What parents need to know about Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual discovery platform where users collect and share ideas through images and videos, but it also exposes children and teens to public profiles, messaging features, advertising, influencers, and user-generated content. While Pinterest requires users to be at least 13 years old and gives younger teens additional privacy protections, parents should still discuss online safety, review privacy settings, and encourage children not to share personal information or interact with strangers. Like any social platform, Pinterest is safest when children understand how to recognize inappropriate content, misleading links, and online scams.

Key takeaways

• Pinterest may look like a simple inspiration app, but it includes social features, public content, advertising, and links to external websites that parents should understand.
• Teach children to keep personal information private, avoid conversations with strangers, and be cautious when following links that leave Pinterest.
• Review privacy settings together and regularly discuss what kinds of content are appropriate and what to do if something makes them uncomfortable.
• Bitdefender Parental Control helps parents manage screen time, block malicious websites, and protect children as they explore platforms like Pinterest.

What is it?

 Pinterest is a photo-sharing site used as an online pinboard. One can create collections of his or her own images and can re-pin photos from other people. Users can also share, save, and categorize pictures and ideas for everything from crafting, tattoos and photography to cooking, decorating and collecting stuff.

Pinterest started in 2010 as an artsy crafty platform for ideas around quilting, knitting and decorating. At the end of 2019, Pinterest reported having 322 million monthly active users worldwide. 71% of global users are women, according to Statista. 52% of millennials uses Pinterest everyday, company says.

Is Pinterest appropriate for children?

Compared to other social media platforms, Pinterest comes with fewer safety hazards. Inappropriate content could be the biggest issue, though. It can be easily found through keywords or links to websites with adult content. The app has no filters that parents can use to block explicit content and no efficient way of preventing children from seeing it (other than reporting it afterward).

There can also be people sending negative messages about things one pins, but the cyberbullying incidence is not as high as it is on other social media platforms. In summer of 2019,  Pinterest launched the “compassionate search”,  a collection of emotional well-being activities for users experiencing sadness, stress, anxiety, depression and beyond and they are planning to bring it to other countries in 2020.

How to protect children on Pinterest?

Pinterest is a good platform to find inspiration from people with similar interests from all over the world. To make sure your children have a good experience with Pinterest, you might think about the following:

1. Check all the privacy settings for Pinterest and decide together how much privacy the kids need. For younger children, maybe you should approve and keep an eye on all their followers.

2. Heads up about the “Private Pinning” feature that lets a user create “secret boards.” Once a board is set up like this, it will be shared only with certain people.

3. Hide the profile from Google and other search engines by activating this exact option from settings if you don’t want anyone to see your children’s activity on Pinterest.

4. Turn off the “personalization” feature to prevent the sale of your kids’ data to advertisers.

5. Discuss with your kids what they can post / view so as to keep them safe and encourage responsible behavior on social media. For example, they should avoid posting photos of themselves.

6. Unlink their profile from other social networks to minimize risks of cyberbullying.

Using Pinterest as a visual learning aid can be creative and fun.

Similar apps:

VSCO

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Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Should I let my 12-year-old have Pinterest?

No. Pinterest requires users to meet the minimum age for their country, which is at least 13 and may be higher in some locations. A 12-year-old should not create an account by entering a false birth date. Parents can instead browse age-appropriate ideas with their child without creating a personal account, save suitable content themselves, and discuss how advertising, external links, and misleading or inappropriate posts work before the child begins using social platforms independently.

Is there anything inappropriate on Pinterest?

Yes. Although Pinterest removes content that violates its rules, children may still encounter sexualized images, self-harm or eating-disorder content, misinformation, scams, disturbing material, and products or ideas that are unsuitable for their age. Pins can also lead to external websites whose content and security Pinterest does not control. Parents should discuss what to do when upsetting material appears, review the child’s interests and privacy settings, and use parental controls to block harmful websites and manage screen time.

Can Pinterest be kid-friendly?

Pinterest can be more suitable for teenagers when the account uses the child’s correct age, remains private, and is supported by active parental guidance. Parents should review followed accounts and boards, restrict messaging and interactions, set a parental passcode, and teach the child not to reveal their name, school, location, or contact information. It is not a dedicated children’s platform, so safety features cannot replace regular conversations about inappropriate content, scams, advertising, and links to outside websites.

Can children under 16 have Pinterest?

Potentially, but they must meet the minimum age requirement that applies where they live. Pinterest generally requires users to be at least 13, while some countries have a higher age threshold for independently consenting to data processing. Accounts for younger teens receive stricter protections, including private profiles, limited discoverability, and restricted interactions. Users under 16 cannot make their profiles public, and parents can set a passcode to prevent certain safety and privacy settings from being changed.