Pinterest: Difference between revisions

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*'''User privacy''': Questionable; private boards can be accessed by staff.

*'''Business model''': Profits from affiliate links and advertisements. In May 2025, Pinterest's revenue was up 17%.<ref name="sportsdeal">{{Cite web |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/91341737/pinterest-just-signed-its-first-sports-deal-ever-with-the-new-york-liberty |title=Pinterest just signed its first sports deal ever with the New York Liberty |first=Jeff |last=Beer |date=29 May 2025 |work=Fast Company |access-date=25 Aug 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250531134351/https://www.fastcompany.com/91341737/pinterest-just-signed-its-first-sports-deal-ever-with-the-new-york-liberty |archive-date=31 May 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>

*'''Market control''': Dominant; overrides original sources in image searches.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Orsini |first=Lauren Rae |date=2 Jun 2021 |title=Print-erest unphased by Pinterest call-out |url=http://www.dailydot.com/business/print-erest-printerest-pinterest-response/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Daily Dot}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Giannini |first=Sterin |date=28 Apr 2016 |title=Is Pinterest a Haven for Copyright Violations? |url=https://discover.hubpages.com/technology/Is-Pinterest-a-Haven-for-Copyright-Violations |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Hub Pages}}</ref> Monthly active users in May 2025 was 570 million at its highest.<ref name="sportsdeal" />

*'''Market control''': Dominant; overrides original sources in image searches.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Orsini |first=Lauren Rae |date=2 Jun 2021 |title=Print-erest unphased by Pinterest call-out |url=http://www.dailydot.com/business/print-erest-printerest-pinterest-response/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Daily Dot |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250708203127/https://www.dailydot.com/business/print-erest-printerest-pinterest-response/ |archive-date=8 Jul 2025}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Giannini |first=Sterin |date=28 Apr 2016 |title=Is Pinterest a Haven for Copyright Violations? |url=https://discover.hubpages.com/technology/Is-Pinterest-a-Haven-for-Copyright-Violations |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Hub Pages |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250806043209/https://discover.hubpages.com/technology/Is-Pinterest-a-Haven-for-Copyright-Violations |archive-date=6 Aug 2025}}</ref> Monthly active users in May 2025 was 570 million at its highest.<ref name="sportsdeal" />

==Incidents==

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<blockquote>Improve the products and services of our family of companies and offer new features. For example, using information to train, develop and improve our technology such as our machine learning models, regardless of when Pins were posted. This includes, for example, Pinterest’s body type technology, which is trained on images in Pins posted to our Services.</blockquote>

The vagueness of this new clause rightfully brings concern,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harrison |first=Maggie |date=8 Mar 2025 |title=Pinterest Changes User Terms So It Can Train AI on User Data and Photos, Regardless of When They Were Posted |url=https://futurism.com/pinterest-data-photos-train-ai |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |work=Futurism}}</ref> as Pinterest has been well-known to host stolen content.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Unknown |date=9 Jul 2022 |title=People are stealing my photos what can i do? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/vuns1z/people_are_stealing_my_photos_what_can_i_do/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |via=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=u/ShadedWizard |date=25 Nov 2023 |title=HELP: How do I report stolen Pins? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/183gceg/help_how_do_i_report_stolen_pins/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |via=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Petrina |date=8 Dec 2024 |title=Dealing with Stolen Pinterest Pins or Blog Content: A Guide for Content Creators |url=https://brandingforsmes.com/dealing-with-stolen-pinterest-pins-or-blog-content-a-guide-for-content-creators/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Branding For Smes}}</ref> This suggests that user-generated works may have been collected and used for AI training purposes without explicit consent. Such data could be used to train Pinterest's own AI models or sold as training data to other companies developing AI technologies.

The vagueness of this new clause rightfully brings concern,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harrison |first=Maggie |date=8 Mar 2025 |title=Pinterest Changes User Terms So It Can Train AI on User Data and Photos, Regardless of When They Were Posted |url=https://futurism.com/pinterest-data-photos-train-ai |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |work=Futurism |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260126183621/https://futurism.com/pinterest-data-photos-train-ai |archive-date=26 Jan 2026}}</ref> as Pinterest has been well-known to host stolen content.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Unknown |date=9 Jul 2022 |title=People are stealing my photos what can i do? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/vuns1z/people_are_stealing_my_photos_what_can_i_do/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |via=Reddit |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220708233541/https://old.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/vuns1z/people_are_stealing_my_photos_what_can_i_do/ |archive-date=8 Jul 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=u/ShadedWizard |date=25 Nov 2023 |title=HELP: How do I report stolen Pins? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/183gceg/help_how_do_i_report_stolen_pins/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |via=Reddit |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231201063021/https://old.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/183gceg/help_how_do_i_report_stolen_pins/ |archive-date=1 Dec 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Petrina |date=8 Dec 2024 |title=Dealing with Stolen Pinterest Pins or Blog Content: A Guide for Content Creators |url=https://brandingforsmes.com/dealing-with-stolen-pinterest-pins-or-blog-content-a-guide-for-content-creators/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Branding For Smes}}</ref> This suggests that user-generated works may have been collected and used for AI training purposes without explicit consent. Such data could be used to train Pinterest's own AI models or sold as training data to other companies developing AI technologies.

