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Anyone who knows me well knows I’ve always had a problem with Pinterest. I’ve complained so much about the many problems it has, that I could probably make a whole essay detailing every single issue that both the website and app has. Yet this is the first time that I have stuck to my guns and logged out of Pinterest willingly, with the goal of never ever coming back. I’ve always tried so hard to find a replacement for Pinterest, flopping from one site to the next, only to realize how much they paled in comparison to how well-established Pinterest is. Which is damn frustrating, knowing that this is the only reason why the platform is somehow staying afloat, despite the terrible decisions they keep making. They have found their niche and, by golly they are going to milk every cent they could have out of it. I, for one, am done with Pinterest, I have been for the last 10+ fucking years that I’ve been trying to tolerate whatever bullshit they keep pumping out on a regular basis.

My issues with Pinterest

• There are so many glitches and terrible UI changes that keep making the site unbearable to scroll through. I’m not an expert on tech or anything that is considered professional web design, but I can tell when something is a nightmare to use and Pinterest is one of them. The amount of times I had to search up why the ui was broken, or pins somehow never getting saved is actually pathetic. Sometimes you can’t even log onto the app, and the only way you can fix this bug is to re-download the app again and again, and pray that it’ll work somehow. The fact that this has been a problem for years and has yet to be patched, is comical. That’s not getting into half of my problems in regards to using the site. I mostly use Pinterest on the computer, because I have an ad blocker there and the app is just hot garbage (I’ll elaborate on that later). But nowadays I can’t even look at my pins properly anymore. It used to be that the post itself was the main focus, with the descriptions and comments on the right of the main div and if you wanted to see some recommended pins, you’ll have to scroll down. But now it’s just a smaller div on the left, the comments and description being underneath the main div. With the recommended pins plastered around the main post, guaranteeing you, the user, will keep on browsing the site indefinitely. Pinterest was already addicting enough, even if I limited my time on it to PC only, but this just takes the cake. I cannot go one click without seeing something else that will make me go “Oh shiny!” And keep looking for more and more and more until my brain rots.

• A personal pet peeve of mine when it comes to using both the site and app, is that it auto plays audio. So whenever I try scrolling through the app with music playing in the background, it just stops the music to play whatever the fucking new tiktok track is over someone else’s video post. It’s honestly become the sole reason why I usually keep my PC muted at all times.

• Another problem that has been constantly getting worse, is the amount of ADS! Sometimes my ad blocker on PC can’t even block them all, a few survive like cockroaches. It’s even worse on the app. At least more than half of what’s being fed to me are pins DISGUISED as ads! I’ve had so many instances where I accidentally clicked on an ad because it used something related to my search or the main pin I was looking at as a cover photo, only for it to be a direct link to something else! I understand that ads are needed to keep the costs of running the servers, but this has now gone beyond that and is now tip toeing the line towards deceiving marketing practices. That’s not even getting the amount of Etsy or Temu listings that disguise themselves as normal pins and then become some kind of gallery for a product that they want you to buy. I came to Pinterest to find inspiration for my character designs, find aesthetic pictures, find funny memes and be stupid. Not to buy something I have no interest in. There are better ways to shop online and Pinterest is far from being a decent shopping site. If I wanted to get something specific, I would have searched it up online myself. Pinterest is so adamant about getting users to buy products that I would have mistaken them for Amazon, but if it was as scatter-brained and dysfunctional as me on a regular basis.

• If it isn’t the ads that’s filling up the site, it’s usually AI slop. It is everywhere. You literally cannot go without seeing it cluttering your homepage, recommended pins or searches. I could spend up to hours trying to block the many AI accounts that popped out, hiding those pins and reporting them as spam. And yet, I would still be seeing them recommended under main posts. The worst part is, that almost 80% of what I come across is NEVER ever tagged as AI. It is a minefield of crap that if you so much look at the wrong post, you’ll get more recommended to your homepage. I’m not surprised that Pinterest has gotten down this path, it’s always been a hotbed of stolen content that is reposted over and over again. It’s just a lot more unbearable this time around. I use Pinterest for art references and studies for art styles from artists I wouldn’t otherwise have access to (*cough* Twitter artists *cough*), but now it has been replaced by AI garbage so what’s even the point of staying anymore?

[Side note: I am against AI in art not JUST because it uses other people’s work for their database, but also because they are terrible at simulating real life images and interesting compositions. Even if you were to use them as references, it would still pale in comparison to actual art that was made by someone who made a conscious EFFORT in their creations. I want the stuff I’m making to be meaningful and full of personality as the artists I am learning from, not imitate a soulless cluster of pixels from a machine.]

• Last, but CERTAINLY not least. Pinterest has the WORST moderation I’ve ever seen on a big platform. The amount of pins that get deleted and removed for “inappropriate” content for no reason, is countless. I've had multiple posts that were deleted from my boards over the years that I had no choice, but to get rid of it. To give you an example, I had pins that were literally just fashion pose silhouettes that got removed because they were flagged for “nudity”. I got an email about it telling me that it got removed, despite the fact it wasn’t even my post! Why the hell am I getting an email about someone else’s post getting removed like I did something wrong?? As stupid as that situation was, it’s not even the worst of it. Just scrolling down in the subreddit for Pinterest, details a bunch of people getting their accounts BANNED if they dare to even click on the wrong post. Even if you appeal it, there’s a chance that they’ll just outright ignore that request and keep that post deleted or your account banned for no reason. It’s blatantly obvious that whoever the motherfuckers running this goddamn platform couldn’t give less of a fuck for the people using their service. They’ll just let bots flag random innocent shit yet somehow let shit like AI slop and posts about ED slide. I swear if you really want to know about how fucking horrendous the moderation is on Pinterest, take a look on r/Pinterest and find out for yourself. I guarantee you there’s at least a new post about how shitty the fucking site/app has been, every week for more than a goddamn decade. Most of the problems are similar as they were YEARS ago.

I have literally used Pinterest since 2013, so I'm not kidding when I say that, it breaks my heart seeing how the platform go downhill over the years. Despite how mad I am towards its piss poor management, I built a lot of memories there. It might seem silly to be attached to the hip towards a site that doesn’t give a shit about you, it still doesn’t negate the time when I was a young teenager figuring out what I liked. Pinterest, for me, was an exploration of my identity, tastes and art. It gave me inspiration to create more. It was my solace from all the big wig social media platforms that took all my sanity and patience to use during those dark times.

I don’t think I’ll ever get something like Pinterest again. It clearly fills a niche that another platform has yet to replace. Even if there was such a site, it would have to rely on users putting in content for the site and eventually burn out, or reposting copyrighted works from other people. Neither of which are good options for me or anyone else involved. I’ve downloaded all the important boards from my accounts onto my computer’s hard drive, and decided to just let inspiration strike me whenever. I guess it’s back to web surfing, screenshotting random pictures I find on the internet and analog research for me.

Goodbye Pinterest. You were the last remnants of the old life that I left behind, but now I’ll have to let you go. Thanks for memories.