Pinterest facts for kids
Logo in use since 2021
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The default page shown to logged-out users (the background montage images are variable)
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| Type of business | Public |
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Type of site
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Social media service |
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| Founded | December 2009 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
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| Industry | Internet |
| Revenue |  US$3.65 billion (2024) |
| Operating income | US$180 million (2024) |
| Net income | US$1.86 billion (2024) |
| Total assets | US$5.34 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$4.75 billion (2024) |
| Employees | 4,666 (2024) |
| Users | 553 million MAU (2024) |
Pinterest is a popular online platform where you can find and share ideas using pictures. Think of it like a digital bulletin board where you can "pin" images and videos that inspire you. People use Pinterest to discover new recipes, home decor ideas, fashion styles, and much more. It's a great place to get creative and plan projects.
Pinterest, Inc. was started by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp. Its main office is in San Francisco, USA.
Contents
The Story of Pinterest
Pinterest grew from an earlier app called Tote. This app was made by Ben Silbermann and Paul Sciarra. Tote was like a digital catalog for shopping. However, it had problems with mobile payments, making it hard for people to buy things.
Even though Tote struggled, users loved collecting and sharing their favorite items. Ben Silbermann noticed this. He decided to change the company's focus to Pinterest. This new platform let users collect and share all sorts of items and ideas with each other.
Starting Small and Growing Big
The idea for Pinterest began in December 2009. The first version of the website launched in March 2010. Nine months later, it had 10,000 users. Ben Silbermann even called the first 5,000 users to get their feedback!
In March 2011, a Pinterest app for iPhone was released. It became very popular quickly. Soon after, an iPad app and a mobile website for other phones were also launched. For a while, Ben Silbermann and a few programmers ran the site from a small apartment.
Pinterest grew very fast. In August 2011, Time magazine called Pinterest one of the "50 Best Websites of 2011." By December 2011, it was one of the top 10 biggest social network services. Pinterest even won an award for "Best New Startup of 2011." In January 2012, it became the fastest site ever to reach 10 million unique visitors in the U.S.
Changes and New Features
In 2012, Pinterest made some important changes. They updated their rules so they could not sell users' content. Also, you no longer needed an invitation to join the site. In October 2012, Pinterest added special accounts for businesses. This helped companies use Pinterest to promote their products.
In April 2017, Pinterest removed the "liking" feature for posts. They felt it was not needed because users already had "boards" to save things they liked. Your old "liked" posts were simply turned into a new collection board.
Over time, Pinterest has focused more on visual search and e-commerce (online shopping). They want to help you find things you love and even buy them directly.
Becoming a Public Company
In February 2019, Pinterest decided to become a public company. This means its shares can be bought and sold on the stock market. They officially went public on April 18, 2019.
In 2020, Pinterest made $1.7 billion from ads. In March 2021, they launched "Pinterest Premiere" for video ads. Later, in October 2021, there were talks that PayPal might buy Pinterest, but the deal did not happen.
New Apps and Leadership
In December 2021, Pinterest bought a video editing app called Vochi. In May 2022, they launched "Pinterest TV Studio." This app lets users live-stream videos on Pinterest and use different devices for various camera angles.
On June 28, 2022, Ben Silbermann, the co-founder and CEO, stepped down from his role. He became the Executive Chairman. Bill Ready, an expert in online shopping, took over as the new Chief Executive Officer.
In August 2022, Pinterest released a new app called Shuffles. It allows users to create collages using photos from Pinterest or their own pictures.
In January 2023, Pinterest announced a partnership with LiveRamp. This helps advertisers show you personalized ads while keeping your data safe.
How Pinterest Works
Pinterest is often described as a "catalogue of ideas" or a "visual search engine." It's designed to inspire you to try new things.
Pins and Boards
The main parts of Pinterest are "pins" and "boards."
- A pin is an image or video linked from a website or uploaded by a user.
- A board is a collection of pins that are all about a certain topic or theme. For example, you might have a board for "Healthy Recipes" or "Dream Bedroom Ideas."
You can save pins from other users' boards to your own boards. This is called "repinning." You can also follow other users or specific boards to see their new pins in your feed.
You can also save content from outside Pinterest. The "Save" button (formerly "Pin it") can be added to your web browser. This lets you quickly save images from any website to your Pinterest boards.
In August 2016, Pinterest added a video player. This allows users and brands to upload videos directly to the site.
Finding Ideas
Your home feed is where you see all the pins from the users, boards, and topics you follow. It also shows some ads and pins that Pinterest thinks you might like.
In October 2013, Pinterest started showing "Promoted Pins." These are ads that look like regular pins. They are shown to you based on your interests and what you do on Pinterest.
In 2015, Pinterest added a cool feature: you can search using images instead of words! This is called visual search.
