How to add someone on Pinterest
Pinterest does not have a traditional "friend request" system like Facebook or Instagram. Instead, you follow people whose pins and boards interest you, and they can follow you back. To follow someone on Pinterest, find their profile, tap or click the "Follow" button, and they will see your activity — saves, likes, and the boards you create — in their home feed.
You can find people to follow by searching their username in the search bar, looking at who has pinned something you like, or browsing the "Following" lists of people you already follow. When you follow someone, Pinterest shows you the pins they save and the boards they create. They do not have to approve your follow request; it happens when ready.
If someone follows you, you will see a notification. You can follow them back by visiting their profile and clicking "Follow", or you can ignore the notification and leave your profile set to private if you prefer not to be followed by people you do not know.
Key Takeaways
- Following someone on Pinterest is one-way and does not require their permission — they will see your activity in their feed once you follow them.
- Your saved pins, liked pins, and created boards are visible to anyone who follows you unless you make your account private.
- You can block specific people from following you or seeing your profile, and you can make individual boards private so only you see them.
- Pinterest collects data about who you follow and what you save, and uses that information to show you targeted ads and personalized recommendations.
What people can see when they follow you
When someone follows you on Pinterest, they see a feed of your activity. This includes every pin you save to any public board, every pin you like, and every board you create (unless you mark it private). They also see when you repin something or comment on a pin. If your account is public, anyone — not just people who follow you — can visit your profile and see all of this the same way.
The one thing followers cannot see is your saved pins on secret boards. Pinterest lets you create boards and mark them as "secret", which means only you can see them. Followers will not see these boards listed on your profile, and they will not see the pins you save to them. This is useful if you want to save ideas privately without sharing them.
Your email address, phone number, and real name are not visible to followers unless you choose to display them on your profile. By default, Pinterest shows only your username and profile photo.
How Pinterest uses your follow data
When you follow people and save pins, Pinterest collects that information and uses it to build a profile of your interests. This data feeds into Pinterest's recommendation algorithm, which decides what pins to show you on your home feed. The more you follow and save, the more specific Pinterest's guesses about your interests become.
Pinterest also uses your follow and save history for targeted advertising. Advertisers can ask Pinterest to show ads to people who follow certain accounts or save pins in certain categories. For example, if you follow many home decor accounts and save pins about kitchen design, Pinterest knows this and can sell that information to kitchen appliance companies who want to reach people like you.
You can see some of this targeting in action by visiting your ad preferences in Pinterest's settings. There you will find a list of interests, demographics, and behaviors that Pinterest has assigned to you based on your activity. You can remove interests from that list, though Pinterest will continue to collect new data about you as you use the platform.
Making your account private or blocking followers
If you do not want people to follow you or see your public boards, you can make your account private. To do this, go to your settings, find the "Account" or "Privacy" section, and toggle "Make your account private" or "Private account" on. Once your account is private, people can only see your profile and boards if you follow them back or if you approve their follow request.
You do not have to make your entire account private to control who sees what. You can instead make individual boards private by editing each board's settings. This way, your account stays public and people can see most of your activity, but specific boards remain hidden. This is useful if you want to share some boards publicly but keep others just for yourself.
If someone is following you and you do not want them to see your activity, you can block them. Go to their profile, tap the three dots or menu icon, and select "Block this user". They will no longer be able to see your profile, follow you, or interact with your pins. You can unblock them later if you change your mind.
Understanding Pinterest's data sharing practices
Pinterest shares data about your follows and saves with third parties in limited ways. The company does not sell your personal information outright, but it does share data with advertisers, analytics partners, and service providers who help run the platform. Your follow history is not shared with other social media platforms unless you connect your accounts (for example, linking your Facebook account to Pinterest).
Pinterest also shares data when required by law, when you give permission, or when necessary to prevent fraud or harm. If you receive a data request from law enforcement, Pinterest may provide information about your account, though the company publishes transparency reports showing how often this happens.
You can read a copy of all the data Pinterest has collected about you, including your follow list, saved pins, and activity history. To do this, go to your settings, find "read your data" or "Data read", and request your information. Pinterest will compile a file and send it to you within a few days.
What happens if you follow a business or brand account
Following a business or brand account works the same way as following a person — you see their pins in your feed and they can see that you follow them. The difference is that brand accounts often use Pinterest to drive traffic to their websites or online stores. When you follow a brand, you are telling Pinterest that you are interested in their products or content, and that information is used to show you more pins from that brand and similar brands.
Brand accounts may also run ads on Pinterest, and your follow history helps them target those ads to you. If you follow a furniture company and save pins about home decor, that company knows you are interested in their products and may pay Pinterest to show you ads for their latest collection.
You can unfollow a brand at any time by visiting their profile and clicking "Following" to toggle it off. This removes them from your feed, though Pinterest may still show you ads from that brand based on your other activity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I follow someone without them knowing?
Yes. When you follow someone on Pinterest, they do not get a notification that you followed them. However, they can see you in their list of followers if they check their profile. If you want to follow someone without them seeing your activity, you can make your account private first, though they will still be able to see that you follow them.
What is the difference between following and messaging on Pinterest?
Following lets you see someone's public pins and boards in your feed. Messaging is a separate feature that lets you send private messages to people you follow or who follow you. You can message someone without following them if they have messaging turned on in their settings, but most people only receive messages from people they follow back.
If I make my account private, can people still find me by searching?
No. When your account is private, your profile does not appear in Pinterest's search results. People can only find you if they know your exact username and visit your profile directly, or if you follow them and they follow you back. This is the strongest privacy setting Pinterest offers.
Can I see who is looking at my pins or boards?
Pinterest does not show you a list of people who have viewed your pins or boards. You can see how many times a pin has been saved or liked, but not who did the saving or liking. If you have a business account, Pinterest provides some analytics about who is engaging with your pins, but this is limited to aggregate data, not individual viewers.
Does Pinterest sell my follow list to advertisers?
Pinterest does not sell your follow list directly, but advertisers can ask Pinterest to show ads to people who follow certain accounts or have certain interests. Your follow history is used to build your interest profile, which advertisers can then target. You cannot prevent this, but you can remove interests from your ad preferences to limit what advertisers know about you.