- How Pinterest works, in four parts
- Pins: the bookmarks everything is built on
- Boards: where your ideas live
- The home feed and how Pinterest learns your taste
- Searching on Pinterest: words, camera and voice
- Shopping on Pinterest
- How to start using Pinterest today
- Is Pinterest for personal use or business?
- My verdict
- Frequently asked questions
Pinterest is a free visual search and discovery app where you find ideas, save them as Pins and sort them onto boards. Pinterest describes itself as a visual discovery engine, not a social network: people go there to plan recipes, homes, outfits, trips and projects, and the app learns from what they save to show them more.
That difference matters more than it sounds. On most apps you scroll to see what friends are doing. On Pinterest you search for something you want to do, then keep the ideas you like. It behaves far more like a search engine with pictures than a chat with friends, which is why it suits planners, makers and small businesses so well.
How Pinterest works, in four parts
Everything on Pinterest comes back to four building blocks. Once you know them, the app makes sense.
| Part | Meaning | What you do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Pins | Bookmarks for ideas. Pinterest says Pins can be images, videos or products. | Save the ones you like, or create your own from a photo or video. |
| Boards | Collections where your saved Pins live. | Name them by topic, keep them public, private or shared with collaborators. |
| Home feed | Pins picked for you from your boards, the Pins you engage with and what you search for. | Browse when you want inspiration without a plan. |
| Search | A search bar plus camera and voice search. | Type what you want to do, or point your camera at something you like. |
Pins: the bookmarks everything is built on
A Pin is a saved idea. Most link back to the website the image came from, so a recipe Pin usually takes you to the full recipe and a product Pin takes you to the retailer. When you find one you like, you click the red Save button and choose a board.
You can also make Pins of your own by uploading a photo or video from your phone or computer, or by saving images you find on other websites with Pinterest's browser extension. If you want the step by step for that, my guide on how to create a Pin on Pinterest walks through it on a phone and a computer.
Boards: where your ideas live
Boards hold the Pins you save. Pinterest's help centre lists three kinds:
- Public boards show on your profile and in search, so anyone can find them.
- Private boards are seen only by you and anyone you invite. Pinterest suggests them for surprise parties, gift lists or early planning.
- Group boards have collaborators who can all add and organise Pins. They can be public or private.
You can split a board into sections, too. Pinterest's own example is a Birthday party board with a Decorations section and a Party games section, which keeps similar ideas together. One detail most people miss: when you open your own board, the More ideas and Shop tabs are only visible to you, even if the board is public.
The home feed and how Pinterest learns your taste
When you log in, the home feed appears first. Pinterest says the Pins there are picked from the boards you create, the Pins you engage with and the things you search for, plus Pins from the people and boards you follow. So the more you save, the more your feed starts to look like your taste.
If your feed drifts off course, you can tell Pinterest to show less of something or refine your recommendations in settings. That's normal housekeeping rather than a sign anything's wrong.
Searching on Pinterest: words, camera and voice
Search is where Pinterest earns its keep. Type an idea such as "birthday party" and you'll get decor, food and gift ideas in one grid. Pinterest also offers:
- Camera search through Pinterest Lens, so you can photograph something you like and find similar ideas.
- Voice search from the microphone icon on desktop.
- Visual search inside a Pin: tap part of an image, such as a lamp in a living room photo, and Pinterest shows similar items. Pinterest notes this doesn't work on ads or collage Pins yet.
- Beauty filters to narrow results by skin tone range or hair pattern.
My walkthrough of Pinterest Lens covers the camera side in more detail.
Shopping on Pinterest
Some Pins are product Pins, which show items you can buy from a merchant's website. You can filter search results to Products, browse Shop the look under a Pin, or open the Shop tab on some of your boards for ideas based on what you've saved. Pinterest is clear that orders are handled by the merchant, so any question about something you bought goes to the shop, not to Pinterest.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
How to start using Pinterest today
- Create an account. It's free. You need to be at least 13, and Pinterest asks teens to follow its teen safety rules.
- Search for something you're planning. A meal, a room, a trip, a project. Specific searches give better results than broad ones.
- Save five to ten Pins to a new board. Pinterest may even suggest a board name based on your activity, which you can edit.
- Open a Pin and look below it. Related Pins are where a lot of the best ideas hide.
- Make a second board for a different interest. Two clear topics teach the home feed what you like faster than one jumbled board.
If you haven't signed up yet, my guide on how to make a Pinterest account covers the setup on a computer or phone.
Is Pinterest for personal use or business?
Both. Most people use a personal account to plan their lives. Businesses use a free business account to publish Pins that link to their website, see analytics and run ads. A bakery, an interior designer or a blogger can all get visitors from Pins long after they're published, because people find them through search rather than a fast-moving timeline.
If you want your own content to be found there, my guide to Pinterest SEO is the place to go next.
My verdict
Pinterest is a search engine for ideas that happens to look like a photo album. If you plan things, it saves time; if you sell things people plan around, it can send you visitors for months from a single Pin. Start with one or two boards for what you're working on right now, save generously, and let the home feed catch up with your taste. Don't treat it like Instagram and you'll get far more out of it.
The building block of the whole site is the Pin, and my explainer on Pins breaks it down.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pinterest used for?
Pinterest is used to find and save ideas, such as recipes, home decor, outfits, travel plans and projects. People search, save Pins to boards and come back to them when they're ready to act.
Is Pinterest a social media app?
Pinterest calls itself a visual discovery engine. You can follow people and send messages, but most people use it to search for and save ideas rather than to post updates.
Is Pinterest free to use?
Yes. Creating a personal or business account and saving Pins is free. Businesses only pay if they choose to run ads.
How old do you have to be to use Pinterest?
Pinterest says you need to be at least 13 to use it, and the minimum can be higher in some countries.