===Exploitation of pinned images (''circa 2012'')===

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===Excessive advertising===

For years, dozens of users have reported excessive advertising on Pinterest,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Why every single pin is an ad? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/ub9sq0/why_every_single_pin_is_an_ad/ |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Increased Amount of Ads on Pinterest? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/18b9vga/increased_amount_of_ads_on_pinterest/ |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Why in the world does Pinterest have so many ads?[...] |url=https://www.quora.com/Why-in-the-world-does-Pinterest-have-so-many-ads-It-bothers-me-when-I-m-trying-to-look-at-a-recipe-etc-and-all-these-ads-pop-up-Is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-those |website=Quora}}</ref> going as far back as 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Has Pinterest gotten much worse since the ads? |url=https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/563260-has-pinterest-gotten-much-worse-since-the-ads/ |website=The Well-Trained Mind Community}}</ref> Many online posts describe how the excessive ads ruin the user experience and have led to the abandonment of the platform altogether. One user states, "Due to the bombarding of ads on Pinterest, I went from scrolling through pins for hours to scrolling through pins for less than 5 seconds and then closing the apps".<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Increased Amount of Ads on Pinterest? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/18b9vga/increased_amount_of_ads_on_pinterest/ |website=Reddit}}</ref>

For years, dozens of users have reported excessive advertising on Pinterest,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Why every single pin is an ad? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/ub9sq0/why_every_single_pin_is_an_ad/ |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Increased Amount of Ads on Pinterest? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/18b9vga/increased_amount_of_ads_on_pinterest/ |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Why in the world does Pinterest have so many ads?[...] |url=https://www.quora.com/Why-in-the-world-does-Pinterest-have-so-many-ads-It-bothers-me-when-I-m-trying-to-look-at-a-recipe-etc-and-all-these-ads-pop-up-Is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-those |website=Quora}}</ref> going as far back as 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Has Pinterest gotten much worse since the ads? |url=https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/563260-has-pinterest-gotten-much-worse-since-the-ads/ |website=The Well-Trained Mind Community |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20160731065104/http://forums.welltrainedmind.com:80/topic/563260-has-pinterest-gotten-much-worse-since-the-ads/ |archive-date=31 Jul 2016}}</ref> Many online posts describe how the excessive ads ruin the user experience and have led to the abandonment of the platform altogether. One user states, "Due to the bombarding of ads on Pinterest, I went from scrolling through pins for hours to scrolling through pins for less than 5 seconds and then closing the apps".<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Increased Amount of Ads on Pinterest? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/18b9vga/increased_amount_of_ads_on_pinterest/ |website=Reddit}}</ref>

An article on Android Authority describes how a platform for hobbies and crafts turned into a hub for discovering products (often on Amazon), which first began around 2013 and was then ramped up two years later as the platform shifted to a social e-commerce site.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dalul |first=Suzana |date=20 Feb 2020 |title=Pinterest: How a once inspiring social media app was ruined by ads |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/pinterest-ads-1065432/ |website=Android Authority}}</ref> The platform even introduced a feature called Shoppable Pins, which uses hovering to show items in a picture while linking to external retail sites. These Shoppable Pins are treated as content rather than advertisements, which the article then goes on to say, "This is dishonest and misleading, and makes for an even worse experience than constantly being bombarded by pins from popular brands any time you search for something."

An article on Android Authority describes how a platform for hobbies and crafts turned into a hub for discovering products (often on Amazon), which first began around 2013 and was then ramped up two years later as the platform shifted to a social e-commerce site.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dalul |first=Suzana |date=20 Feb 2020 |title=Pinterest: How a once inspiring social media app was ruined by ads |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/pinterest-ads-1065432/ |website=Android Authority |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250811005013/https://www.androidauthority.com/pinterest-ads-1065432/ |archive-date=11 Aug 2025}}</ref> The platform even introduced a feature called Shoppable Pins, which uses hovering to show items in a picture while linking to external retail sites. These Shoppable Pins are treated as content rather than advertisements, which the article then goes on to say, "This is dishonest and misleading, and makes for an even worse experience than constantly being bombarded by pins from popular brands any time you search for something."

