Facebook closes Parse service for developers

Facebook has announced it will retire Parse, a tooling service for mobile app developers. The service will be completely terminated on January 28, 2017. Until then, the service will be supported.

On the website, Parse announces that the service is closing and offers options to its users for an easy transition. For example, Parse offers a migration tool with which all data can be moved to a MongoDB database. In addition, the company comes with Parse Server, which allows the Parse API to be used from its own Node.js server. Applications using the platform include Quip, a chat and word processing app, and Orbitz, for booking flights, hotels and cars.

Parse provides developers with support and development tools. This makes it easier for developers to focus on the product itself and not have to focus on maintenance of the backend. Facebook bought Parse in 2013 to provide developers with cloud storage, among other things. Other companies offer the same support, such as Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services. Facebook says it will close the service to focus more on products and services in the fields of analytics and authentication, among other things.