Here you can find an archive of our transparency reports, from 2013-2021. To view more recent reports, visit our policy site.

For more information on how we respond to requests for user information, please see our guidelines for requesting user information.

H2 2021

At Pinterest, our mission is to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, and it’s our guiding light in drafting and enforcing our content policies. 

Not everything on the internet is inspiring, so we have guardrails for what’s acceptable on Pinterest and what isn’t allowed. Our moderation practices are always evolving to keep up with new behaviors and trends and to create a more positive corner of the internet for the people on our platform. We continue to invest heavily in measures like machine learning technology to fight policy-violating content on Pinterest and to work with outside experts and organizations to inform our policies and content moderation practices.

We started publishing a biannual transparency report in 2013, and expanded it starting with Q4 2020 to include more information on the actions we take to uphold our Community guidelines. In this transparency report, you’ll find information on our efforts to moderate user and merchant content, such as the number of policy violations and deactivations. It also includes insight into the volume of information and deactivation requests we received from law enforcement and government agencies. This report, which encompasses more than 450 individual data points, covers the second half of 2021, from July through December 2021.

Pinterest’s industry-leading policies and practices are something we’re proud of. But more importantly, they’re the right thing for the people on our platform. They help to keep Pinterest a more positive and inspiring place online—for example, we prioritize mental health with features like our compassionate search function, and help protect users under our longstanding policy prohibiting medical misinformation. We want to advance the industry on these issues so that—together—we can create a more inspiring internet.

What's new in this report

We’ve continued to invest in improvements to provide greater insight into our efforts, and in this transparency report, we’ve added a new section on Intellectual Property policies enforcement. It covers Copyright and Trademark, including information on the actions we take based on information submitted through our Content Claiming Portal, a tool that enables rightsholders to claim their content and decide if and how it appears on Pinterest.

We are also introducing reporting on a uniquely harmful class of online content, child sexual exploitation (CSE). CSE is one of the most serious violations of our content policies, and we do not tolerate the sexualization of minors on Pinterest.

These follow additions we made in our last report, covering Q1 and Q2 2021, to include a new metric on how we deactivate Pins, whether that’s through automated tools, manual review or a hybrid approach that combines elements of both. 

We’re committed to providing greater transparency into how we keep Pinterest safe and inspiring, and we'll continue to iterate on this report going forward.

 

Community safety and wellbeing

We continue to invest in our policies, products and partnerships to support the safety and wellbeing of our community. Here are just some of the key updates we made in the second half of 2021.

Launching Hair pattern search

Community wellbeing is improved when the diversity of our audience is reflected online. In August 2021, we introduced our latest advancement in inclusive beauty search with the rollout of hair pattern search, a first-of-its-kind technology, created with Black, Brown and Latinx Pinners in mind, that empowers users to search for hair inspiration across hair types.

Through computer vision-powered object detection, hair pattern search enables Pinners to refine hair searches by six different hair patterns: protective, coily, curly, wavy, straight and shaved/bald.

This new technology builds on Pinterest’s industry-first inclusive product feature skin tone ranges, first launched in 2018. It not only marks a major step forward for inclusivity in tech, but also responds to the millions of Pinners who are looking for an easier way to find the most relevant hair inspiration for their purposes.

Embracing body acceptance

Around the world, people of all ages are facing challenges related to body image and mental health, particularly as we navigate the phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), there’s been a steep rise in unhealthy eating habits and eating disorders in young people since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Pinterest is the place people come for inspiration to create a life they love. It’s where everyone belongs—regardless of body shape or size. At Pinterest, we strive to create a culture where healthy living and healthy body image can thrive, which is why beginning July 1st, 2021 we updated our ad policies to prohibit all ads with weight loss language and imagery. We're empowering Pinners to plan the next season and beyond without weight loss ads, so they can focus on what matters most.

This stance makes Pinterest the only major platform to prohibit all weight loss ads. It’s an expansion of our ad policies that have long prohibited body shaming and dangerous weight loss products or claims. We encourage others in the industry to do the same and acknowledge, once and for all, that there's no such thing as one-size-fits-all. 

This policy change was developed with the guidance and advice of NEDA. Unchanged are our policies against harassment and bullying: non-ad content that body-shames is and continues to be prohibited by our policies, and users who engage in these practices may have their accounts terminated.

Community guidelines enforcement

Pinterest’s Community guidelines are designed to support our mission of inspiration. They govern what we do and don't allow on Pinterest, and all users must abide by them. 

We have additional guidelines for merchants and advertisers to set clear expectations about what is and is not acceptable for product Pins and advertisements. These guidelines include especially high standards that are for the safety of all audiences who use Pinterest. We believe you can't feel inspired if you don't first feel safe.

To help us cultivate a safe and inspired community, we develop and enforce content policies that help ensure our platform is a positive place where people can find real-life ideas for what to try next, cook next, wear next, or do next. We work hard to identify and deactivate harmful content from our site, and our content policies and moderation practices are always evolving to keep up with new behaviors and trends and to create a more positive corner of the internet for users. 

We may block, limit the distribution of or deactivate content and the accounts, individuals and groups that create or spread that content, based on how much harm it poses. In the event that a user believes a deactivation was in error, Pinterest provides options to appeal the deactivation.

Methodology Distinct images and Pins deactivated

Every day, millions of people all over the world come to Pinterest to create, discover and save new ideas that are shared in Pins. To understand how we approach content moderation, it’s helpful to differentiate between two types of Pins: organic Pins and ads. Our Community guidelines apply to both.

Organic Pins include all Pins created and saved on Pinterest that are not promoted as ads. For example, this could include merchants’ product Pins, which aren’t always ads, and may appear organically to people who are searching for products on Pinterest. We have additional requirements, such as that the Pin image and description must accurately represent the product, for merchants and their product Pins. All types of organic Pins are included in our transparency reports.

Ads are Pins that businesses pay to promote. We have additional policies for advertisers that hold ads and advertisers to even higher standards. Ad policies are enforced differently than organic content, and are not included in these transparency reports.

Much of the content on Pinterest has been saved repeatedly, meaning that the same image may appear in multiple Pins. So when it comes to reporting content moderation for organic Pins, we include the number of Pins deactivated as well as the number of distinct images deactivated to provide greater insight into our moderation practices for this type of content. 

We report boards and accounts deactivated separately. To avoid double-counting deactivations, our count of distinct images and Pins deactivated does not include those on boards or from user accounts that were deactivated.

 

How we deactivate Pins

We deactivate policy-violating Pins through automated tools, manual review and a hybrid approach that combines elements of both. 

Automated deactivations. Our automated tools use a combination of signals to identify and take action against potentially violating content. Our machine learning models assign scores to each image added to our platform. Using those scores, our automated tools can then apply the same enforcement decision to other Pins containing the same images.

Manual deactivations. We manually deactivate Pins through our human review process. Pins deactivated through this process may include those identified internally and those reported to us by third parties. It also includes the Pins that are reviewed and deactivated by one of our team members after a user report.

Hybrid deactivations. Hybrid deactivations include those where a human determines that a Pin violates policy, and automated systems help expand that decision to enforce against machine-identified matching Pins. Depending on the prevalence of matching Pins, a hybrid deactivation may result in a number of Pins deactivated or none at all. 

The mechanisms used to address different potential policy violations may vary based on the state of available technology, the volume of violative content and other factors such as the complexity of evaluation. We continue to iterate and evolve our tools and expect ongoing improvements going forward.

Reach of Pins deactivated for violating policy

People often ask, how many users saw a Pin before it was deactivated? In most cases, the answer is: not a lot. 

For example, 76% of Pins that we deactivated for medical misinformation in Q4 were never seen by users in that reporting period—even with more than 400 million people visiting Pinterest per month.

Reach is one of our key indicators of user experience. To calculate this metric, we start by looking at each policy-violating Pin deactivated in a reporting period. Then we count the number of unique users that saw each of those Pins during the reporting period for at least 1 second before it was deactivated. Reach for a policy category may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Actioned user reports

Users can report Pins they find objectionable by clicking on the three small dots on any Pin and hitting “Report Pin.” Once we confirm that an item is not fit for distribution on Pinterest under our Community guidelines and take appropriate action, we consider the report an actioned user report.

The total number of actioned user reports is another key indicator of user experience on Pinterest. So is the number of reporters: fewer than 0.01% of monthly active users reported a Pin that resulted in a Pin deactivation in Q3.

Boards deactivated

When users find Pins they like or want to come back to, they save them to boards that they’ve created. Over time, our users have created billions of boards. 

When a board is deactivated for violating policy, all the Pins on that board are also deactivated. Similarly, when we deactivate an entire account, that user’s boards are also deactivated. To avoid double-counting deactivations, our count of boards deactivated does not include those from user accounts that were deactivated.

Accounts deactivated

Think of “accounts” on Pinterest as “profiles” or, most often, individual users. If someone saves Pins and creates boards, that content becomes associated with their account. This is also true for business, advertiser, merchant and creator accounts. 

Any account may be deactivated for violating our policies. When an account is deactivated, all of their Pins and boards are also deactivated. That means that if you search for them or click on an old link to their profile, that profile won’t show up anymore. Their Pins won’t appear anywhere on Pinterest. And the deactivated user won’t be able to access their own Pins or boards, either.

Account appeals and reinstatements

If people believe their accounts have been deactivated by mistake, they can follow an appeals process to have their accounts reinstated. We review appeal requests and grant the appeal if we determine we made a mistake, or in some cases to give people another chance to abide by our Community guidelines.

We also process appeals for deactivated Pins and boards and expect to include that data in reports in the future.

Reporting periods

Our reporting on Community guidelines enforcement covers the second half of 2021, from July to December 2021. We’ve split that time into two reporting periods: Q3 and Q4. 

Q3 covers the third quarter of the year, from July through September, while Q4 covers the fourth quarter of the year, from October through December. Sometimes we also refer to Q1 (January to March) or Q2 (April to June) when we’re talking about quarter-over-quarter trends.

Adult content

Pinterest isn’t a place for pornography. We deactivate content that violates our adult content policy and do not deliver results for searches determined to violate this policy. We have established guidelines to help differentiate between pornography and other mature content such as content related to sexual health, breastfeeding, mastectomies, art and education.

Recent trends

In Q1 2021, we launched new machine learning tools to detect and deactivate boards for violating our adult content policy. Since then, we’ve continued to see declines in actioned user reports—one of our key indicators of user experience—that we attribute to this effort. In fact, looking at actioned user reports per monthly active user, there was a 25% decrease in reports that resulted in a deactivated Pin in Q4 2021 compared to Q4 2020.

Our content policies and moderation practices are always evolving to better keep our platform safe for all users. So far, we’ve primarily focused our use of these new machine learning tools on enforcing against our adult content policy, and we’re currently exploring how they may work for other types of policy violations.

Content enforcement Reach* of Pins deactivated for adult content
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 82% 88%
Seen by 1-10 people 14% 10%
Seen by 10-100 people 2% 2%
Seen by 100+ people 1% 0.6%

* To calculate reach, we start by looking at each policy-violating Pin deactivated in a reporting period. Then we count the number of unique users that saw each of those Pins during the reporting period for at least 1 second, before it was deactivated. Quarterly percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 1,279,861 distinct images, which comprised 42,968,305 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 82% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 93,807 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 61,114 boards and 8,653 accounts. We received 1,923 account appeals and reinstated 1,119 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 1,108,006 distinct images, which comprised 30,695,545 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 88% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 77,329 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 44,155 boards and 6,769 accounts for violating this policy. We received 1,495 account appeals and reinstated 774 accounts.

Adult sexual services

We prohibit adult sexual services on Pinterest. Adult sexual services may involve commercial sex work and sexual or physical exploitation or trafficking, such as escort services, prostitution, sex cams, or sex- or nudity-for-money services.

