The two ways to add someone on Pinterest

You can add a friend on Pinterest in two ways: by searching for their username or email address, or by letting Pinterest suggest people based on your contacts. The search method works if you already know who you want to follow. The contacts method works if you have their email address saved in your phone or computer.

Both methods add them to your following list, which means you will see their pins in your home feed. Following someone on Pinterest is not the same as friending them on Facebook — it is one-directional. They do not have to follow you back, and they will not get a notification that you followed them unless they check their follower count.

Key Takeaways

  • Search for someone by their username or email address from the search bar at the top of Pinterest, then tap the follow button on their profile.
  • You can also upload your phone contacts and let Pinterest show you suggested accounts to follow from people in your address book.
  • Following someone on Pinterest does not notify them, and they do not have to follow you back.
  • If you want to message someone privately, you need to follow them first, and they need to follow you back before you can send a direct message.

How to search for and follow someone by username

Open Pinterest and tap the search icon at the top of the screen. Type the person's username or full name into the search box. Pinterest will show you a list of accounts that match what you typed. Find the person you want and tap on their profile picture or name to open their profile.

Once you are on their profile, look for the Follow button near the top. It usually appears next to their name and profile picture. Tap it, and the button will change to Following. You are now following them, and their pins will appear in your home feed.

How to add friends from your phone contacts

Open Pinterest and tap your profile icon in the bottom right corner. Tap the three horizontal lines (menu) at the top. Scroll down and tap Find Friends. You will see an option to upload your contacts. Tap Upload Contacts and allow Pinterest to access your phone's address book when it asks.

Pinterest will then show you a list of people from your contacts who already have Pinterest accounts. You can scroll through and tap Follow next to anyone you want to add. You can follow multiple people at once this way. If someone you want to follow is not in the list, they either do not have a Pinterest account or their email address is not connected to their account.

What happens after you follow someone

Once you follow someone, their pins will start showing up in your home feed mixed with pins from other accounts you follow and Pinterest's recommendations. You can unfollow them at any time by going back to their profile and tapping Following to change it back to Follow.

If you want to save someone's pins without following their entire account, you can save individual pins to your own boards instead. This is useful if you like only some of their content. You can also mute someone's pins so they stop appearing in your feed without unfollowing them — tap the three dots on one of their pins and select Mute pins from [username].

How to send a direct message after following

If you want to message someone privately on Pinterest, both of you need to follow each other first. Once you are mutually following, you can tap the message icon (speech bubble) at the top of Pinterest and start a conversation. If you try to message someone who does not follow you back, your message will go to their message requests folder instead of their main inbox.

Direct messages on Pinterest work similarly to other social media platforms. You can send text, images, and links. The person will see a notification that you sent them a message, and they can reply or ignore it. There is no way to unsend a message once it has been delivered.

Troubleshooting: When you cannot find someone to follow

If you search for someone and cannot find them, they may have a private account, a deactivated account, or a username you do not have exactly right. Try searching for their full name instead of a username, or ask them what their exact Pinterest username is. Usernames are case-sensitive on some platforms but not on Pinterest, so capitalization should not matter.

If the person has a private account, you will still be able to see their profile and follow them, but you will not see their pins in your feed unless they approve you. Private accounts are rare on Pinterest compared to Instagram or Twitter, but they do exist. If someone has deactivated their account, you will not be able to find them at all until they reactivate it.

Privacy and what people can see about your follows

When you follow someone on Pinterest, they can see that you are following them if they check their follower list. Your follower list is public by default, which means anyone on Pinterest can see who you follow. If you want to keep your follows private, you can change your account settings to make your follower and following lists visible only to you.

To do this, tap your profile icon, then tap the three lines menu. Go to Settings and Privacy, then Privacy. Look for the option to make your following list private and toggle it on. This does not hide the fact that you are following someone from them — it only hides it from other people browsing your profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do people get notified when I follow them on Pinterest?

No, people do not receive a notification when you follow them. They can see you in their follower count and follower list if they check, but Pinterest does not send them an alert. This is different from some other social media platforms that notify users of new followers.

Can I follow someone without them following me back?

Yes, following on Pinterest is one-directional. You can follow anyone with a public account, and they do not have to follow you back. However, if you want to send them a direct message, they need to follow you back first, or your message goes to their requests folder.

What is the difference between following and saving pins?

Following someone adds all their pins to your home feed. Saving a pin adds just that one pin to one of your boards. You can save pins from people you do not follow, and you can follow people without saving any of their pins. Saving is more selective than following.

Can I see who someone else is following?

Yes, you can see anyone's following list unless they have made it private. Tap on their profile, then tap the Following number to see who they follow. This works for any public account on Pinterest.

How do I stop seeing someone's pins without unfollowing them?

You can mute someone's pins by tapping the three dots on one of their pins and selecting Mute pins from [username]. This stops their pins from showing in your feed without unfollowing them, so they will not know you muted them. You can unmute them the same way.