==References==

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 *'''User privacy''': Questionable; private boards can be accessed by staff.
 *'''Business model''': Profits from affiliate links and advertisements. In May 2025, Pinterest's revenue was up 17%.<ref name="sportsdeal">{{Cite web |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/91341737/pinterest-just-signed-its-first-sports-deal-ever-with-the-new-york-liberty |title=Pinterest just signed its first sports deal ever with the New York Liberty |first=Jeff |last=Beer |date=29 May 2025 |work=Fast Company |access-date=25 Aug 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250531134351/https://www.fastcompany.com/91341737/pinterest-just-signed-its-first-sports-deal-ever-with-the-new-york-liberty |archive-date=31 May 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>
-*'''Market control''': Dominant; overrides original sources in image searches.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Orsini |first=Lauren Rae |date=2 Jun 2021 |title=Print-erest unphased by Pinterest call-out |url=http://www.dailydot.com/business/print-erest-printerest-pinterest-response/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Daily Dot}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Giannini |first=Sterin |date=28 Apr 2016 |title=Is Pinterest a Haven for Copyright Violations? |url=https://discover.hubpages.com/technology/Is-Pinterest-a-Haven-for-Copyright-Violations |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Hub Pages}}</ref> Monthly active users in May 2025 was 570 million at its highest.<ref name="sportsdeal" />
+*'''Market control''': Dominant; overrides original sources in image searches.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Orsini |first=Lauren Rae |date=2 Jun 2021 |title=Print-erest unphased by Pinterest call-out |url=http://www.dailydot.com/business/print-erest-printerest-pinterest-response/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Daily Dot |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250708203127/https://www.dailydot.com/business/print-erest-printerest-pinterest-response/ |archive-date=8 Jul 2025}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Giannini |first=Sterin |date=28 Apr 2016 |title=Is Pinterest a Haven for Copyright Violations? |url=https://discover.hubpages.com/technology/Is-Pinterest-a-Haven-for-Copyright-Violations |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Hub Pages |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250806043209/https://discover.hubpages.com/technology/Is-Pinterest-a-Haven-for-Copyright-Violations |archive-date=6 Aug 2025}}</ref> Monthly active users in May 2025 was 570 million at its highest.<ref name="sportsdeal" />
 ==Incidents==
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 <blockquote>Improve the products and services of our family of companies and offer new features. For example, using information to train, develop and improve our technology such as our machine learning models, regardless of when Pins were posted. This includes, for example, Pinterest’s body type technology, which is trained on images in Pins posted to our Services.</blockquote>
-The vagueness of this new clause rightfully brings concern,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harrison |first=Maggie |date=8 Mar 2025 |title=Pinterest Changes User Terms So It Can Train AI on User Data and Photos, Regardless of When They Were Posted |url=https://futurism.com/pinterest-data-photos-train-ai |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |work=Futurism}}</ref> as Pinterest has been well-known to host stolen content.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Unknown |date=9 Jul 2022 |title=People are stealing my photos what can i do? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/vuns1z/people_are_stealing_my_photos_what_can_i_do/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |via=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=u/ShadedWizard |date=25 Nov 2023 |title=HELP: How do I report stolen Pins? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/183gceg/help_how_do_i_report_stolen_pins/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |via=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Petrina |date=8 Dec 2024 |title=Dealing with Stolen Pinterest Pins or Blog Content: A Guide for Content Creators |url=https://brandingforsmes.com/dealing-with-stolen-pinterest-pins-or-blog-content-a-guide-for-content-creators/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Branding For Smes}}</ref> This suggests that user-generated works may have been collected and used for AI training purposes without explicit consent. Such data could be used to train Pinterest's own AI models or sold as training data to other companies developing AI technologies.
+The vagueness of this new clause rightfully brings concern,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harrison |first=Maggie |date=8 Mar 2025 |title=Pinterest Changes User Terms So It Can Train AI on User Data and Photos, Regardless of When They Were Posted |url=https://futurism.com/pinterest-data-photos-train-ai |access-date=10 Mar 2025 |work=Futurism |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260126183621/https://futurism.com/pinterest-data-photos-train-ai |archive-date=26 Jan 2026}}</ref> as Pinterest has been well-known to host stolen content.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Unknown |date=9 Jul 2022 |title=People are stealing my photos what can i do? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/vuns1z/people_are_stealing_my_photos_what_can_i_do/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |via=Reddit |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220708233541/https://old.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/vuns1z/people_are_stealing_my_photos_what_can_i_do/ |archive-date=8 Jul 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=u/ShadedWizard |date=25 Nov 2023 |title=HELP: How do I report stolen Pins? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/183gceg/help_how_do_i_report_stolen_pins/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |via=Reddit |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231201063021/https://old.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/183gceg/help_how_do_i_report_stolen_pins/ |archive-date=1 Dec 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Petrina |date=8 Dec 2024 |title=Dealing with Stolen Pinterest Pins or Blog Content: A Guide for Content Creators |url=https://brandingforsmes.com/dealing-with-stolen-pinterest-pins-or-blog-content-a-guide-for-content-creators/ |access-date=22 Mar 2025 |website=Branding For Smes}}</ref> This suggests that user-generated works may have been collected and used for AI training purposes without explicit consent. Such data could be used to train Pinterest's own AI models or sold as training data to other companies developing AI technologies.