Recent trends

In Q4 2021, we made changes to the tools we use to deactivate this type of content. As a result of these improvements, content that previously would have been deactivated under our adult content policy is now deactivated under our adult sexual services policy. The increase in the portion of Pins deactivated with hybrid tools, as well as the increase in Pins deactivated, reflect these changes.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for adult sexual services
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 0.4% 89%
Seen by 1-10 people 47% 9%
Seen by 10-100 people 29% 2%
Seen by 100+ people 24% 0.6%

 

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 222 distinct images, which comprised 225 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 76% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 100% of Pins manually. We actioned 266 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 151 boards and 152 accounts. We received 13 account appeals and reinstated 0 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 1,610 distinct images, which comprised 26,703 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 89% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 162 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 120 boards and 121 accounts for violating this policy. We received 16 account appeals and reinstated 1 account.

Child sexual exploitation (CSE)

Pinterest does not tolerate child sexual exploitation (CSE) of any kind on our platform. That means we enforce a strict, zero-tolerance policy for any content—including imagery, video, or text—that might exploit or endanger minors. Detecting and removing this type of content is of the utmost importance to our Trust and Safety team, and we are proud of our broad-reaching policies and robust efforts to keep our users safe.

While digital platforms are required by law to prohibit illegal child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the CSE policy at Pinterest goes a step further to prohibit any content that contributes to the sexualization of minors. For example, we do not tolerate content that suggests the sexualization of minors in the form of cartoons or anime. We also prohibit the intentional misuse of content depicting minors engaging in non-sexualized activities, like modeling clothing or participating in athletics.

We proactively identify CSE images and videos by leveraging our own internal tools and shared industry tools such as PhotoDNA, which uses a shared industry hash database of known CSAM, and CSAI Match to identify video content. We also work closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to combat this type of activity, and report content violations in appropriate circumstances under the law. From July to December 2021, our team of specialists was responsible for 1,794 CyberTipline reports to NCMEC.

A note on what we’re reporting and why

CSE is one of the most serious harms addressed by Trust and Safety teams at Pinterest and across the Internet. Because of this sensitivity, it deserves extra consideration as we decide how to present information in this report. After consulting with industry experts, Pinterest ultimately chose to include all of the same metrics for CSE that we include for our other content policies, including reach and actioned user reports. These types of metrics are our indicators for how policy-violating content impacts the experience of users on the site. However, we want to be very clear: By sharing reach and actioned user reports for CSE content, we are not implying in any way that harm to children is somehow lessened if fewer people see it. The content is violative and wrong, no matter how many people see it. We share the data only to be transparent in our efforts to remove CSE from our platform. 

We also count all deactivations for CSE, no matter what other actions may have already been taken against the Pin, board or user. For example, if a Pin has been automatically deactivated—meaning no one on the platform can see it—for violating our Spam policy but we later learn that it contains material that violates our CSE policy, the Pin is counted in both our Spam and CSE deactivation numbers. Even though that Pin had not been visible or accessible on Pinterest, we still need to take appropriate action, like making a report to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) if we determine that the image is illegal CSAM. We’ve included those deactivations in our reporting on CSE to provide more accurate insight into these violations.

While we work hard to find and remove this type of content, there is always more work to do—and we are committed to doing it.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for child sexual exploitation (CSE)
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 72% 83%
Seen by 1-10 people 21% 13%
Seen by 10-100 people 4% 3%
Seen by 100+ people 2% 2%

 

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 2,362 distinct images, which comprised 262,164 Pins, for violating our CSE policy. Of these, we determined that 295 distinct images, which comprised 981 Pins, were illegal CSAM, and we reported them to NCMEC. Of the total Pins deactivated this quarter for CSE, 98% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,378 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 862 boards and 28,289 accounts. We received 5,718 account appeals and reinstated 4,305 accounts. 

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 2,545 distinct images, which comprised 104,029 Pins, for violating our CSE policy. Of these, we determined that 228 distinct images, which comprised 627 Pins, were illegal CSAM, and we reported them to NCMEC. Of the total Pins deactivated this quarter for CSE, 98% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 2% manually and 98% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,044 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 578 boards and 17,423 accounts for violating this policy. We received 3,110 account appeals and reinstated 2,120 accounts.

Civic misinformation

Our civic misinformation policy prohibits false or misleading content on Pinterest that impedes an election’s integrity or an individual's or group's civic participation, including registering to vote, voting and being counted in a census.

Recent trends

We try to be very mindful about when we use hybrid tools and—more importantly—how to scale them. Remember, hybrid deactivations include those where a human determines that a piece of content violates policy, and automated systems expand that decision to enforce against machine-identified matching Pins. For example, a hybrid deactivation may be appropriate if we determine that the image in a Pin violates policy, but it may not be appropriate if the same image might be allowed in other situations, or if the initial Pin is deactivated for reasons other than the image it shows.

In Q4 2021, almost half of Pins deactivated for violating our civic misinformation policy were the result of the hybrid deactivation of a misclassified image. We reactivated those Pins once we spotted the error and have made improvements to our processes to minimize the chances that it will happen again.

We’ve included those false positives in the Q4 enforcement data, but we excluded them from the reach metric for this policy in an effort to provide more accurate insight into the number of users who saw a Pin that actually violates this policy before the Pin was deactivated. For Q4, more than 99% of such Pins were never seen by people in that reporting period.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for civic misinformation
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 10% 99.5%
Seen by 1-10 people 78% 0.4%
Seen by 10-100 people 7% 0.06%
Seen by 100+ people 5% 0.04%

 

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 743 distinct images, which comprised 889 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 95% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 87% of Pins manually and 13% with hybrid tools. We actioned 392 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 92 boards and 8 accounts. We received 3 account appeals and reinstated 3 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 779 distinct images, which comprised 48,741 Pins, for violating this policy. We later determined that hybrid deactivations based on one of these Pins, which had been deactivated for reasons other than the image it showed, resulted in the incorrect deactivation of its almost 24,000 machine-identified matching Pins. Of the Pins we believe were correctly deactivated, more than 99% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% of Pins manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 224 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 23 boards and 0 accounts for violating this policy. We received 1 account appeal and reinstated 1 account.

Conspiracy theories

Our conspiracy theories policy is one of several policies in our Community guidelines that prohibit misinformation and disinformation on Pinterest. Conspiracy theories include content that turns or encourages turning individuals, groups of people, places or organizations into targets of harassment or physical violence, such as hate-based conspiracy theories and misinformation about mass atrocities.

Recent trends

There was a relative decrease in the number of Pins deactivated for violating our conspiracy theory policy in Q3 and Q4 2021, following a sweeping cleanup performed in Q2.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for conspiracy theories
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 93% 89%
Seen by 1-10 people 6% 8%
Seen by 10-100 people 0.3% 1%
Seen by 100+ people 0.1% 2%

 

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 8,374 distinct images, which comprised 536,455 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 93% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% of Pins manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 456 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 429 boards and 39 accounts. We received 19 account appeals and reinstated 4 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 2,411 distinct images, which comprised 4,507 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 89% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 90% manually and 10% with hybrid tools. We actioned 394 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 237 boards and 11 accounts for violating this policy. We received 13 account appeals and reinstated 2 accounts.

Dangerous goods and activities

Pinterest isn’t a place for trading, selling, or engaging in dangerous goods or activities. Dangerous goods are products or substances that might cause harm when used, altered or manufactured irresponsibly. Dangerous activities—including displaying or encouraging dangerous activities—are also not welcome on Pinterest.

Recent trends

There was a relative decrease in the number of Pins deactivated for violating our dangerous goods and activities policy in Q3 and Q4 2021, following a sweeping cleanup performed across the platform for such content in Q1 and Q2 of that year. That effort, applied to organic Pins and not promoted ads or products, generated a temporary spike in Pins deactivated during that time period.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for dangerous goods and activities
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 95% 76%
Seen by 1-10 people 4% 16%
Seen by 10-100 people 0.9% 5%
Seen by 100+ people 0.3% 3%

 

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 44,277 distinct images, which comprised 1,017,444 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 95% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 2% manually, fewer than 1% automatically and 98% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,780 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 712 boards and 223 accounts. We received 14 account appeals and reinstated 3 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 14,736 distinct images, which comprised 31,186 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 97% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 41% of Pins manually, 14% automatically and 45% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,367 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 591 boards and 177 accounts for violating this policy. We received 4 account appeals and reinstated 1 account.

Graphic violence and threats

We prohibit graphic violence and threats on Pinterest. This includes most content that shows the use of violence, threats and language that glorifies violence.

Recent trends

In Q4 2021, we saw a relative decrease in Pins deactivated compared to Q3 2021. Of the Pins we deactivated in Q3 2021, 89% were seen by fewer than 100 users in that reporting period.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for graphic violence and threats
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 52% 59%
Seen by 1-10 people 29% 13%
Seen by 10-100 people 8% 10%
Seen by 100+ people 11% 19%

 

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 4,026 distinct images, which comprised 18,501 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 89% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 48% of Pins manually and 53% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,806 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 1,085 boards and 106 accounts. We received 33 account appeals and reinstated 18 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 3,435 distinct images, which comprised 6,085 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 81% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 62% of Pins manually and 38% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,714 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 769 boards and 89 accounts for violating this policy. We received 19 account appeals and reinstated 3 accounts.

Harassment and criticism

Pinterest is not a place for harassment and criticism, and we prohibit content that insults, hurts or antagonizes individuals or groups of people. This includes manipulated images intended to degrade or shame, shaming people for their bodies or assumed sexual or romantic history, sexual remarks about people’s bodies, solicitations or offers of sexual acts, and mocking someone for experiencing sadness, grief, loss or outrage.

Recent trends

We deactivated fewer Pins for violating this policy in Q4 2021 than in Q3 2021. Of the Pins we deactivated in Q3, 86% were never seen by users in this reporting period.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for harassment and criticism
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 86% 69%
Seen by 1-10 people 12% 26%
Seen by 10-100 people 2% 3%
Seen by 100+ people 1% 2%

 

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 4,257 distinct images, which comprised 244,688 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 86% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 1% of Pins manually and 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 2,967 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 851 boards and 271 accounts. We received 22 account appeals and reinstated 13 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 4,318 distinct images, which comprised 210,880 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 98% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 2% of Pins manually and 98% with hybrid tools. We actioned 2,564 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 803 boards and 151 accounts for violating this policy. We received 28 account appeals and reinstated 15 accounts.

Hateful activities

We prohibit hateful content and the people and groups that promote hateful activities on Pinterest. Hateful activities include slurs and negative stereotypes, caricatures and generalizations, as well as support for hate groups and people promoting hateful activities.

Recent trends

We believe all people deserve a safe space to cultivate their interests and seek inspiration—regardless of their actual or perceived race, color, caste, ethnicity, immigration status, national origin, religion or faith, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition.

We performed a sweeping cleanup across the platform for hateful activities content in Q4 2021, leading to a temporary spike in Pins deactivated. This rise is not due to any known sustained increase of violative content. Of the Pins we deactivated in Q4, 99% were seen by fewer than 100 users in that reporting period.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for hateful activities
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 56% 97%
Seen by 1-10 people 19% 0.8%
Seen by 10-100 people 11% 0.7%
Seen by 100+ people 14% 1%

 

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 3,482 distinct images, which comprised 9,805 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 86% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 46% of Pins manually and 54% with hybrid tools. We actioned 936 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 1,758 boards and 107 accounts. We received 35 account appeals and reinstated 21 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 3,848 distinct images, which comprised 107,295 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 97% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 5% of Pins manually and 95% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,074 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 409 boards and 36 accounts for violating this policy. We received 10 account appeals and reinstated 5 accounts.

Medical misinformation

Our medical misinformation policy is one of several policies in our Community guidelines that prohibit misinformation and disinformation on Pinterest. This policy prohibits medically unsupported health claims that risk a user’s health or wider public health and safety, including the promotion of false cures, anti-vaccination advice, or misinformation about public health or safety emergencies. We rely on information from nationally and internationally recognized institutions, including the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization, to help us determine if content violates these guidelines.

