Skip to main content

Pinterest brings followed content front and center with full-width Pin format

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Following the introduction of new shopping tools in October, Pinterest is putting renewed focus on content from people you follow with the move to a single Pin format on the app’s following tab. Pins will now display full-width, putting the content front and center and giving the following feed a look reminiscent of Instagram. This also allows users to navigate to a pinned link with a single tap on the Pin, making the experience even more immediate. The new format is part of the update that rolled out Thursday, November 8 to both iOS and Android users.

Recommended Videos

As a contrast to the algorithmically sorted home tab, the following tab, launched in March, provides a home for all the Pins from just the users and boards you follow. The home tab is staying put and will still provide a selection of recommend pins from users and boards you don’t follow, but the new tab offers an option to see only the content from users and boards you do. This secondary feed will be part of both the mobile and desktop platforms, accessible on mobile by tapping the new Following icon at the bottom navigation bar.

“In talking with Pinners, we found that some people only wanted recommendations, while others liked to curate their feed — and most people wanted both options,” the announcement post reads. “Now you have the choice to get inspired through personalized recommendations in your home feed, or switch over to a tab dedicated to the latest Pins from people you follow.”

The Following feed, Pinterest says, will be largely chronological. The exception? If someone you follow goes on a Pinning spree, those Pins will be broken up so you’re not scrolling through 50 posts from the same person.

Along with the feed of the latest posts from followed users, the following tab also has a shortcut for accessing your list of fellow Pinners. Tapping on the plus icon next to the “From people you follow” option at the top of the screen allows users to see who they are following. From here, you can add new people to follow and find suggested users based on your interests, or delete users you no longer wish to follow.

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Instagram shows love to smaller accounts that post original content
Notifications related to Instagram's new algorithm to surface content linked to smaller accounts.

Instagram is starting to show some love to smaller accounts that post original content. The Meta-owned media-sharing platform announced in a blog post on Tuesday that it’s making a number of changes to give more prominence to material posted by “smaller, original content creators” over those with large followings and aggregators of reposted content, which up until now have received greater exposure in recommendations.

The move to give those with smaller followings more reach on Instagram involves making four changes to the current way of doing things, the company said.

Read more
How to deactivate your Instagram account (or delete it)
A person holding a phone with the Instagram app open on it.

Oh, social media. Sometimes it’s just too much, folks. If you’re finding yourself in a position where shutting down your Instagram account for a period of time sounds good, Meta’s powers that be have made it pretty simple to deactivate your Instagram account. It’s also quite easy to completely delete your Instagram, although we wouldn’t recommend this latter option if you plan on returning to the platform at a later date.

Read more
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more