Pinterest doesn't let you block AI training directly, but you can remove your pins from search engines and limit who sees your boards

Pinterest uses your pins to train its own recommendation system, and you cannot opt out of that completely. However, you can prevent your content from appearing in Google search results and being indexed by other search engines — which cuts off one major path AI systems use to find training data. You can also make your boards private so only people you invite can see them, which keeps your pins out of public scraping.

The most effective step is changing your Pinterest account privacy settings and then requesting removal from Google's index. This takes about 10 minutes and stops most external AI systems from accessing your pins, though Pinterest's own systems will still see them.

Key Takeaways

  • You cannot prevent Pinterest itself from using your pins to train its recommendation algorithm, but you can make your boards private so only invited users see them.
  • Removing your Pinterest profile from Google search results prevents external AI systems and scrapers from finding your pins through search engines.
  • Pinterest's search visibility setting controls whether your pins appear in Google Images and other search engines, separate from your board privacy.
  • Making individual boards private is faster than making your whole account private if you only want to protect certain pins.

Turn off Pinterest's search visibility setting

This is the first step and the one that stops most external AI systems. When search visibility is on, your pins appear in Google Images and other search engines. When it is off, they do not. This setting is separate from whether your boards are public or private.

On the Pinterest website, go to your profile (click your profile picture in the top right). Click the gear icon for settings. Select "Privacy and data." Look for the option labeled "Allow search engines to index your profile" or "Searchability" depending on your account type. Toggle this off. Pinterest will take a few days to remove your existing pins from Google's index, but new pins will not appear in search results immediately.

On the Pinterest app, tap your profile picture, then tap the gear icon. Go to "Privacy and data" and turn off the searchability toggle. The change applies the same way as on the website.

Make your boards private

A private board means only people you invite can see it. This stops anyone from finding your pins through Pinterest's public feed or through a direct link, which cuts off a major source of training data for external AI systems.

Go to the board you want to make private. Click the three dots in the top right of the board header. Select "Edit board." Look for the privacy setting — it usually shows "Public" or "Private." Change it to "Private." You can now add specific people to view the board by typing their email or username.

If you have many boards, you can make your entire account private instead. Go to settings, select "Privacy and data," and look for "Make my profile private" or similar wording. This makes all your boards private at once, though you can still choose to make individual boards public later if you want.

Request removal from Google Search Console

Even after you turn off Pinterest's search visibility setting, your old pins may still appear in Google Images for a while. You can speed up removal by using Google Search Console, which is Google's tool for managing how your content appears in search results.

Go to Google Search Console (google.com/webmasters/tools). Sign in with your Google account. Add your Pinterest profile URL (pinterest.com/yourname) as a property if you have not already. Click "Removals" in the left menu, then "Temporary removals." Enter your Pinterest profile URL and request removal. Google will remove it from search results for about six months, after which you can request removal again if needed.

This step is optional if you have already turned off search visibility, but it speeds up the process of removing pins that are already indexed.

Understand what Pinterest itself does with your data

Pinterest's own recommendation system learns from your pins to show similar content to other users. You cannot turn this off without deleting your account entirely. Pinterest does not sell your pins to third-party AI companies, but it does use them internally to improve its service.

If you want to prevent Pinterest from using specific pins this way, you must delete those pins. If you want to prevent Pinterest from using any of your content, you must delete your account. There is no middle ground — Pinterest does not offer a way to keep your account active while opting out of its recommendation system.

Delete pins you no longer want to protect

If you only want to remove certain pins from circulation, you can delete them individually. Go to the pin, click the three dots, and select "Delete pin." The pin is removed from your board and from Pinterest's index. This does not affect pins that have already been saved by other users — those copies stay on their boards.

Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. If you think you might want the pin later, consider moving it to a private board instead of deleting it.

What these steps do and do not do

Turning off search visibility and making boards private stops most external AI systems and web scrapers from finding your pins. It does not stop Pinterest's own systems from using your pins to train its recommendation algorithm. It also does not remove pins that other users have already saved to their own boards — those are now part of their content, not yours.

If your pins have been shared widely or saved by many users, they may have already been copied to other websites or databases. Removing them from Pinterest does not remove those copies. However, taking these steps prevents new copies from being created going forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I block AI from using my Pinterest pins without making my account private?

Yes. Turning off search visibility prevents most external AI systems from finding your pins through Google and other search engines. Making your boards private is a separate choice. You can do one, the other, or both depending on how much access you want to allow.

Will Pinterest remove my pins from AI training if I ask them to?

Pinterest does not have a formal opt-out process for its own recommendation system. You can contact Pinterest support to ask, but the only may provide way to prevent Pinterest from using your pins is to delete them or make them private. Pinterest does not share your pins with third-party AI companies for training purposes.

If I make my boards private, can people still find my pins on Google?

No. Private boards do not appear in Google search results at all. However, if you have already turned off search visibility, you do not need to make boards private to prevent Google indexing — the search visibility setting alone handles that.

What happens to pins other users have saved from me?

When another user saves your pin to their board, it becomes part of their content. If you delete the original pin from your board, the saved copies stay on their boards. You cannot remove pins from other people's boards. However, if you make your board private before they save the pin, they cannot see it in the first place.

Do I need to do anything if I delete my Pinterest account?

Pinterest will remove your account and all associated pins from its servers within a few weeks. Your pins may still appear in Google Images for a while after deletion, but you can request removal through Google Search Console to speed this up. Pins that other users have saved will remain on their boards.