Recent trends

Pinterest is deeply committed to combating health misinformation. We continue to engage with public health experts to stay on top of trends and get feedback on our policy and enforcement approaches for topics such as medical misinformation. As COVID-19 vaccines continue to be made available around the world, we saw a relative increase in the number of Pins deactivated in Q3 2021, and 99% of these Pins were seen by fewer than 100 users in that reporting period.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for medical misinformation
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 75% 76%
Seen by 1-10 people 20% 9%
Seen by 10-100 people 4% 5%
Seen by 100+ people 1% 9%



In Q3 2021, we deactivated 4,237 distinct images, which comprised 138,491 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 75% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 2% of Pins automatically, 25% manually and 74% with hybrid tools. We also deactivated 383 boards and 10 accounts. We received 2 account appeals and reinstated 0 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 3,564 distinct images, which comprised 6,370 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 76% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 72% of Pins automatically, 28% manually and fewer than 1% with hybrid tools. We also deactivated 491 boards and 14 accounts for violating this policy. We received 4 account appeals and reinstated 3 accounts.

Self-injury and harmful behavior

Combating self-harm is a priority for us as we strive to ensure Pinterest plays a positive role in people’s lives. Content that displays, rationalizes or encourages suicide, self-injury, eating disorders or substance abuse isn’t welcome on our platform. This includes self-harm instructions, sensitive imagery, and suicidal thinking and quotes. 

Our ongoing partnership with Samaritans, an organization dedicated to reducing feelings of isolation and disconnection that can lead to suicide, continues to help the industry tackle self-harm content and make the internet a safer place for everyone. Partnerships like this help us support expert research and development within the field of mental health so that more people in need can find support, no matter what app or website they use. 

Recent trends

In Q3 and Q4 2021, we continued investing in work to improve content moderation for self-harm content and provided support millions of times to those in need through our compassionate search experience

We performed a sweeping cleanup across the platform for self-injury and harmful behavior content in Q4 2021, leading to a temporary spike in Pin deactivated. This rise is not due to any known sustained increase of violative content. Of the Pins we deactivated in Q4, 97% were never seen by users in that reporting period.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for self-injury and harmful behavior
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 83% 97%
Seen by 1-10 people 12% 2%
Seen by 10-100 people 3% 0.3%
Seen by 100+ people 2% 0.3%

 

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 4,156 distinct images, which comprised 85,328 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 83% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 5% of Pins manually and 95% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,667 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 575 boards and 37 accounts. We received 10 account appeals and reinstated 9 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 16,761 distinct images, which comprised 395,682 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 97% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 1% of Pins manually and 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,028 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 82,518 boards and 1,047 accounts for violating this policy. We received 166 account appeals and reinstated 133 accounts.

Spam

We want the inspiration and ideas on Pinterest to be high-quality and useful, so we deactivate spam when we find it. The goal of spammers is to make money, and the best way to do this is to spam at scale. It’s a numbers game: one million spam emails are much more effective than one spam email. The same kinds of spamming efforts can happen on any content distribution platform, including Pinterest. Platforms’ interactions with spammers are generally both adversarial and iterative with users who intentionally try to evade the system and continually update their techniques.

Recent trends

At Pinterest, we use the latest in machine learning technology to build automated models that swiftly detect and act against spam of all kinds. We not only use the latest modeling techniques but also iterate on these models at regular intervals by adding new data and exploring new technical breakthroughs to either maintain or improve their performance over time to effectively address spam. Given the adversarial, iterative nature of fighting spam, content enforcement numbers may change quarter-to-quarter, especially after a large attack.

Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for spam
  Q3 2021 Q4 2021
Seen by 0 people 63% 75%
Seen by 1-10 people 24% 19%
Seen by 10-100 people 9% 4%
Seen by 100+ people 4% 1%

 

In Q3 2021, we deactivated 81,753 distinct images, which comprised 233,303 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 63% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% of Pins manually and more than 99% automatically. We also deactivated 2,435,683 accounts for violating this policy. We received 101,832 account appeals and reinstated 77,936 accounts.

In Q4 2021, we deactivated 61,834 distinct images, which comprised 121,639 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 75% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% of Pins manually and more than 99% automatically. We also deactivated 1,736,742 accounts for violating this policy. We received 103,257 account appeals and reinstated 79,054 accounts.

Intellectual property policies enforcement

Pinterest respects the intellectual property rights of others and we expect people on Pinterest to do the same. It’s our policy in appropriate circumstances to deactivate the accounts of people who repeatedly infringe or are repeatedly charged with infringing copyrights or other intellectual property rights.

Intellectual property notices

Pinterest provides multiple mechanisms to submit notices alleging intellectual property infringement. The first can be found in-product right next to the content at issue. Users can flag Pins they find objectionable by clicking on the three small dots on any Pin and hitting “Report Pin.” We also provide a form and physical and email addresses for submitting intellectual property notices, all of which can be easily located on our Policy site. 

Submitters have the option to identify one piece of content or many. We assess each piece of content identified in a submission and process those that we find to be complete. If we need more information about the submitter or about any content identified, we engage with the person or entity that submitted that notice to give them the opportunity to provide that information. If at any point they are able to submit a complete and valid notice alleging intellectual property infringement, Pinterest will comply with the notice and deactivate the content identified.

We may consider a notice to be invalid and decline to deactivate content identified when appropriate, such as when the notice:

  • Does not include all legally required information
  • Does not make a plausible intellectual property claim, as when a use is non-infringing
  • Is not actionable, including when the content has already been deactivated
  • Is spam
  • Given the complex nature of these cases, we’ve included a number of metrics to provide greater insight into the steps that we take to assess intellectual property submissions and engage with the persons or entities who submit them.

    Appeals

    When a user’s content is deactivated as the result of an intellectual property notice, we send them an email notification that includes information on how to appeal our actions if they wish to do so. We evaluate appeals, which may be in the form of a counter-notice under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and remedy the situation if we determine that there was an actionable appeal. As we do with intellectual property notices, we engage with the person or entity who submitted the appeal to get more information if necessary. If at any point they are able to submit a complete and valid appeal, Pinterest will take appropriate action to remedy the situation.

    Copyright

    Pinterest has always been a place for content creators, brands and publishers worldwide to feature their content and build value. Many creators upload their own content or encourage users to do so using buttons on their websites designed to facilitate saving to Pinterest, and welcome the exposure and user traffic generated when users save images. We work hard to give creators control over their content, including by designating which websites should be linked to and receive traffic from saved images, using features like our “No Pin” code if they wish to restrict saving from their websites, or claiming content on Pinterest through our Content Claiming Portal

    In cases where rightsholders do not want their content to appear on Pinterest, we offer several mechanisms for content removal. Copyright owners and those authorized to act on their behalf can report alleged copyright infringements through our copyright reporting mechanisms including our in-product reporting option, our reporting form or via email to copyright [at] pinterest.com (copyright[at]pinterest[dot]com). Once we’ve assessed a copyright notice, we take appropriate action, which may include removing the reported content from Pinterest. We also offer the Content Claiming Portal, a tool launched in 2021 that enables rightsholders to claim their content and decide if and how it appears on Pinterest. When we take action based on a copyright notice or information gathered in the Content Claiming Portal, we notify affected users and provide information on how to appeal our actions if they wish to.

    Copyright and other forms of intellectual property present unique content moderation challenges. While moderators can often identify content that violates our other policies, like those prohibiting adult content or threats, simply by looking at the content, this is not the case for copyright. Identifying copyright infringement generally requires additional knowledge about the content’s origin, legal status, ownership, licensing, or other information that is not readily apparent—such as whether the owner authorized use by another party through agreements that Pinterest is not privy to. Because of this, rightsholders alone are in a position to know whether a particular use is or is not authorized. The notification process is a means for rightsholders to provide this necessary information to Pinterest. Copyright is also unique because the proper response to infringement is not always to deactivate the content. Some rightsholders may choose to deactivate content, while others prefer to keep their content on Pinterest but correct its attribution or add a link to their website. 

    For these reasons, both our moderation process and the data reported here are not always directly comparable to our other sections on Community guidelines enforcement. That’s why, for example, we’ve added metrics such as the number of notices we processed based on the initial submission and the number of times we sought more information, and omitted our metric showing the reach of deactivated Pins. We’re committed to providing greater transparency into how we enforce intellectual property protections on Pinterest, and we'll continue to iterate on this report going forward.

     

    Content enforcement

    In Q3 2021, we received 26,434 submissions through our copyright reporting mechanisms. Of these submissions, 190 were determined to be requests unrelated to intellectual property and forwarded to the appropriate team at Pinterest. We determined that another 4,649 were spam and discarded them. We found 15,537 to be complete upon submission, and we processed all content identified in each notice. We sought information for an additional 5,471 submissions which we determined to be incomplete and ultimately processed 1,149 of those submissions. In total, we processed 16,686 notices and deactivated 51,833 distinct images, which comprised 12,520,214 Pins, under our copyright policies. We deactivated fewer than 1% of Pins manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We deactivated 714 accounts for violating our policy against repeat infringers. We received 514 appeals, found 374 to be complete and facially valid, and took appropriate action.

    We also received 25,438 requests through the Content Claiming Portal in Q3 2021. We processed 22,447 requests, which included deactivating 397 distinct images, comprising 136,258 Pins. We received 7 appeals for content deactivated in this manner, found 4 to be complete and facially valid, and took appropriate action.

    In Q4 2021, we received 21,199 submissions through our copyright reporting mechanisms. Of these submissions, 159 were determined to be requests unrelated to intellectual property and forwarded to the appropriate team at Pinterest. We determined that another 2,925 were spam and discarded them. We found 11,969 to be complete upon submission, and we processed all content identified in each notice. We sought information for an additional 5,473 submissions which we determined to be incomplete and ultimately processed 1,143 of those submissions. In total, we processed 13,112 notices and deactivated 35,966 distinct images, which comprised 10,835,478 Pins, under our copyright policies. We deactivated fewer than 1% of Pins manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We deactivated 292 accounts for violating our policy against repeat infringers. We received 523 appeals, found 419 to be complete and facially valid, and took appropriate action. 

    We also received 6,839 requests through the Content Claiming Portal in Q4 2021. We processed 6,161 requests, which included deactivating 450 distinct images, comprising 133,861 Pins. We received 35 appeals for content deactivated in this manner, found 14 to be complete and facially valid, and took appropriate action.

    Trademark

    Pinterest respects the trademark rights of others. Trademark owners can contact us through our trademark reporting mechanisms, such as our in-product reporting option, the trademark complaint form or by emailing us at trademark [at] pinterest.com (trademark[at]pinterest[dot]com), if they have concerns that someone may be using their trademark in an infringing way on our site. We review submissions we receive and take appropriate action, including removal of the content at issue from Pinterest.

    As with copyright, both our moderation process and the data reported here are not always directly comparable to our other Community guidelines enforcement. That’s why, for example, we’ve added metrics such as the number of notices we processed based on the initial submission and the number of times we sought more information, and omitted our metric showing the reach of deactivated Pins.

    Content enforcement

    In Q3 2021, we received 4,217 submissions through our trademark reporting mechanisms. Of these submissions, we determined that 1,241 were spam and discarded them. We found 1,094 to be complete upon submission, and we processed all content identified in each notice. We sought information for an additional 1,521 submissions which we determined to be incomplete and ultimately processed 107 of those submissions. In total, we processed 1,201 notices and deactivated 29,557 distinct images, which comprised 36,400 Pins, under our trademark policies. We deactivated 100% of Pins manually. We deactivated 82 boards and 128 accounts under our trademark and related policies. We received 18 appeals, found 2 to be complete and facially valid, and took appropriate action.

    In Q4 2021, we received 3,776 submissions through our trademark reporting mechanisms. Of these submissions, we determined that 496 were spam and discarded them. We found 985 to be complete upon submission, and we processed all content identified in each notice. We sought information for an additional 2,112 submissions which we determined to be incomplete and ultimately processed 88 of those submissions. In total, we processed 1,073 notices and deactivated 25,366 distinct images, which comprised 33,181 Pins, under our trademark and related policies. We deactivated 100% of Pins manually. We deactivated 150 boards and 135 accounts under our trademark and related policies. We received 5 appeals, found 2 to be complete and facially valid, and took appropriate action.

    Law enforcement and government agency requests

    This section provides insight into the volume of information and deactivation requests received from law enforcement and government agencies in the second half of 2021, from July through December 2021. For more information on how we respond to requests for account information, refer to our Law enforcement guidelines.

