Pinterest Guide (2026): What Parents, Educators, & Students Need to Know

Inside Your Child’s Pinterest Experience

• Pinterest can expose students to content parents may not expect, including mature or age-inappropriate material through personalized recommendations
• Students can click Pins that lead to outside websites with different content, ads, and privacy policies
• Messaging, comments, and interactions with other users create additional opportunities for students to connect with people they may not know
• Pinterest can influence what students see based on their searches, views, and saves, making it important for parents to understand how the personalized feed works
• Parents have tools to help create a safer Pinterest experience, including teen privacy protections, messaging controls, reporting features, and parental passcodes

From Pins to Privacy: What Parents Need to Know

Pinterest Isn’t Just a Digital Bulletin Board

• Pinterest is a visual discovery app where people find, save, and organize ideas
• Users can browse photos and videos about fashion, food, beauty, crafts, travel, hobbies, home décor, and more
• Users can save content they like as “Pins” and organize them into collections called “Boards”
• A personalized feed recommends content based on what users search for, view, and save
• Teens may use Pinterest to find inspiration for outfits, hairstyles, recipes, crafts, school projects, or hobbies
• Users can search for specific topics and click Pins that may take them to outside websites

Students Are Turning to Pinterest for Ideas and Inspiration

• Students can discover new ideas for fashion, beauty, food, crafts, hobbies, and room décor
• Pinterest makes it easy to find inspiration for school projects, creative activities, and personal interests
• Students can create Boards to collect and organize ideas they want to remember
• The personalized feed quickly fills with content based on what they search for and save
• Users can explore trends and see what other people are creating, wearing, cooking, or recommending
• Students can share Pins and ideas with friends and use Pinterest to plan projects, events, or activities

Pinterest’s Rules for Younger Users

(Owned by Pinterest, Based in San Francisco, CA)

App Store: 13+

Google Play: T (Teen)

Terms of Service

Policies and guidelines

From Inspiration to Outside Links

• Pinterest can expose students to a wide range of content, including material that may not be appropriate for their age
• Personalized recommendations can continue showing similar content based on what a student searches for, views, and saves
• Students may click Pins that lead to outside websites with different content, ads, or privacy policies
• Beauty, fashion, and lifestyle content can contribute to unrealistic expectations about appearance, success, or popularity
• Students can interact with other users through features such as comments and messaging
• Shopping-related content can encourage students to explore products, trends, and purchases
• Parents may not realize how much time their student is spending scrolling because Pinterest can feel more like a search or inspiration tool than a traditional social media app

Supporting Safer and Smarter Pinterest Use

• Talk with your child about what they use Pinterest for and what types of content they enjoy
• Review their privacy and account settings together
• Encourage your child to keep personal information, such as their full name, school, location, and contact information, private
• Check what types of accounts, Boards, and content your child is following
• Discuss how personalized recommendations work and why their feed may change based on what they search for and interact with
• Have regular conversations about online privacy, strangers, and sharing personal information
• Create a Family Media Agreement that includes expectations for Pinterest and other social media apps

How to Shine Online with your "Pins"

Creating a Pinterest account

• Pinterest requires users to be at least 13 years old to have an account, although the minimum age may be higher in some countries
• Users create a personal account with an email address, password, age, name, and other basic information
• Pinterest uses a user's age to provide an experience, recommendations, and advertising appropriate for their age
• Users can choose a name for their profile and can edit their public profile information, including their name, profile photo, bio, pronouns, website, and username

How to manage message settings

• Pinterest allows users to control who can send them messages
• Depending on the user's age, messaging options may be more limited
• Teens under 16 can exchange messages with mutual followers and may receive message requests from group Board collaborators
• As teens get older, their messaging options can expand
• Parents can make messaging settings more restrictive
  
  • Log in to the teen's Pinterest account
  • Click the menu at the bottom-left of the screen
  • Select Settings
  • Select Social permissions
  • Under Messages, click Edit next to the group you want to manage
  • Choose the preferred message setting
  • Click Save

How to report something on Pinterest

• Users can report Pins, comments, messages, Boards, and accounts that violate Pinterest's rules
  
  • Open the Pin, comment, message, Board, or account you want to report
  • Select the more-options icon
  • Select Report or the appropriate reporting option
  • Choose the reason for the report
  • Follow the prompts to submit the report
• Teens can also block people or business accounts from following them, messaging them, or interacting with their Pins

How to make a teen profile private

• Pinterest accounts belonging to teens ages 13–16 are private by default and cannot be made public
• Private profiles do not appear in Pinterest search results or search-engine results
• Only the teen and people they invite to follow them can see the Pins and Boards they save
• Teens who are 16 or older can choose to make their profile public
• If a parent has a parental passcode set up, certain profile visibility settings are locked
• Parents should check the account's Profile visibility settings rather than relying on older instructions that tell parents to manually turn on a private profile

How parents can set up a parental passcode

• Parents and caregivers of teens under 18 can create a four-digit parental passcode
• The passcode can lock certain settings related to account management, privacy and data, and social permissions
• Settings that can be locked include messaging, comments, @mentions, profile visibility, ad personalization, shopping recommendations, and video recommendations
  
  • Log in to the teen's Pinterest account
  • Click the menu at the bottom-left of the screen
  • Select Settings
  • Select Account management
    
  • Follow the prompts to create a four-digit parental passcode
  • Add a parent's email address and verify it through the confirmation email
• The passcode expires when the teen turns 18 based on the birthdate listed on the account
• A passcode is not required when changing settings to make the teen's account more private

How to manage privacy and data settings

• Pinterest uses activity on and off the platform to personalize recommendations and advertising
• Parents can review the Privacy and data section with their teen
  
  • Log in to Pinterest
  • Click the menu at the bottom-left of the screen
  • Select Settings
  • Select Privacy and data
  • Review the available advertising and data-sharing options
  • Adjust the settings that are available for the account
    
• Teens may have additional protections or restrictions based on their age and location

How to protect personal information

• SmartSocial recommends students avoid putting their school, location, phone number, or other sensitive personal information in their profile
• Parents should review their profile photo, username, bio, and website
• Remind your teen that Pins can sometimes link to websites outside of Pinterest
• Encourage your teen to use Secret Boards when they want to save ideas that they don't want other people to see
• Talk with your teen about being thoughtful about what they post, save, and share online

What parents should know about Pinterest's teen protections

• Pinterest automatically provides additional privacy protections for teens
• Teens ages 13–16 have private profiles by default
• Messaging options are restricted for younger teens
• Parents can set a parental passcode on a teen's account until the teen turns 18
• Parents can use the passcode to lock important privacy, messaging, and recommendation settings
• Parents should review Pinterest's settings with their teen rather than relying on older Pinterest guides, since the platform's teen protections and menus can change

What should students post?

• Pin content from your personal website, articles or tutorials from your industry, interviews with thought leaders in your area of study, or helpful content
• Students should also consider using Pinterest to curate a “mood board” for their own personal brand
• Avoid pinning content from controversial sources, negative commentary, or inappropriate images  
• Consider your Pinterest profile an extension of your resume

More resources for parents, students, & educators

Instagram App Guide: What Parents, Educators, & Students Need to Know

YouTube and Tweens: Tips for Families to Use YouTube Safely

Parents' Ultimate Guide to Snapchat

Conclusion 

Pinterest can be a fun place for students to discover ideas, explore hobbies, and find inspiration, but parents should understand that the platform also comes with privacy, messaging, and content concerns. Pinterest provides teen safety features and parental controls that can help parents create a safer experience. Most importantly, parents should stay involved, review settings with their child, and keep the conversation open about what they see and do on Pinterest.