Pinterest for Teens: Age Limit & Parental Controls

Quick answer: Pinterest’s minimum age is 13, and in some countries it is higher, up to 16. Under 18, a profile is private: not discoverable, with activity hidden. Under 16, Pins and boards are seen only by people the teen invited to follow, and messages go only to mutual followers. Under 18, comments are off on the teen’s own Pins. A parent can set a four-digit parental passcode that locks settings like email, password, profile visibility, messaging and comments. It expires at 18. The tool above shows Pinterest’s rules for each age and the passcode steps for your device.

How old do you have to be for Pinterest?

From Age requirements and verification: You need to be at least 13 years old to use Pinterest. Some countries set it higher: In some countries, the age of consent varies from 13-16. If you live in one of those countries, you may only use Pinterest if you are over the age at which you can provide consent to data processing under the laws of your country. For a younger child, Pinterest says to a parent: If your child is under 13 (or your country’s minimum age), please email us at [email protected] to ask us to delete their account.

What a teen account looks like

From Teen safety options: If you’re under 18, your profile will be private. This means your profile won’t be discoverable and your activity on Pinterest will be hidden, but you can invite people you trust to follow you. If you’re under 16, the boards and Pins you create will only be visible to you and people you invited to follow you. On messages: If you're under 16, you can exchange messages with mutual followers. As you get older, your settings will adjust to allow you to contact more people. On comments: If you’re under 18, comments will be automatically turned off on Pins you create until you turn 18. You can adjust this in your comment settings at any time. In the EU and UK: If you're under 18 in the EU or UK, note that you’re automatically opted out of all ads personalization settings. You'll be opted in when you turn 18, but you can adjust this in your settings at any time.

Can a 16-year-old make their Pinterest public?

Pinterest’s pages say this two ways. Its teen page says If you're over 16, you can choose to make your profile public in your settings. Its table gives 16–17-year-olds Private by default; Can choose to make their profile public. But its Make your profile private or public page says Profiles for teens from 13-16 years old are private by default and cannot be made public. You must be 16 or over to edit your profile visibility. All of them agree a parental passcode can stop it: If your teen is over 16 and you don't have a parental passcode set up, they may choose to make their profile public. A business account needs 16 too: You must be at least 16 to create a business account.

Pinterest’s parental controls: the parental passcode

From Manage a parental passcode: As a parent or caregiver with a teen under 18, you can set up a four-digit passcode to lock certain settings and provide guidance on your teen's Pinterest account. It locks the account’s email, password, profile visibility, ads personalization, messaging, @mentions, comments, and shopping and video recommendations. When you’re ready to set up the passcode, you’ll create a four-digit passcode and enter your email address. You’ll need to access this email to make changes to the passcode. Making the account more private never needs it: Keep in mind that even when a passcode is set, it won’t be required when adjusting settings that increase the privacy of your teen’s account. And The passcode will expire when your teen turns 18 based on the date of birth in their account. Your email address will be deleted after the parental passcode is turned off or it expires.

What a parent can’t do

From Resources for parents and caregivers of teens: To respect Pinners’ privacy, only the account holder has the ability to access their information or delete their account, unless they designate an authorized agent to act on their behalf. The exception is a child under the minimum age, above. Anyone can report something that seems wrong. The Block, Unblock, Unfollow or Report tool has Pinterest’s steps, and the Pinterest Privacy Checker has its privacy settings.

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