    Government information requests

    Pinterest receives legal requests from law enforcement and government agencies for Pinterest account information. We diligently review each request, and only produce data for those that meet the requirements of law and our policies. Our policy is to notify users of government requests for their information prior to disclosing, unless we are prohibited by law or in exceptional circumstances.

    United States
    Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Identified Accounts Notified**
    Subpoena 48 39 137 5
    Court Order 4 4 4 0
    Warrant 24 22 122 3
    Other* 5 2 2 0
    Total 81 67 265 8

    * Law enforcement requests such as wiretap orders, pen registers, trap and trace, and emergency disclosure requests.

    ** The account owner was notified before production.

    International
    Country Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Identified Accounts Notified**
    Argentina Other* 1 0 0 0
    Austria Other* 1 0 0 0
    Brazil Other* 3 0 0 0
    Germany Other* 7 2 2 0
    India Other* 8 0 0 0
    Italy Other* 1 0 0 0
    South Korea Other* 1 0 0 0
    Spain Other* 1 0 0 0
    United Kingdom Other* 1 0 0 0
    Total   24 2 2 0

    * Law enforcement requests such as wiretap orders, pen registers, trap and trace, and emergency disclosure requests.

    ** The account owner was notified before production.

    National security requests*
    Time period No. of requests
    July through December 2021 0-249

    * Any national security letters and orders issued under the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for user information.

    Government content deactivation requests

    We sometimes receive requests from government agents to deactivate content on Pinterest that may be illegal in their country and/or a violation of our Community guidelines

    We review the requests to determine if the content identified violates our Community guidelines. Our teams take action on violations, ranging from deactivating the content globally to restricting access to the content within the relevant country if it violates local law but does not violate our policies. 

    Pinterest received a total of 6,618 requests from July to December 2021. We deactivated content for 4,905 of those requests for violating our Community guidelines and restricted content on 1,443 requests. Content for 270 requests was inactive by the time it was reviewed in response to the government removal request. This can happen when, for instance, the content was deactivated in response to a user report prior to Pinterest receiving the government removal request.

    Country Requests Community Guidelines Deactivations* Local Law Deactivation** Inactive***
    Brazil 1 0 1 0
    Germany 10 10 0 0
    India 11 0 7 4
    Kazakhstan 1 0 1 0
    South Korea 5,939 4,462 1,343 134
    Pakistan 3 0 0 3
    Qatar 1 1 0 0
    Russia 608 408 77 123
    Turkey 43 23 14 6
    United Kingdom 1 1 0 0
    Total 6,618 4,905 1,443 270

    * Content violated our Community guidelines and was removed from the platform.

    ** Content was reported by a government agency but did not violate our Community guidelines and was restricted from appearing only in the country where the request originated, based on local law.

    *** Content was no longer available on the platform by the time it was reviewed in response to the government removal request.

    Building toward a safer internet

    Creating the most positive space online doesn't happen by accident: It happens through proactive policy and product decisions. We have industry-leading positions on content safety that are informed by inputs and advice from outside experts, civil society and government. We also invest heavily in measures like machine learning technology to maintain a safe and positive space for the people on Pinterest. We’re proud of what we’re doing to keep Pinterest safe and to move the broader industry forward. 

    Let’s create a safer, more inspired internet, together.

    H1 2021

    At Pinterest, our mission is to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, and it’s our guiding light in drafting our content policies. 

    Not everything on the internet is inspiring, so we have guardrails for what’s acceptable on Pinterest and what isn’t allowed. Our moderation practices are always evolving to keep up with new behaviors and trends and to create a more positive corner of the internet for the people on our platform. We continue to invest heavily in measures like machine learning technology to fight policy-violating content on Pinterest and to work with outside experts and organizations to inform our policies and content moderation practices.

    We started publishing a biannual transparency report in 2013. Then, starting with Q4 2020, we expanded the report to include new information on the actions we take to uphold our Community guidelines. In this transparency report, you’ll find information on our efforts to moderate user and merchant content, such as the number of policy violations and deactivations. This report also includes insight into the volume of information and deactivation requests we received from law enforcement and government agencies. The data reported here covers the first half of 2021, from January through June 2021.

    Pinterest’s industry-leading policies and practices are something we’re proud of. But more importantly, they’re the right thing for the people on our platform. They help to keep Pinterest a more positive and inspiring place online—for example, we prioritize mental health with features like our compassionate search function, and help protect users under our longstanding policy prohibiting medical misinformation. We want to advance the industry on these issues so that—together—we can create a more inspiring internet.

    What’s new in this report

    This report might look a little different from our last transparency report. For one thing, we know that numbers alone can’t tell the whole story so we’ve added a section on Community safety and wellbeing, which describes some of the ways we’ve invested in our community through policies, products and partnerships this past half. We’re proud of the work we’ve done in this area, and we’re committed to continuing to invest in the health of our community.

    We’ve also updated our section on Community guidelines enforcement to be organized by policy category instead of action type. So, for example, in our last report there was a section on Pin deactivations and another for board deactivations—now, there is a section for each policy category that includes the number of Pins and boards deactivated for violating that policy. We made this change to provide a more holistic view of our content moderation actions within a policy category. 

    It’s important to note that, even with this new format, we’re still reporting all the same information that we included in our last transparency report. In fact, we’ve also added new information—specifically, data on how we deactivate Pins, whether that’s through automated tools, manual review or a hybrid approach that combines elements of both. Check out the methodology section below for more information on how we calculated this data.

    We’re committed to providing greater transparency into how we keep Pinterest safe and inspiring, and we'll continue to iterate on this report going forward.

    Community safety and wellbeing

    We continue to invest in our policies, products and partnerships to support the safety and wellbeing of our community. Here are just some of the key updates we made in the first half of 2021.

    Algorithms and Skin Tone Ranges

    As a content distribution platform, we have a responsibility to diminish bias in the algorithms and systems that drive Pinterest. We do this in large part by applying diverse data in our artificial reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Our focus in these areas can be seen in how we’ve developed features like AR Try on and skin tone ranges that allow users to refine beauty-related searches to find what they’re looking for. Our dataset has diversified over time to help people customize their searches. In the first half of the year, there were millions of searches using skin tone ranges, and in March 2021, we expanded the feature to thirteen additional countries: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, México, and Colombia. 

    Launching the Creator Code

    As part of our work to build a positive online space for creators, we introduced the Creator Code, our content commitment designed to educate and empower content creators to fulfill their responsibility to keep Pinterest a positive and inspiring place. The Code outlines core pillars that Creators must accept before posting Idea Pins: Be kind. Check your facts. Do no harm. Watch for triggers. Practice inclusion. 

    Simply put, the Code asks Creators to lead with positivity, kindness and inclusion. This collective effort to mitigate negativity is a critical step in our journey to build a positive experience that adds lasting value to the lives of people on Pinterest.

    Partnership with National Eating Disorders Association to support body positivity

    In February 2021, we supported National Eating Disorders Awareness Week in partnership with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), the largest nonprofit organization in the United States dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders.

    With this year’s theme, NEDA invited “Every Body to Have a Seat at the Table” by welcoming conversations on awareness, challenging systemic biases and sharing stories from all backgrounds and experiences. We donated ad credits to encourage people to tune into NEDAwareness Week events and the different roundtables taking place. NEDA used a new Pinterest format—Idea Pins—to educate users about eating disorders communication and recovery, and we featured those Idea Pins on the Today Tab to help generate awareness of these topics on our platform.

    We continuously work with third party experts and organizations, like NEDA, to get advice and feedback on our policy and enforcement approaches. Collaborations with experts help us properly address policy updates, look for cross-platform trends and combat misinformation.

    New initiatives to fight against COVID-19 vaccine misinformation

    For several years, we have been at the forefront of combating health misinformation online and ensuring people on Pinterest have access to authoritative information about important health issues, like vaccines. In fact, we were one of the first platforms to implement a policy prohibiting health misinformation in 2017. 

    The team introduced our first phase of COVID misinformation efforts in February 2020, including customizing the search experience with results from experts like the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and prohibiting ads that offered misleading cures or treatments for COVID-19.

    In March 2021, we furthered our commitment to combat COVID-19 vaccine misinformation by:

  • Continuing to showcase authoritative content on Expert Search and Today Tab. When people search on Pinterest for topics related to coronavirus, a banner that leads to the WHO COVID-19 resource page appears so users can learn more from trusted sources. Expert Search results also feature relevant content created by doctors and medical organizations like the WHO and the CDC.
  • Partnering with the Association for Healthcare Social Media and Greater Than COVID to create content that educates people on Pinterest about COVID-19 vaccines, generates awareness about the importance of vaccination and dispels myths.
  • Offering paid media, creative resources and support for medical organizations serving underrepresented communities to amplify and elevate reliable third-party COVID-related resources on Pinterest.
  • Providing paid media to the AdCouncil in support of its national COVID-19 vaccine awareness campaign “It’s Up to You.”
  • Community guidelines enforcement

    Pinterest’s Community guidelines are designed to support our mission of inspiration. They govern what we do and don't allow on Pinterest, and all users must abide by them. 

    We have additional guidelines for merchants and advertisers to set clear expectations about what is and is not acceptable for product Pins and advertisements. These guidelines include especially high standards that are for the safety of all audiences who use Pinterest. We believe you can't feel inspired if you don't first feel safe.

    To help us cultivate a safe and inspired community, we develop and enforce content policies that help ensure our platform is a positive place where people can find real-life ideas for what to try next, cook next, wear next, or do next. We work hard to identify and deactivate harmful content from our site, and our content policies and moderation practices are always evolving to keep up with new behaviors and trends and to create a more positive corner of the internet for users. 

    We may block, limit the distribution of or deactivate content and the accounts, individuals and groups that create or spread that content, based on how much harm it poses. In the event that a user believes a deactivation was in error, Pinterest provides options to appeal the deactivation.

    Methodology Distinct images and Pins deactivated

    Every day, millions of people all over the world come to Pinterest to create, discover and save new ideas that are shared in Pins. To understand how we approach content moderation, it’s helpful to differentiate between two types of Pins: organic Pins and ads. Our Community guidelines apply to both.

    Organic Pins include all Pins created and saved on Pinterest that are not promoted as ads. For example, this could include merchants’ product Pins, which aren’t always ads, and may appear organically to people who are searching for products on Pinterest. We have additional requirements, like that the Pin image and description must accurately represent the product, for merchants and their product Pins. All types of organic Pins are included in our transparency reports.

    Ads are Pins that businesses pay to promote. We have additional policies for advertisers that hold ads and advertisers to even higher standards. Ad policies are enforced differently than organic content, and are not included in these transparency reports.

    Much of the content on Pinterest has been saved repeatedly, meaning that the same image may appear in multiple Pins. So when it comes to reporting content moderation for organic Pins, we include the number of Pins deactivated as well as the number of distinct images deactivated to provide greater insight into our moderation practices for this type of content. 

    We report boards and accounts deactivated separately. To avoid double-counting deactivations, our count of distinct images and Pins deactivated does not include those on boards or from user accounts that were deactivated.

    How we deactivate Pins

    We deactivate policy-violating Pins through automated tools, manual review and a hybrid approach that combines elements of both. 

    Automated deactivations. Our automated tools use a combination of signals to identify and take action against potentially violating content. Our machine learning models assign scores to each image added to our platform. Using those scores, our automated tools can then apply the same enforcement decision to other Pins containing the same images.

    Manual deactivations. We manually deactivate Pins through our human review process. Pins deactivated through this process may include those identified internally and those reported to us by third parties. It also includes the Pins that are reviewed and deactivated by one of our team members after a user report.

    Hybrid deactivations. Hybrid deactivations include those where a human determines that a Pin violates policy, and automated systems help expand that decision to enforce against machine-identified matching Pins. Depending on the prevalence of matching Pins, a hybrid deactivation may result in a number of Pins deactivated or none at all. 

    The mechanisms used to address different potential policy violations may vary based on the state of available technology, the volume of violative content and other factors such as the complexity of evaluation. We continue to iterate and evolve our tools and expect ongoing improvements going forward.

    Reach of Pins deactivated for violating policy

    People often ask, how many users saw a Pin before it was deactivated? In most cases, the answer is: not a lot. 