 ===Exploitation of pinned images (''circa 2012'')===
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 ===Excessive advertising===
-For years, dozens of users have reported excessive advertising on Pinterest,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Why every single pin is an ad? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/ub9sq0/why_every_single_pin_is_an_ad/ |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Increased Amount of Ads on Pinterest? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/18b9vga/increased_amount_of_ads_on_pinterest/ |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Why in the world does Pinterest have so many ads?[...] |url=https://www.quora.com/Why-in-the-world-does-Pinterest-have-so-many-ads-It-bothers-me-when-I-m-trying-to-look-at-a-recipe-etc-and-all-these-ads-pop-up-Is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-those |website=Quora}}</ref> going as far back as 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Has Pinterest gotten much worse since the ads? |url=https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/563260-has-pinterest-gotten-much-worse-since-the-ads/ |website=The Well-Trained Mind Community}}</ref> Many online posts describe how the excessive ads ruin the user experience and have led to the abandonment of the platform altogether. One user states, "Due to the bombarding of ads on Pinterest, I went from scrolling through pins for hours to scrolling through pins for less than 5 seconds and then closing the apps".<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Increased Amount of Ads on Pinterest? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/18b9vga/increased_amount_of_ads_on_pinterest/ |website=Reddit}}</ref>
+For years, dozens of users have reported excessive advertising on Pinterest,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Why every single pin is an ad? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/ub9sq0/why_every_single_pin_is_an_ad/ |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Increased Amount of Ads on Pinterest? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/18b9vga/increased_amount_of_ads_on_pinterest/ |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Why in the world does Pinterest have so many ads?[...] |url=https://www.quora.com/Why-in-the-world-does-Pinterest-have-so-many-ads-It-bothers-me-when-I-m-trying-to-look-at-a-recipe-etc-and-all-these-ads-pop-up-Is-there-any-way-to-get-rid-of-those |website=Quora}}</ref> going as far back as 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Has Pinterest gotten much worse since the ads? |url=https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/563260-has-pinterest-gotten-much-worse-since-the-ads/ |website=The Well-Trained Mind Community |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20160731065104/http://forums.welltrainedmind.com:80/topic/563260-has-pinterest-gotten-much-worse-since-the-ads/ |archive-date=31 Jul 2016}}</ref> Many online posts describe how the excessive ads ruin the user experience and have led to the abandonment of the platform altogether. One user states, "Due to the bombarding of ads on Pinterest, I went from scrolling through pins for hours to scrolling through pins for less than 5 seconds and then closing the apps".<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Increased Amount of Ads on Pinterest? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pinterest/comments/18b9vga/increased_amount_of_ads_on_pinterest/ |website=Reddit}}</ref>
-An article on Android Authority describes how a platform for hobbies and crafts turned into a hub for discovering products (often on Amazon), which first began around 2013 and was then ramped up two years later as the platform shifted to a social e-commerce site.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dalul |first=Suzana |date=20 Feb 2020 |title=Pinterest: How a once inspiring social media app was ruined by ads |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/pinterest-ads-1065432/ |website=Android Authority}}</ref> The platform even introduced a feature called Shoppable Pins, which uses hovering to show items in a picture while linking to external retail sites. These Shoppable Pins are treated as content rather than advertisements, which the article then goes on to say, "This is dishonest and misleading, and makes for an even worse experience than constantly being bombarded by pins from popular brands any time you search for something."
+An article on Android Authority describes how a platform for hobbies and crafts turned into a hub for discovering products (often on Amazon), which first began around 2013 and was then ramped up two years later as the platform shifted to a social e-commerce site.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dalul |first=Suzana |date=20 Feb 2020 |title=Pinterest: How a once inspiring social media app was ruined by ads |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/pinterest-ads-1065432/ |website=Android Authority |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250811005013/https://www.androidauthority.com/pinterest-ads-1065432/ |archive-date=11 Aug 2025}}</ref> The platform even introduced a feature called Shoppable Pins, which uses hovering to show items in a picture while linking to external retail sites. These Shoppable Pins are treated as content rather than advertisements, which the article then goes on to say, "This is dishonest and misleading, and makes for an even worse experience than constantly being bombarded by pins from popular brands any time you search for something."
 ==References==