In March 2020, Pinterest added the "Today" tab to the home feed. This shows you pins that are currently popular or trending.
In October 2022, Pinterest's "Idea Pins" (video pins) got a new feature. You can now add popular songs from famous artists to your videos.
Visual Search Tools
In 2017, Pinterest launched special "visual search" tools. These tools use artificial intelligence to help you find similar content.
- Pinterest Lens lets you take a photo of something (like a shoe or a plant) and find similar items or ideas on Pinterest.
- Shop the Look helps you find where to buy items shown in a pin.
- Instant Ideas gives you quick suggestions based on what you're looking at.
Shopping on Pinterest
Many businesses, especially stores, use Pinterest to show off their products. It's like having a "virtual storefront" online.
In 2013, Pinterest introduced "Rich Pins." These pins have extra information, like product prices, movie ratings, or recipe ingredients. This makes it easier to learn more about what you see.
In June 2015, Pinterest added "buyable pins," which let you buy things directly from the platform. In October 2018, these were replaced by "Product Pins," which still help you find products to buy.
In March 2019, Pinterest added product catalogs and personalized shopping suggestions. This helps you see more items from brands you like.
Pinterest Analytics
Pinterest Analytics is a tool that helps businesses understand how well their pins are doing. It shows them things like:
- Impressions: How many times their pins were seen.
- Engagements: How many times people interacted with their pins (like clicking or saving).
- Pin clicks: How many times people clicked on the pin itself.
- Outbound clicks: How many times people clicked on a link to go to a website outside Pinterest.
- Saves: How many times people saved their pins to their own boards.
This information helps companies see what's popular and how to improve their marketing.
Creator Fund
Pinterest wants to be a place for discovering and sharing ideas. In 2021, they started a "Creator Fund." This program helps support creators who make content on Pinterest. It gives them money, ad credits, and equipment. The goal is to encourage more people to create engaging content and keep users active on the platform. This fund especially helps creators from groups that are not always well-represented.
Using Pinterest
Pinterest is a free website, but you need to sign up to use it. You can access Pinterest through a web browser on your computer or by using its apps on iOS (Apple devices), Android phones, and Windows 10 PCs.
How Many People Use Pinterest?
Pinterest has grown a lot since it started.
- In February 2013, it had 48.7 million users worldwide.
- By July 2020, there were over 400 million monthly active users.
- In April 2023, Pinterest reported 463 million monthly active users. This means about 7.4% of the world's population over age 13 uses Pinterest!
Around 2020, many Pinterest images started showing up in Google Images search results. In 2022, Google made changes to show more variety in its search results. Pinterest said that because of these changes, their U.S. users coming from web searches dropped by about 30% in a year.
Who Uses Pinterest?
Pinterest has always been very popular with women, especially when it first started. A report from 2020 showed that over 60% of Pinterest users worldwide are women. However, the number of men using Pinterest has also grown a lot, increasing by 48%.
When it comes to age, users between 18 and 25 have been joining Pinterest twice as fast as those over 25. Both these age groups are helping Pinterest grow.
Pinterest's Headquarters and Funding
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Pinterest, Inc. has its main office in San Francisco, California. It used to be in Palo Alto but moved in 2012.
In its early days, Pinterest received money from various investors to help it grow. For example, in 2011, they got $10 million in funding. Later that year, they received another $27 million, which valued the company at $200 million.
In May 2012, a Japanese company called Rakuten led a $100 million investment in Pinterest. This valued Pinterest at $1.5 billion.
In October 2013, Pinterest received another $225 million in funding, making its value $3.8 billion.
In 2014, Pinterest started making money by charging advertisers. By 2015, investors valued Pinterest at $11 billion, making it a "unicorn" (a startup company worth over $1 billion).
In April 2023, Pinterest announced a partnership with Amazon. This means you might see third-party ads on Pinterest that can redirect you to Amazon to buy products.
Companies Pinterest Has Bought
Pinterest has bought several smaller companies to improve its features and technology:
- In March 2013, they bought Livestar.
- In October 2013, they acquired Hackermeter, and its founders joined Pinterest as engineers.
- In April 2015, they acquired the team from Hike Labs.
- In May 2016, they bought URX, a company that helped them understand content better.
- In August 2016, Pinterest acquired Instapaper, an app that helps you save articles to read later.
- In March 2017, they bought Jelly Industries, a small search engine company.
- In December 2021, Pinterest acquired the Vochi app.
- In June 2022, Pinterest bought The Yes, an AI-powered fashion shopping platform.
Images for kids
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The default page shown to logged-out users (the background montage images are variable)
See also
In Spanish: Pinterest para niños
- clipix
- List of image-sharing websites
- Timeline of social media
- Visual marketing