    For example, 70% of Pins that we deactivated for civic misinformation in Q2 were never seen by users in that reporting period—even with more than 400 million people visiting Pinterest per month.

    Reach is one of our key indicators of user experience. To calculate this metric, we start by looking at each policy-violating Pin deactivated in a reporting period. Then we count the number of unique users that saw each of those Pins during the reporting period for at least 1 second, before it was deactivated. Reach for a policy category may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

    Actioned user reports

    Users can report Pins they find objectionable by clicking on the three small dots on any Pin and hitting “Report Pin.” Once we confirm a policy violation and take action, we consider the report an actioned user report.

    The total number of actioned user reports—in other words, reports found to have correctly identified policy violations—is another key indicator of user experience on Pinterest. So is the number of reporters: fewer than 0.01% of monthly active users reported a Pin that resulted in a Pin deactivation in Q2.

    Boards deactivated

    When users find Pins they like or want to come back to, they save them to boards that they’ve created. Over time, our users have created billions of boards. 

    When a board is deactivated for violating policy, all the Pins on that board are also deactivated. Similarly, when we deactivate an entire account, that user’s boards are also deactivated. To avoid double-counting deactivations, our count of boards deactivated does not include those from user accounts that were deactivated.

    Accounts deactivated

    Think of “accounts” on Pinterest as “profiles” or, most often, individual users. If someone saves Pins and creates boards, that content becomes associated with their account. This is also true for business, advertiser, merchant and creator accounts. 

    Any account may be deactivated for violating our policies. When an account is deactivated, all of their Pins and boards are also deactivated. That means that if you search for them or click on an old link to their profile, that profile won’t show up anymore. Their Pins won’t appear anywhere on Pinterest. And the deactivated user won’t be able to access their own Pins or boards, either.

    Account appeals and reinstatements

    If people believe their accounts have been deactivated by mistake, they can follow an appeals process to have their accounts reinstated. We review appeal requests and grant the appeal if we determine we made a mistake, or in some cases to give people another chance to abide by our Community guidelines.

    We also process appeals for deactivated Pins and boards and expect to include that data in reports in the future.

    Reporting periods

    Our reporting on Community guidelines enforcement covers the first half of 2021, from January to June 2021. We’ve split that time into two reporting periods: Q1 and Q2. 

    Q1 covers the first quarter of the year, from January through March 2021, while Q2 covers the second quarter of the year, from April through June 2021. Sometimes we also refer to Q4 2020 (October to December 2020) when we’re talking about quarter-over-quarter trends.

    Adult content

    Pinterest isn’t a place for pornography. We deactivate content that violates our adult content policy and do not deliver results for searches determined to violate this policy. We have established guidelines to help differentiate between pornography and other mature content such as content related to sexual health, breastfeeding, mastectomies, art and education.

    Recent trends



    In Q1 2021, we launched new machine learning tools to detect and deactivate boards for violating our adult content policy. As a result, we saw an increase in the number of boards and accounts deactivated. Looking at Q2 2021 compared to Q4 2020, there was also a 15% decrease in actioned user reports per monthly active user—one of our key indicators of user experience—that we attribute to this effort.

    Our content policies and moderation practices are always evolving to better keep our platform safe for all users. So far, we’ve focused our use of these new machine learning tools on enforcing against our adult content policy, and we’re currently exploring how they may work for other types of policy violations. 

    Content enforcement Reach* of Pins deactivated for adult content
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 80% 81%
    Seen by 1-10 people 15% 15%
    Seen by 10-100 people 3% 3%
    Seen by 100+ people 1.6% 1.3%

    * To calculate reach, we start by looking at each policy-violating Pin deactivated in a reporting period. Then we count the number of unique users that saw each of those Pins during the reporting period for at least 1 second, before it was deactivated. Quarterly percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 2,029,934 distinct images, which comprised 47,120,204 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 80% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 128,015 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 179,994 boards and 17,659 accounts. We received 2,335 account appeals and reinstated 1,634 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 1,486,098 distinct images, which comprised 46,130,733 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 81% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 136,218 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 131,664 boards and 13,468 accounts for violating this policy. We received 2,398 account appeals and reinstated 1,442 accounts.

    Adult sexual services

    We prohibit adult sexual services on Pinterest, and the amount of such content we find on the platform is low. Adult sexual services may involve commercial sex work and sexual or physical exploitation or trafficking, such as escort services, prostitution, sex cams, or sex- or nudity-for-money services.

    Recent trends



    Sometimes Pins do not have content that would violate our adult content policy but may still contain offers for adult sexual services. When we identify Pins like that, we deactivate them for violating our adult sexual services policy. 

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 1,263 Pins for violating this policy, and of those, 78% were seen by fewer than 100 users in that reporting period.

    Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for adult sexual services
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 1.5% 0.7%
    Seen by 1-10 people 41% 45%
    Seen by 10-100 people 28% 32%
    Seen by 100+ people 29% 22%

     

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 520 distinct images, which comprised 533 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 71% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 100% of Pins manually. We actioned 536 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 348 boards and 271 accounts. We received 11 account appeals and reinstated 3 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 1,245 distinct images, which comprised 1,263 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 78% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 100% of Pins manually. We actioned 613 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 708 boards and 500 accounts for violating this policy. We received 14 account appeals and reinstated 4 accounts.

    Civic misinformation

    We introduced our civic misinformation policy in 2020 as an addition to several existing Community guidelines on misinformation and disinformation. This policy prohibits false or misleading content on Pinterest that impedes an election’s integrity or an individual's or group's civic participation, including registering to vote, voting and being counted in a census.

    Recent trends



    As part of our efforts to maintain a safe platform during the US presidential transition, there was a relative increase in the number of boards and accounts deactivated for violating this policy in Q1 2021.

    Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for civic misinformation
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 80% 70%
    Seen by 1-10 people 16% 26%
    Seen by 10-100 people 3% 3%
    Seen by 100+ people 0.9% 0.8%

     

     

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 2,044 distinct images, which comprised 6,895 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 80% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 96% of Pins manually and 4% with hybrid tools. We actioned 111 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 546 boards and 45 accounts. We received 13 account appeals and reinstated 11 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 349 distinct images, which comprised 2,316 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 70% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 16% of Pins manually and 84% with hybrid tools. We actioned 118 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 92 boards and 9 accounts for violating this policy. We received 4 account appeals and reinstated 3 accounts.

    Conspiracy theories

    Our conspiracy theory policy is one of several policies in our Community guidelines that prohibit misinformation and disinformation on Pinterest. Conspiracy theories include content that turns or encourages turning individuals, groups of people, places or organizations into targets of harassment or physical violence, such as hate-based conspiracy theories and misinformation about mass atrocities.

    Recent trends



    Sometimes, we perform a sweeping cleanup across the platform that can cause a temporary spike in take-downs of certain types of content. The ultimate outcome is of course a good thing: a cleaner, safer, more inspiring place for everyone. 

    We saw this with conspiracy theories in Q2 when we performed a cleanup across the platform, as part of our usual content enforcement efforts. This generated a temporary spike in Pins deactivated. This rise is not due to any known increase of violative content, and more importantly 95% of those Pins were never seen by users during that reporting period.

    Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for conspiracy theories
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 92% 95%
    Seen by 1-10 people 6% 5%
    Seen by 10-100 people 1% 0.3%
    Seen by 100+ people 0.3% 0.1%

     

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 24,134 distinct images, which comprised 166,189 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 92% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 2% of Pins manually and 98% with hybrid tools. We actioned 217 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 592 boards and 116 accounts. We received 20 account appeals and reinstated 11 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 16,204 distinct images, which comprised 1,148,947 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 95% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 318 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 451 boards and 81 accounts for violating this policy. We received 13 account appeals and reinstated 5 accounts.

    Dangerous goods and activities

    Pinterest isn’t a place for trading, selling, or engaging in dangerous goods or activities. Dangerous goods are products or substances that might cause harm when used, altered or manufactured irresponsibly. Dangerous activities—including displaying or encouraging dangerous activities—are also not welcome on Pinterest.

    Recent trends



    We performed a sweeping cleanup across the platform for dangerous goods and activities content in Q1 and Q2 2021, leading to a temporary spike in take-downs of this type of content. The ultimate outcome of work like this is a cleaner, safer, more inspiring place for everyone. 

    This effort, applied to organic Pins and not promoted ads or products, generated a temporary spike in Pins deactivated for violating this policy. This rise is not due to any known sustained increase of violative content.

    A smaller portion of the increase in Pins deactivated in Q1 2021 was driven by the detection and deactivation of Pins related to a harmful weight-control drug, which also led to the deactivation of a significant number of boards and accounts. 

    Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for dangerous goods and activities
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 95% 97%
    Seen by 1-10 people 4% 2%
    Seen by 10-100 people 0.6% 0.2%
    Seen by 100+ people 0.4% 0.1%

     

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 108,534 distinct images, which comprised 839,389 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 95% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 5% manually, fewer than 1% automatically and 95% with hybrid tools. We actioned 3,136 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 2,344 boards and 403 accounts. We received 14 account appeals and reinstated 4 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 938,363 distinct images, which comprised 12,286,669 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 97% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% of Pins manually, fewer than 1% automatically and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 3,394 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 1,814 boards and 501 accounts for violating this policy. We received 17 account appeals and reinstated 5 accounts.

    Graphic violence and threats

    We prohibit graphic violence and threats on Pinterest. This includes most content that shows the use of violence, threats and language that glorifies violence.

    Recent trends



    There was a relative increase in the amount of content deactivated for violating our graphic violence and threats policy during the US presidential transition in Q1 2021.

    Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for graphic violence and threats
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 96% 26%
    Seen by 1-10 people 3% 28%
    Seen by 10-100 people 0.4% 21%
    Seen by 100+ people 0.5% 26%

     

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 3,376 distinct images, which comprised 254,455 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 96% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 2% of Pins manually and 98% with hybrid tools. We actioned 873 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 1,184 boards and 243 accounts. We received 15 account appeals and reinstated 10 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 4,005 distinct images, which comprised 7,173 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 74% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 79% of Pins manually and 21% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,848 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 767 boards and 72 accounts for violating this policy. We received 29 account appeals and reinstated 13 accounts.

    Harassment and criticism

    Pinterest is not a place for harassment and criticism, and we prohibit content that insults, hurts or antagonizes individuals or groups of people. This includes manipulated images intended to degrade or shame, shaming people for their bodies or assumed sexual or romantic history, sexual remarks about people’s bodies, solicitations or offers of sexual acts, and mocking someone for experiencing sadness, grief, loss or outrage.

    Recent trends



    We try to be very mindful about when we use hybrid tools and—more importantly—how to scale them. Remember, hybrid deactivations include those where a human determines that a piece of content violates policy, and automated systems expand that decision to enforce against machine-identified matching Pins. For example, a hybrid deactivation may be appropriate if we determine that the image in a Pin violates policy, but it may not be appropriate if the same image might be allowed in other situations, or if the initial Pin is deactivated for reasons other than the image it shows.

    In Q2 2021, the vast majority of Pins deactivated for violating our harassment and criticism policy were the result of a hybrid deactivation that included a small handful of misclassified images. We reactivated those deactivated Pins once we spotted the error and have made improvements to the process to minimize the chances that it will happen again.

    We’ve included those false positives in the Q2 enforcement data, but we excluded them from the reach metric for this policy in an effort to provide more accurate insight into the number of users who saw a Pin that actually violates this policy before the Pin was deactivated. For Q2, 79% of such Pins were never seen by people in that reporting period.

    Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for harassment and criticism
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 87% 79%
    Seen by 1-10 people 10% 18%
    Seen by 10-100 people 2% 3%
    Seen by 100+ people 1% 1%

     

    * See the Recent trends section above for details on how we calculated reach for this policy in Q2 2021.

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 5,540 distinct images, which comprised 124,713 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 87% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 11% of Pins manually and 89% with hybrid tools. We actioned 4,483 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 977 boards and 594 accounts. We received 57 account appeals and reinstated 43 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 7,238 distinct images, which comprised 1,238,782 Pins, for violating this policy. We determined that a small handful of these distinct images, and their more than 990,000 machine-identified matching Pins, were incorrectly deactivated, and we reinstated that content after spotting the error. Of the Pins that we believe were correctly deactivated, 79% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated fewer than 1% of Pins manually and more than 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 5,383 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 1,025 boards and 292 accounts for violating this policy. We received 33 account appeals and reinstated 22 accounts.

