but its users do.

The site is intended for visitors within the United States, according to its privacy policy. This is described as an additional security measure, as user information is stored exclusively on servers within the US.

Why Do People Use Parler?

The question remains: why have some people moved to Parler from other major platforms? Parler spiked in popularity, especially following the 2020 US election.

Generally, it seems to be the case that people are flocking to Parler in order to post things that would either get flagged on other social media platforms or get them banned. Meanwhile, others are protesting the community guidelines and policies of mainstream platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Some users are doing this in the true spirit of Parler. They may also be drawn by simply having an alternative to Twitter or Facebook when it comes to concerns like data privacy.

Related: Free Tests to Learn to Detect Fake Information

Will You Sign up to Parler?

Parler's stated intentions to provide a "public square" for free discourse is hardly an idea to be afraid of. Unfortunately, it may be becoming an echo chamber for people to amplify claims and misinformation that wouldn't be supported by other platforms.

You could make up your mind by trying out the platform for yourself. However, you will get a different experience depending on which device you access it from.