How to add someone on Pinterest
Pinterest does not have a traditional "friend request" system like Facebook or Instagram. Instead, you follow other people and they follow you back — but following is one-directional, meaning someone can follow you without you following them. To follow someone on Pinterest, find their profile, tap or click the "Follow" button, and they will see your activity in their home feed. They do not have to approve the follow or follow you back.
You can find people to follow by searching their username in the search bar at the top of the app or website, browsing the "Following" tab to see who your current followers follow, or clicking on someone's profile from a pin or board they created. Once you follow someone, you will see their pins and boards in your home feed, and they will see yours in theirs — but only if their privacy settings allow it.
If you want to send a direct message to someone on Pinterest, you can do that separately through Pinterest's messaging feature, which works more like a private conversation than a friend request. The person will receive a notification but can ignore or delete the message without accepting a "friendship."
Key Takeaways
- Following on Pinterest is one-directional — you can follow someone without them following you back, and they cannot block you from seeing their public pins.
- When you follow someone, they can see your saved pins, boards, and activity in their home feed, depending on what privacy settings you have turned on.
- Pinterest shows followers your username and profile picture to anyone who visits your profile, unless you change your account to private.
- Direct messages on Pinterest are separate from following and do not require the other person to accept or respond.
- Blocking someone on Pinterest prevents them from following you, seeing your profile, or messaging you, but they can still see your public pins if they search for them.
What happens when you follow someone
When you follow someone on Pinterest, that person's pins start appearing in your home feed. You also become visible to them — your username and profile picture show up in their follower list, and they can click through to see your profile, your saved pins, and your boards. If your account is public (the default setting), they can see almost everything you have pinned or saved.
The person you follow will also see your activity in their home feed. If you save one of their pins, like one of their pins, or create a board, they may receive a notification depending on their notification settings. This is how Pinterest works — it is designed to show people what others in their network are doing, to encourage discovery and conversation.
If you want to follow someone but do not want them to see your activity, you have limited options. You can make your account private, which hides your profile and pins from people who do not follow you, but anyone you follow will still see your activity. You cannot follow someone "silently" on Pinterest the way you might on some other platforms.
Privacy settings that affect who sees your activity
Pinterest has a few privacy controls that change what followers and the public can see. Your account can be set to public or private. A public account means anyone on Pinterest — even people who do not follow you — can find your profile by searching your name, see your pins, and see your boards. A private account means only people you follow can see your profile and pins, though people you follow can still see your activity.
You can also control whether your profile appears in search results and whether people can message you. To change these settings, go to your account settings, select "Privacy and data," and toggle the options for "Make your profile private," "Allow others to message you," and "Allow search engines to index your profile." These settings explore to everyone — you cannot make your profile private for some people and public for others.
Even if your account is private, anyone you follow will see your activity in their home feed. If you want to follow someone without them seeing what you are doing, you would need to either follow them from a separate private account or accept that they will see your pins and saves.
What information Pinterest collects about your follows and activity
Pinterest tracks who you follow, who follows you, what you pin, what you save, and what you like. This information is stored in your account and is used to show you personalized recommendations — Pinterest's algorithm learns what you are interested in based on your activity and shows you similar pins from accounts you follow and accounts you do not follow yet.
Pinterest also uses this data for advertising. When you follow someone or save their pins, Pinterest learns about your interests and may show you ads from brands in that category. If you follow a lot of home decor accounts, you will see more home decor ads. This is how Pinterest makes money — by selling advertisers access to people based on their interests and behavior.
Your follow list and follower list are visible to anyone who visits your profile (if your account is public). This means people can see who you follow and who follows you, which can reveal information about your interests, hobbies, and the people you know. If you follow accounts related to a health condition, a political movement, or a personal interest you want to keep private, that information is visible to anyone who looks at your profile.
How to block or unfollow someone
If you want to stop seeing someone's pins in your feed, click the "Following" button on their profile to unfollow them. They will not be notified that you unfollowed them, and they can still follow you unless you block them. Unfollowing is quiet — the person will not know unless they check your follower list and notice you are gone.
If you want to prevent someone from following you, seeing your profile, or messaging you, you can block them. Go to their profile, tap the three dots or menu icon, and select "Block." Once you block someone, they cannot follow you, see your profile (even if it is public), send you messages, or see your pins in search results. However, they can still see your pins if they search for a specific topic and your pin comes up — blocking only hides your profile, not your individual pins.
You can unblock someone at any time by going to your account settings, selecting "Blocked users," and removing them from the list. If you unblock someone, they can follow you again, but they will not automatically re-follow you.
How Pinterest shares your information with third parties
Pinterest shares information about your activity with advertisers, analytics partners, and other third parties. When you follow someone or save a pin, that activity is tracked and used to build a profile of your interests. Advertisers can then target you based on that profile — they can say "show my ad to people who follow home decor accounts" or "show my ad to people who save wedding pins."
Pinterest also partners with data brokers and analytics companies that help them understand user behavior. These partners may receive information about what you follow, what you save, and what you like, though Pinterest says it does not sell your personal information directly. However, the line between "sharing" and "selling" is blurry — advertisers and partners can use this information to target you, which is functionally similar to selling your data.
If you are concerned about how your follow activity is used, you can limit ad personalization in your account settings. Go to "Privacy and data," select "Ad preferences," and toggle off "Personalized ads." This tells Pinterest not to use your activity to target ads to you, though you will still see ads — they just will not be based on what you follow or save.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I follow someone without them knowing?
Yes. When you follow someone on Pinterest, they are not notified. They will only know if they check their follower list or if they happen to see your activity in their feed. You can follow someone silently, and they may never notice unless they actively look at who is following them.
What does it mean if someone follows me on Pinterest?
It means they want to see your pins and boards in their home feed. They can see your profile, your saved pins, and your activity (like when you save or like something) depending on your privacy settings. If your account is public, they can also see your follower list and who you follow.
Can I see who viewed my profile on Pinterest?
No. Pinterest does not tell you who has viewed your profile or clicked on your pins. You can see how many people have saved or liked a specific pin, but you cannot see the names of those people or track individual profile visits.
If I make my account private, can people still find my pins?
No. If your account is private, only people you follow can see your profile and pins. People who do not follow you cannot find your pins through search or by visiting your profile. However, people you follow will still see your activity in their feed.
Does Pinterest tell someone when I save their pin?
It depends on their notification settings. Pinterest can send a notification when someone saves a pin, but the person who created the pin can turn these notifications off. Even if they turn off notifications, they can still see that you saved their pin if they look at the save count on that pin — they just will not be alerted in real time.