    Hateful activities

    We prohibit hateful content and the people and groups that promote hateful activities on Pinterest. Hateful activities include slurs and negative stereotypes, caricatures and generalizations, as well as support for hate groups and people promoting hateful activities.

    Recent trends



    We believe all people deserve a safe space to cultivate their interests and seek inspiration—regardless of their actual or perceived race, color, caste, ethnicity, immigration status, national origin, religion or faith, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition.

    In Q1 and Q2 2021, we saw a relative decrease in boards and accounts deactivated compared to Q4 2020. We deactivated fewer Pins in Q2, and 74% of those Pins were seen by fewer than 100 users in that reporting period.

    Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for hateful activities
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 70% 22%
    Seen by 1-10 people 13% 34%
    Seen by 10-100 people 7% 18%
    Seen by 100+ people 11% 26%

     

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 2,487 distinct images, which comprised 8,823 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 70% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 30% of Pins manually and 70% with hybrid tools. We actioned 862 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 665 boards and 82 accounts. We received 22 account appeals and reinstated 13 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 3,418 distinct images, which comprised 6,086 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 74% were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period. We deactivated 60% of Pins manually and 40% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,948 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 739 boards and 126 accounts for violating this policy. We received 23 account appeals and reinstated 12 accounts. 

    Medical misinformation

    Our medical misinformation policy is one of several policies in our Community guidelines that prohibit misinformation and disinformation on Pinterest. This policy  prohibits medically unsupported health claims that risk a user’s health or wider public health and safety, including the promotion of false cures, anti-vaccination advice, or misinformation about public health or safety emergencies. We rely on information from nationally and internationally recognized institutions, including the CDC and WHO, to help us determine if content violates these guidelines.

    Recent trends



    Pinterest is deeply committed to combating health misinformation. As COVID-19 vaccines were made more widely available around the world, we deactivated content that violated our medical misinformation policy and worked closely with health experts to ensure we stayed up-to-date on the latest developments. We saw a relative increase in the number of Pins deactivated in Q2 2021, and 92% of these Pins were seen by fewer than 100 users in this reporting period.

    Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for medical misinformation
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 74% 65%
    Seen by 1-10 people 16% 19%
    Seen by 10-100 people 3% 8%
    Seen by 100+ people 8% 8%

     

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 4,256 distinct images, which comprised 11,097 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 74% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 48% of Pins automatically, 12% manually and 40% with hybrid tools. We also deactivated 473 boards and 35 accounts. We received 7 account appeals and reinstated 5 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 4,869 distinct images, which comprised 19,852 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 65% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 31% of Pins automatically, 30% manually and 39% with hybrid tools. We also deactivated 462 boards and 34 accounts for violating this policy. We received 11 account appeals and reinstated 6 accounts.

    Self-injury and harmful behavior

    Combating self-harm is a priority for us as we strive to ensure Pinterest plays a positive role in people’s lives. Content that displays, rationalizes or encourages suicide, self-injury, eating disorders or substance abuse isn’t welcome on our platform. This includes self-harm instructions, sensitive imagery, and suicidal thinking and quotes. 

    Our ongoing partnership with Samaritans, an organization dedicated to reducing feelings of isolation and disconnection that can lead to suicide, continues to help the industry tackle self-harm content and make the internet a safer place for everyone. In 2019, we deepened our relationship with the Samaritans by joining their newly formed industry-wide program. Partnerships like this help us support expert research and development within the field of mental health so that more people in need can find support, no matter what app or website they use. 

    Recent trends



    In Q1 and Q2, we continued investing in work to improve content moderation for self-harm content and provided support millions of times to those in need through our compassionate search experience.

    In Q1 2021, hybrid deactivations resulted in more Pins deactivated, but fewer distinct images deactivated, than they did in Q2. More importantly, 99% of the Pins deactivated in Q1 were seen by fewer than 100 people in that reporting period. 

    Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for self-injury and harmful behavior
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 86% 88%
    Seen by 1-10 people 12% 8%
    Seen by 10-100 people 2% 2%
    Seen by 100+ people 1% 2%

     

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 2,945 distinct images, which comprised 302,918 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 86% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 1% of Pins manually and 99% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,066 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 545 boards and 79 accounts. We received 13 account appeals and reinstated 12 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 3,824 distinct images, which comprised 81,444 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 88% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated 10% of Pins manually and 90% with hybrid tools. We actioned 1,567 user reports that resulted in a Pin deactivated for violating this policy. We also deactivated 828 boards and 123 accounts for violating this policy. We received 28 account appeals and reinstated 25 accounts.

    Spam

    We want the inspiration and ideas on Pinterest to be high-quality and useful, so we deactivate spam when we find it. The goal of spammers is to make money, and the best way to do this is to spam at scale. It’s a numbers game: one million spam emails are much more effective than one spam email. The same kinds of spamming efforts can happen on any content distribution platform, including Pinterest. Platforms’ interactions with spammers are generally both adversarial and iterative with users who intentionally try to evade the system and continually update their techniques. 

    Recent trends



    At Pinterest, we use the latest in machine learning technology to build automated models that swiftly detect and act against spam of all kinds. We not only use the latest modeling techniques but also iterate on these models at regular intervals by adding new data and exploring new technical breakthroughs to either maintain or improve their performance over time to effectively address spam. Given the adversarial, iterative nature of fighting spam, content enforcement numbers may change quarter-to-quarter, especially after a large attack.

    Content enforcement Reach of Pins deactivated for spam
      Q1 2021 Q2 2021
    Seen by 0 people 65% 61%
    Seen by 1-10 people 15% 20%
    Seen by 10-100 people 13% 12%
    Seen by 100+ people 7% 7%

     

    In Q1 2021, we deactivated 336,821 distinct images, which comprised 1,042,960 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 65% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated less than 1% of Pins manually and more than 99% automatically. We also deactivated 1 board and 4,420,965 accounts. We received 112,139 account appeals and reinstated 84,541 accounts.

    In Q2 2021, we deactivated 118,054 distinct images, which comprised 378,490 Pins, for violating this policy. Of these Pins, 61% were never seen by users in this reporting period. We deactivated less than 1% of Pins manually and more than 99% automatically. We also deactivated 3,104,408 accounts for violating this policy. We received 80,624 account appeals and reinstated 61,050 accounts.

    Law enforcement and government agency requests

    This section provides insight into the volume of information and deactivation requests received from law enforcement and government agencies. 

    Please note that this data encompasses requests from January through June 2021. For more information on how we respond to requests for account information, refer to our Law enforcement guidelines.

    Government information requests

    Pinterest receives legal requests from law enforcement and government agencies for Pinterest account information. We diligently review each request, and only produce data for those that meet the requirements of law and our policies. Our policy is to notify users of government requests for their information prior to disclosing, unless we are prohibited by law or in exceptional circumstances.

    United States
    Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Identified Accounts Notified**
    Subpoena 58 45 113 0
    Court Order 2 2 2 1
    Warrant 21 17 26 1
    Other* 5 1 3 0
    Total 86 65 144 2

    * Law enforcement requests such as wiretap orders, pen registers, trap and trace, and emergency disclosure requests.

    ** The account owner was notified before production.

    International
    Country Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Identified Accounts Notified**
    Australia Other* 1 0 2 0
    Costa Rica Other* 2 0 0 0
    Germany Other* 5 0 3 0
    India Other* 2 0 2 0
    Ireland Other* 1 0 0 0
    Ireland Court Order 1 1 1 1
    Israel Other* 1 1 1 0
    South Korea Other* 2 0 8 0
    Mexico Other* 1 0 1 0
    Switzerland Other* 1 0 1 0
    United Kingdom Other* 1 0 1 0
    Total   18 2 20 1

    * Law enforcement requests such as wiretap orders, pen registers, trap and trace, and emergency disclosure requests.

    ** The account owner was notified before production.

    National security requests*
    Time period No. of requests
    January through June 2021 0-249

    * Any national security letters and orders issued under the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for user information.

    Government content deactivation requests

    We sometimes receive requests from government agencies to deactivate content on Pinterest that may be illegal in their country and/or a violation of our Community guidelines

    We review the requests to determine if the content identified violates our Community guidelines. Our teams take action on violations, ranging from deactivating the content globally to restricting access to the content within the relevant country if it violates local law but does not violate our policies. 

    Pinterest received a total of 7,884 requests from January to June 2021. We deactivated content for 5,396 of those requests for violating our Community guidelines and restricted content on 1,034 requests. Content for the remaining 1,454 requests was inactive by the time it was reviewed in response to the government removal request. This can happen when, for instance, the content was deactivated in response to a user report.

    Country Requests Community Guidelines Deactivations* Local Law Deactivation** Inactive***
    France 1 1 0 0
    Germany 18 12 6 0
    India 36 2 34 0
    Japan 2 2 0 0
    South Korea 5,278 4,291 885 102
    Portugal 9 9 0 0
    Russia 2,402 1,041 63 1,298
    Turkey 138 38 46 54
    Total 7,884 5,396 1,034 1,454

    * Content violated our Community guidelines and was removed from the platform.

    ** Content was reported by a government agency but did not violate our Community guidelines and was restricted from appearing only in the country where the request originated, based on local law.

    *** Content was no longer available on the platform by the time it was reviewed in response to the government removal request.

    Child safety

    Pinterest does not tolerate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). We have a strict no-tolerance policy for any content—imagery or text—that exploits or endangers minors. Detecting and deactivating this content is extremely important to us and we work closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to combat this type of activity.

    Pinterest proactively identifies CSAM images and videos using matching tools including PhotoDNA and machine learning tools to detect additional possible CSAM. Our team of specialists is trained to identify and review CSAM, and was responsible for 890 CyberTipline reports to NCMEC from January to June 2021.

    Time period Cybertip reports
    January through June 2021 890
    Building toward a safer internet

    Creating the most positive space online doesn't happen by accident: It happens through proactive policy and product decisions. We have industry-leading positions on content safety that are informed by inputs and advice from outside experts, civil society and government. We also invest heavily in measures like machine learning technology to maintain a safe and positive space for the people on Pinterest. We’re proud of what we’re doing to keep Pinterest safe and to move the broader industry forward. 

    Let’s create a safer, more inspired internet, together.

    2020

    At Pinterest, our mission is to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, and it’s our guiding light in drafting our content policies. Not everything on the internet is inspiring, so we have guardrails for what’s acceptable on Pinterest and what isn’t allowed. 

    We’re committed to providing greater transparency into how we keep Pinterest safe and inspiring. In this transparency report, you’ll get insight into how many information and deactivation requests we received from law enforcement and government agencies between July and December 2020. We’ve reported on this information twice per year since 2013.

    But this year, we’re expanding the report to share more information. Now, our bi-annual transparency report will also include data on the actions we take to moderate user and merchant content on Pinterest beyond those requested by law enforcement, such as the number of policy violations and deactivations. This release specifically covers the actions we took under our policies between October and December 2020. We'll continue to iterate on this report going forward. 

    Pinterest’s industry-leading policies and practices are something we’re proud of. But more importantly, they’re the right thing for the people on our platform. They help to keep Pinterest a more positive and inspiring place online—for example, our longstanding policy prohibiting medical misinformation, which also challenged the industry to go further. We want to advance the industry on these issues so that—together—we can create a more inspiring internet.

    Our content moderation philosophy

    Pinterest’s Community guidelines are designed to keep our platform safe for all users. They govern what we do and don't allow on Pinterest, and all users must abide by them. 

    We have additional guidelines for merchants and advertisers to set clear expectations about what is and is not acceptable for product Pins and advertisements. We have especially high standards for safety for all audiences who use Pinterest: consumers, advertisers, creators, merchants and more. We believe you can't feel inspired if you don't first feel safe.

    To help us cultivate a safe and inspired community, we develop and enforce content policies to ensure that our platform is a positive place for people to find inspiration for their next new recipe or home renovation. We work hard to identify and deactivate harmful content from our site, and our content policies and moderation practices are always evolving. 

    We may block, limit the distribution of or deactivate content and the accounts, individuals and groups that create or spread that content, based on how much harm it poses. In the event that a user believes a deactivation was in error, Pinterest provides options to appeal the deactivation.

    Pins

    Every day, millions of people all over the world come to Pinterest to create, discover and save new ideas that are shared in Pins. To understand how we approach content moderation, it’s helpful to differentiate between two types of Pins: organic Pins and ads. Our Community guidelines apply to both.

    Organic Pins include all Pins created and saved on Pinterest that are not promoted as ads. For example, this could include merchants’ product Pins, which aren’t always ads, and may appear organically to people who are searching for products on Pinterest. We have additional requirements, like disclosing shipping and return policies, for merchants and their product Pins. All types of organic Pins are included in this report.

    Ads are Pins that advertisers have chosen to promote as ads on Pinterest. We have additional policies for advertisers that set higher standards for the quality of ads. Because ad content is enforced differently than organic content, it is not included in this report.

    Reach of policy-violating Pins

    People often ask: before a Pin is deactivated for violating policy, how many people saw it? In most cases, the answer is: not a lot. 

    For an example, let’s look at Pins deactivated for medical misinformation during this reporting period. 85% of Pins that we deactivated for medical misinformation were actually never seen by users in this reporting period—even with more than 440 million people visiting Pinterest per month.

    Reach of deactivated Pins, Oct–Dec 2020*

    Policy Seen by  0 people Seen by <10 people Seen by 10-100 people Seen by 100+ people
    Adult content 76% 17% 4% 2%
    Adult sexual services 10% 25% 28% 36%
    Civic misinformation 64% 27% 5% 3%
    Conspiracy theories 91% 7% 0.9% 0.3%
    Dangerous goods and activities 50% 37% 6% 5%
    Graphic violence and threats 50% 13% 14% 22%
    Harassment and criticism 78% 16% 3% 3%
    Hateful activities 73% 10% 6% 10%
    Medical misinformation 85% 7% 1% 6%
    Self-injury and harmful behavior 90% 8% 0.8% 0.5%
    Spam 85% 5% 3% 6%

    * Calculated based on the number of unique users that saw a policy-violating Pin between October and December 2020 for at least 1 second, before it was deactivated. Rows may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

    Actioned user reports

    Users can report any content they find objectionable by clicking on the three small dots on any Pin and hitting “Report Pin.” Once we confirm it’s a policy violation and take action on the reported content, we consider the report an actioned user report.

    The total number of actioned user reports tells us a lot about the user experience on Pinterest. So does the number of reporters: less than 0.02% of monthly active users reported a Pin that resulted in a Pin deactivation in this reporting period. 

    While the majority of actioned user reports concerned adult content, the number of users that reported that content represent a very small fraction of the people on Pinterest. More importantly, not a lot of people saw the adult content, regardless of whether it was deactivated due to a user report or another enforcement mechanism. In fact, 98% of adult content that was deactivated on Pinterest was seen by fewer than 100 people during the reporting period.

    Actioned user reports that resulted in a deactivated Pin, Oct–Dec 2020

    Policy* Actioned Reports
    Adult content 155,313
    Adult sexual services 749
    Civic misinformation 782
    Conspiracy theories 786
    Dangerous goods and activities 2,296
    Graphic violence and threats 825
    Harassment and criticism 3,865
    Hateful activities 421
    Self-injury and harmful behavior 1,854



    * For some policies, actioned user reports are not a useful metric, for instance because the primary enforcement mechanism involves processing reports in aggregate. For these policies, the reach of deactivated Pins is a more relevant indicator of the user experience.

    Pin deactivations

    There are more than 300 billion Pins on Pinterest, and each of those Pins also has an image associated with it. Just because two Pins show the same image doesn't mean that we count them as the same Pin within our systems, or even that the image came from the same source. 

    This is important when it comes to content moderation: if we determine that the image in one Pin is policy-violating, our tools need to be able to detect and act on matching images amongst the billions of other Pins on Pinterest. So while we detect and deactivate a lot of Pins, those Pins comprise a much smaller number of distinct images. That’s why we’re sharing the number of deactivations for both distinct images and Pins. Each provides a different kind of insight into our moderation practices for this type of content. 

    For example, we took proactive steps to moderate both new and pre-existing content leading up to the US election in November 2020. Those efforts included deactivating a lot of distinct images that violated our conspiracy theory policy. In doing so, we also deactivated the Pins that used those images.

    Distinct image and Pin deactivations, Oct–Dec 2020*

    Policy Distinct images Total Pins
    Adult content 2,100,253 49,855,681
    Adult sexual services 707 714
    Civic misinformation 3,238 15,809
    Conspiracy theories 52,863 1,512,221
    Dangerous goods and activities 5,501 42,310
    Graphic violence and threats 1,754 3,750
    Harassment and criticism 3,763 46,371
    Hateful activities 1,980 8,397
    Medical misinformation 5,938 18,184
    Self-injury and harmful behavior 3,499 175,584
    Spam 1,378,472 3,375,169

    * Does not include distinct images or Pins that were deactivated because they were on a board that was deactivated, or belonged to a user that was deactivated.

    Boards

    When people find Pins they like or want to come back to they save them to boards that they’ve created. Over time, people have created more than 6 billion boards. 

    Pinterest deactivates boards if a predetermined amount of content on that board has been identified as policy-violating. We’re being intentional about not sharing specific numbers for this, because that information can be used to undermine our efforts at content moderation. The most important takeaways about board moderation are that Pinterest will deactivate boards that are determined to be policy-violating, and that when a board is deactivated, all the Pins on that board are also deactivated. 

    Board deactivations, Oct–Dec 2020*

    Policy Boards
    Adult content 50,767
    Adult sexual services 488
    Civic misinformation 456
    Conspiracy theories 1,877
    Dangerous goods and activities 956
    Graphic violence and threats 381
    Harassment and criticism 795
    Hateful activities 4,604
    Medical misinformation 345
    Self-injury and harmful behavior 898
    Spam 2

    * Does not include boards that were deactivated because they belonged to a user account that was deactivated.

    Accounts

    Think of “accounts” on Pinterest as “profiles” or, most often, individual users. If someone saves Pins and creates boards, that content becomes associated with their account. This is also true for business, advertiser, merchant and creator accounts. 

    Any account may be deactivated for violating our policies. When a user is deactivated, all of their Pins and boards are also deactivated. That means that if you search for them or click on an old link to their profile, that profile won’t show up anymore. Their Pins won’t appear anywhere on Pinterest. And they won’t be able to access their own Pins or boards, either.

    Account deactivations, Oct–Dec 2020

    Policy Accounts
    Adult content 7,754
    Adult sexual services 494
    Civic misinformation 24
    Conspiracy theories 219
    Dangerous goods and activities 179
    Graphic violence and threats 11
    Harassment and criticism 816
    Hateful activities 2,487
    Medical misinformation 13
    Self-injury and harmful behavior 26
    Spam 3,115,438
    Account appeals and reinstatements

    If people believe their accounts have been deactivated by mistake, they can follow an appeals process to have their accounts reinstated. We review appeal requests and grant the appeal if we decide we made a mistake, or in some cases to give people a second chance to abide by our Community guidelines.

    Account appeals and reinstatements, Oct–Dec 2020

    Policy Appeals Reinstatements*
    Adult content 1,813 847
    Adult sexual services 38 2
    Civic misinformation 3 0
    Conspiracy theories 22 12
    Dangerous goods and activities 6 0
    Graphic violence and threats 7 3
    Harassment and criticism 24 13
    Hateful activities 31 8
    Medical misinformation 3 0
    Self-injury and harmful behavior 1 0
    Spam 99,839 64,777

    We also process appeals for deactivated Pins and boards, and expect to include that data in reports in the future.

    *Updated list on September 28, 2021 to reflect revised reinstatements figures.

    Law enforcement and government agency requests

    This section provides insight into the volume of information and deactivation requests received from law enforcement and government agencies. 

    Please note that this data encompasses requests from July to December 2020. For more information on how we respond to requests for account information, refer to our Law enforcement guidelines.

    Government Information Requests

    Pinterest receives legal requests from law enforcement and government agencies for Pinterest account information. We diligently review each request, and only produce data for those that meet the requirements of law and our policies. Our policy is to notify users of government requests for their information prior to disclosing, unless we are prohibited by law or in exceptional circumstances.

    United States Jan–June 2020

    Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts   Accounts Notified**
    Subpoena 28 28 34 3
    Court Order  3 3 5 0
    Warrant 14 14 15 2
    Other* 1 1 1 0
    Total 46 46 55 5

    United States Oct–Dec 2020

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts identified Accounts notified**
    Subpoena 41 28 45 4
    Court order 2 1 1 0
    Warrant 27 19 28 9
    Other* 6 3 5 0
    Total 76 51 79 13

    * Law enforcement requests such as wiretap orders, pen registers, trap and trace and emergency disclosure requests.

    ** The account owner was notified before production.


     

    International Jan–June 2020

    Country Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Accounts Notified**
    Canada Other* 1 1 1 0
    Total -- 1 1 1 0

    International Oct–Dec 2020*

    Country Requests Some information produced Accounts identified Accounts notified**
    Australia 1 0 1 0
    Belgium 1 0 0 0
    Brazil 1 0 1 0
    Germany 4 0 3 0
    India 3 0 1 0
    Switzerland 1 0 1 0
    United Kingdom 1 0 1 0
    Total 12 0 8 0

    * Law enforcement requests such as wiretap orders, pen registers, trap and trace, and emergency disclosure requests.

    ** The account owner was notified before production.

    National Security Requests*

    Time Period No. of Requests
    January to June 2020 0-249
    July to December 2020 0-249

    *National Security Request: Any national security letters and orders issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for user information

    Government Content Removal Requests

    We sometimes receive requests from government agencies to deactivate content on Pinterest that may be illegal in their country and/or a violation of our Community guidelines

    We review the requests to determine if the content identified violates our Community guidelines. Our teams take action on violations, ranging from deactivating the content globally to restricting access to the content within the relevant country if it violates local law but does not violate our policies. 

    Pinterest received a total of 4,078 requests from July to December 2020. We removed content for 3,684 of those requests for violating our Community guidelines and restricted the content on the remaining 394 requests.

    Jan–June 2020

    Country  Community Guidelines Violation* Legal Removals**
    Belgium 6 0
    Germany 1 28
    Kazakhstan 2 0
    Korea 76 1
    Russia 687 96
    Turkey 18 4
    Total 790 129

    Jul–Dec 2020

    Country Requests Community guidelines deactivation* Local law deactivation**
    India 14 0 14
    South Korea 2,314 2,048 266
    Russia 1,622 1,548 74
    Turkey 128 88 40
    Total 4,078 3,684 394

    * Content violated our Community guidelines and was removed from the platform.

    ** Content was reported by a government agency but did not violate our Community guidelines and was restricted from appearing only in the country where the request originated, based on local law.

    Child Safety

    Pinterest does not tolerate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). We have a strict no-tolerance policy for any content—imagery or text—that exploits or endangers minors. Detecting and deactivating this content is extremely important to us and we work closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to combat this type of activity.

    Pinterest proactively identifies CSAM images and videos using matching tools including PhotoDNA and machine learning tools to detect additional possible CSAM. Our team of specialists is trained to identify and review CSAM, and was responsible for 1,794 CyberTipline reports to NCMEC from July to December 2020.

    Time Period Cybertip Reports
    January to June 2020 1,638
    July to December 2020 1,794

     

    Building toward a safer internet

    Creating the most positive space online doesn't happen by accident: It happens through proactive policy and product decisions. We have industry-leading positions on content safety that are informed by inputs and advice from outside experts, civil society and government. We also invest heavily in measures like machine learning technology to maintain a safe and positive space for the people on Pinterest. We’re proud of what we’re doing to keep Pinterest safe and to move the broader industry forward. 

    Let’s create a safer, more inspired internet, together.

    2019
    US Law Enforcement Information Requests

    Q1 January - March 2019

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 10 10 11 4
    Court order 0 0 0 0
    Warrant 9 9 9 3
    Total 19 19 20

    7

     

    Q2 April - June 2019

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 17 15 18 7
    Court order 0 0 0 0
    Warrant 11 10 12 3
    Total 28 25 30 10

     

    Q3 July - September 2019

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 11 11 17 2
    Court order 1 1 1 0
    Warrant 23 23 26 7
    Total 34 34 44

    9

     

    Q4 October - December 2019

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 7 7 7 0
    Court order 1 1 1 0
    Warrant 7 7 10 7
    Total 15 15 18 7

     

    Non-US Government Information Requests

    Time period Number of requests Some information produced Accounts Countries
    January - March 2019 0 0 0 n/a
    April - June 2019 0 0 0 n/a
    July - September 2019 0 0 0 n/a

    October - December 2019

    3 3 4

    United Kingdom, Brazil

     

    National Security Requests
    Time period Number of requests
    January - June 2019 0-249
    July - December 2019 0-249

     

    Government Content Removal Requests
    Type of violation // Time period Community Guidelines violation Legal removals Total Did not comply
    January - March 2019

    Germany (12)

    Russia (20)

    Turkey (1)

    Germany (11)

    Russia (45)

    Turkey (1)

    90 1
    April - June 2019

    Russia (56)

    Turkey (9)

    Germany (4)

    Russia (15)

    84 0
    July - September 2019

    India (12)

    Russia (168)

    Turkey (13)

    Germany (76)

    India (6)

    Russia (59)

    Turkey (1)

    335 0
    October - December 2019

    Australia (2)

    Germany (2)

    India (11)

    Russia (110)

    Germany (1)

    India (31)

    Russia (13)

    Turkey (1) 

    175 0
    2018
    US Law Enforcement Information Requests

    January - March 2018

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 6 4 4 3
    Court order 1 1 1 0
    Warrant 5 5 6 1
    Total 12 10 11

    4

    April - June 2018

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 7 4 5 3
    Court order 1 1 1 0
    Warrant 4 6 6 3
    Total 12 11 12 6

    July - September 2018

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 10 8 12 6

    Court order

    2 2 2 1
    Warrant 8 8 12 2
    Total 20 18 28 9

    October-December 2018

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 7 7 8 1
    Court order 1 1 1 0
    Warrant 5 5 5 1
    Total 13 13 14 2
    Non-US Government Information Requests
    Time period Number of requests Some information produced Accounts Countries
    January - March 2018 0 0 0 n/a
    April - June 2018 0 0 0 n/a
    July - September 2018 1 1 2 UK
    October - December 2018 0 0 0 n/a
    National Security Requests
    Time period Number of requests
    January - June 2018 0-249
    July - December 2018 0-249
    Government Content Removal Requests
    Type of violation // Time period Community Guidelines violation Legal removals Total Did not comply
    January - March 2018 India (1), Russia (21) Russia (4) 26 0
    April - June 2018 India (3), Korea (31), Malaysia (1), Pakistan (1), Russia (9), Turkey (5) Russia (3) 53 0
    July - September 2018 Russia (3), Turkey (5) Russia (5) 11 0
    October - December 2018 France (1), Russia (13), Turkey (4) Russia (44), Turkey (5) 67 0

     

     

    2017
    US Law Enforcement Information Requests

    January - March 2017

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified*
    Subpoena 37 33 42 18
    Court Order 2 2 2 0

    Warrant

    39 39 42 22
    Total 78 74 86 40

    April - June 2017

    Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Accounts Notified*
    Subpoena 22 21 24 8
    Court Order 0 0 0 0

    Warrant

    20 19 20 5
    Total 42 40 44 13

    July - September 2017

    Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Accounts Notified*
    Subpoena 13 12 12 4
    Court Order 1 1 1 0

    Warrant

    9 9 11 1
    Total 23 22 24 5

    October - December 2017

    Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Accounts Notified*
    Subpoena 5 3 3 1
    Court Order 0 0 0 0

    Warrant

    7 7 7 0
    Total 12 10 10 1

    *Accounts notified means that the account owner was notified before production

    Non-US Government Information Requests
    Time Period Number of Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Countries
    January - March 2017 0 0 0 n/a
    April - June 2017 0 0 0 n/a
    July - September 2017 0 0 0 n/a
    October - December 2017 0 0 0 n/a
    National Security Requests
    Time Period Number of Requests
    January - June 2017 0-249
    July - December 2017 0-249
    Government Content Removal Requests
    Time Period Number of Requests Complied with Countries
    January - March 2017 72 72 Russia, South Korea
    April - June 2017 52 52 Russia
    July - September 2017 57 56 Russia, South Korea
    October - December 2017 23 23  

    *When Pinterest complies with a government request to remove content, we restrict that content from appearing only in the country where the request originated. That content will still be available to all other users.

    2016
    US Law Enforcement Information Requests



    January - March 2016

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 5 5 5 1
    Court Order 1 1 1 0

    Warrant

    0 0 0 0
    Total 6 6 6 1

    April - June 2016

    Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Accounts Notified
    Subpoena 8 6 13 2
    Court Order 1 1 12 0

    Warrant

    9 8 10 1
    Total 18 15 35 3

    July - September 2016

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 14 11 75 71
    Court Order 1 1 1 1

    Warrant

    5 5 8 5
    Total 20 17 84 77

    October - December 2016

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 10 10 12 4
    Court Order 1 1 2 0

    Warrant

    15 14 18 2
    Total 26 25 32 6
    Non-US Government Information Requests
    Time Period Number of Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Countries
    January - March 2016 0 0 0 n/a
    April - June 2016 0 0 0 n/a
    July - September 2016 0 0 0 n/a
    October - December 2016 0 0 0 n/a
    National Security Requests
    Time Period Number of Requests
    January 2016 - June 2016 0-249
    July 2016 - December 2016 0-249
    Government Content Removal Requests
    Time Period Number of Requests Complied with Countries
    January - March 2016 1 0 USA
    April - June 2016 1 0 USA
    July - September 2016 6 6 RUSSIA
    October - December 2016 1 1 RUSSIA
    2015
    US Law Enforcement Information Requests

    January - March 2015

    Types Requests Some information produced Accounts Accounts notified
    Subpoena 7 7 10 4
    Court Order 0 0 0 0

    Warrant

    2 2 3 0
    Total 9 9 13 4

    April - June 2015

    Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Accounts Notified
    Subpoena 9 8 11 7
    Court Order 4 3 6 0

    Warrant

    6 6 8 6
    Total 19 17 25 13

    July - September 2015

    Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Accounts Notified
    Subpoena 8 8 9 3
    Court Order 1 1 2 0

    Warrant

    2 2 2 2
    Total 11 11 13 5

    October - December 2015

    Types Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Accounts Notified
    Subpoena 6 6 6 2
    Court Order 0 0 0 0

    Warrant

    1 1 1 0
    Total 7 7 7 2
    Non-US Government Information Requests
    Time Period Number of Requests Some Information Produced Accounts Countries
    October - December 2015 1 0 1 Germany
    July - September 2015 0 0 0 n/a
    April - June 2015 0 0 0 n/a
    January  - March 2015 0 0 0 0
    National Security Requests
    Time Period Number of Requests
    July 2015 - December 2015 0-249
    January 2015 - June 2015 0-249
    Government Content Removal Requests
    Time Period Number of Requests Complied with Countries
    October - December 2015 1 1 Russia
    July - September 2015 3 3 Russia (3)
    April - June 2015 0 0 n/a
    January - March 2015 0 0 n/a
    2014
    January - March 2014

    Government Content Removal Requests: 0

    United States Law Enforcement Requests; Number of accounts: 7

    Warrant: 0 (0%); Protective Orders Obtained: 0

    Subpoena: 7 (100%); Protective Order Obtained: 4

  • Grand Jury: 5 (72% of subpoenas)

  • Administrative: 2 (28% of subpoenas)

  • National security: 0

    Other: 0

    Requesting party & compliance

    Federal: 2 (2 subpoenas); Compliance w/partial or full production: 100%

    State/Local: MN (2), FL (1), IL (1), CA (1); Compliance w/partial or full production: 100%

    United States Civil Requests: 0

    Rest of World Requests: Australia (1); Number of accounts: 1 ; Compliance w/partial or full production: 0%

    April - June 2014

    Government Content Removal Requests: 0

    United States Law Enforcement Requests; Number of accounts: 19

    Warrant: 3 (33%); Protective Orders Obtained: 2

    Subpoena: 6 (67%); Protective Order Obtained: 1

  • Administrative: 4 (67% of subpoenas)

  • Court: 2 (33% of subpoenas)

  • National security: 0

    Other: 0

    Requesting party & compliance

    Federal: 3 (2 warrants, 1 subpoena); Compliance w/partial or full production: 33%

    State/Local: WI (2), MO (1), OH (1), GA (1), CA (1); Compliance w/partial or full production: 83%

    United States Civil Requests: 0

    Rest of World Law Enforcement Requests: Canada (1); Number of accounts: 3 ; Compliance w/partial or full production: 0%

    July - Sept 2014

    Government Content Removal Requests: 0

    United States Law Enforcement Requests; Number of accounts: 15

    Warrant: 3 (43%); Protective Orders Obtained: 3

    Subpoena: 7 (57%); Protective Order Obtained: 4

  • Grand Jury: 4 (57% of subpoenas)

  • Administrative: 0 (0% of subpoenas)

  • Court: 3 (43% of subpoenas)

  • National security: 0

    Other: 0

    Requesting party & compliance

    Federal: 4 (1 warrant, 3 subpoenas); Compliance w/partial or full production: 100%

    State/Local: CA (1), PA (1), NJ (1), TX (1), AK (1), TN (1); Compliance w/partial or full production: 100%

    United States Civil Requests: 3 ; Compliance w/partial or full production: 66%

    Rest of World Requests: None; Number of accounts: 0 ; Compliance w/partial or full production: 0%

    Oct - Dec 2014

    Government Content Removal Requests: 0

    United States Law Enforcement Requests; Number of accounts: 19

    Warrant: 4 (30%); Protective Orders Obtained: 3

    Subpoena: 9 (60%); Protective Order Obtained: 6

  • Grand Jury: 5 (55 % of subpoenas)

  • Administrative: 1 (11% of subpoenas)

  • Court: 3 (33% of subpoenas)

  • National security: 0

    Other:0

    Requesting party & compliance

    Federal: 4 (0 warrants, 4 subpoena); Compliance w/partial or full production: 75%

    State/Local: MI (1), IL (1), MN (1), AZ (1), ID (1), WI (1), VI (1), PA (1), ND (1); Compliance w/partial or full production: 77%

    United States Civil Requests: 0

    Rest of World Requests: None; Number of accounts: 0 ; Compliance w/partial or full production: 0%

    2013
    July - September 2013

    Government Content Removal Requests: 0

    United States Law Enforcement Requests; Number of accounts: 7

    Warrant: 4 (57%); Protective Orders Obtained: 2

    Subpoena: 3 (43%); Protective Order Obtained: 1

  • Grand Jury: 1 (33% of subpoenas)
  • Court: 2 (66% of subpoenas)
  • Other: 0

    National security: 0

    Requesting party & compliance:

    Federal: 1; Compliance w/partial or full production: 100%

    State/Local: CA (2), FL (1), UT (1); NY (1) & WI (1); Compliance w/partial or full production: 83%

    United States Civil Requests: 0

    Rest of World Law Enforcement Requests:0

    October - December 2013

    Government Content Removal Requests: 0

    United States Law Enforcement Requests; Number of accounts: 5

    Warrant: 3 (60%); Protective Orders Obtained: 0

    Subpoena: 2 (40%); Protective Order Obtained: 0

  • Grand Jury: 1 (50% of subpoenas)
  • Court: 1 (50% of subpoenas)
  • Other: 0

    National security: 0

    Requesting party & compliance:

    Federal: 0

    State/Local: CA (2), FL (1), UT (1), OR (1); Compliance w/partial or full production: 100%

    United States Civil Requests: 1 (100%); Compliance w/partial or full production: 100%

    Rest of World Requests: 0

    End of Other articles Links
    Still need help? Contact us
    User feedback
    Was this article helpful?

    collection_fields

    How can we make this article better?