What Is Pinterest? History, Features and How to Open an Account

Everyone knows Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, but what is Pinterest is still a question many people ask. Yet for selling products, bringing visitors to a blog and finding new ideas, it is one of the most useful platforms around. This guide explains in plain language what Pinterest is, its history, how big it is, how it makes money, its key features, and how to open a personal and a business account step by step.

What Is Pinterest and How Does It Work?

Pinterest is an image- and video-based social platform and a visual search engine. People save pictures, videos, links and ideas as "Pins": home decor ideas, recipes, outfit styles, wedding looks, desk setups or blog tutorials.

The big difference from other social networks is that ideas and content matter more than people. On Facebook we mostly follow friends' updates; on Pinterest people arrive to search for something or plan something. That is why a Pin with the right title and description can keep bringing new visitors for months.

A simple picture: think of a school notice board. Just as papers on a board are pinned up by topic, on Pinterest you create topic "boards" on your profile and pin your favourite images or links to them. Every feature is free on both the website and the mobile app.

A Short History of Pinterest

Pinterest has three co-founders: Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and Evan Sharp. Silbermann once worked at Google; after leaving to build something of his own, he first made a shopping app that did not take off. That experience led to the idea of a platform for collecting ideas.

Early on there were very few users. The founders personally reached out to people and asked them to try the service — a useful lesson for new entrepreneurs: the first users often come from hands-on effort.

Over time Pinterest grew from a place to collect ideas into a social and e-commerce discovery platform, where people see an idea and go straight to the product page.

How Big Is Pinterest?

According to Pinterest's latest financial report (third quarter of 2026), the most recent figures as of November 2026 are:

• Monthly active users: 661 million, up 10% from a year earlier.
• Quarterly revenue: about $1.17 billion, up 12% year on year.
• Around 21 million users were added since the previous quarter, most of them from countries outside the United States and Europe.

That last point is good news for sellers and bloggers in countries like Bangladesh: Pinterest use is growing in new markets, including Asia, so starting now means relatively less competition.

Over the years Pinterest has bought several companies and teams to expand its service, including Livestar, Hackermeter, URX, the Instapaper team, Jelly Industries, the video app Vochi and the shopping platform The Yes.

How Does Pinterest Make Money?

Pinterest's main source of income is advertising. When a business pays to promote a Pin, it is shown to more people in search results, the home feed and next to related Pins. There are also shopping features that let online stores show their product catalogues on Pinterest; a user clicks through and buys on the seller's site.

For ordinary users the platform is completely free; money is only involved if you run ads.

The Key Features of Pinterest

According to Pinterest's Help Centre, an account can hold up to 2,000 boards and 200,000 Pins in total, and you can follow up to 50,000 accounts. So the old claim of "a maximum of 500 boards" is no longer correct.

Why Use Pinterest for Business?

Even great products do not sell if nobody knows about them. Pinterest stands out for business for a few reasons:

1. People arrive ready to act: they come to plan what to buy, make or visit.
2. Pins last: a Facebook post fades in days, but a good Pin can appear in search for months.
3. Direct website traffic: every Pin can carry a link, so it is easy to send visitors to a blog or online shop.
4. Visible on Google too: well-written Pins and boards often show up in Google image and search results.

If you do not have your own online shop yet, keep this in mind: you need a proper website to send Pinterest buyers to. In Bangladesh, an all-in-one platform such as eCommerce Autopilot gives you a ready website, orders, courier and payments in one place, which makes it easy to take orders straight from a Pin's link.

How to Open a Pinterest Account (Personal)

1. Install the Pinterest app on your phone or open pinterest.com in a browser.
2. Tap Sign up. Enter your email, a password and your date of birth, or sign up with your Google account.
3. Pick a few interests (for example cooking, fashion or technology) so your home feed can be tailored.
4. Choose a unique, easy-to-remember username. Keep your email and password somewhere safe.

Settings to Fix After You Sign Up

• Profile photo: use a clear photo of your face or your business logo.
• Name and bio: describe yourself or your business briefly and professionally; one or two emojis are fine.
• Country and language: choose the right ones so you get relevant content and audiences.
• Security: turn on two-factor authentication in your account settings.

How to Open a Pinterest Business Account

According to Pinterest's Help Centre, a business account is completely free and gives you Pinterest Analytics and other tools to grow. There are three ways to get one:

A. Create a new business account

1. If you are logged in to a personal account, log out first.
2. On the business sign-up page, enter an email, a password and your age.
3. Add a profile photo or logo, business name, website (optional), country and language.
4. Choose your business type and focus from the menus.
5. Say whether you want to run ads, or pick "not sure yet".
6. Create your first Pin as a starting task, or skip straight to your profile.

B. Convert a personal account: on desktop, you can switch a personal account to a business account in settings. All your Pins and followers stay, and you can switch back to personal later.

C. Linked business profiles: you can link up to 4 business profiles to one personal account and switch between them with the same email and password.

Once your business profile is ready, describe what you do in the bio and add a business email and your website link. If you claim (verify) your website, your name also appears on Pins saved from your site.

How to Post Your First Pin

1. Tap Create Pin from your profile or the menu.
2. Upload a good-quality vertical image (2:3 ratio) or a video.
3. Write a title that describes the image and includes your keyword.
4. Add a short description: what the Pin is about and what people get by clicking.
5. Paste the link to your blog post or product page in Destination link.
6. Choose the board to save the Pin to and tap Publish.

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Pinning the same image again and again, or using other people's images without permission.
• Leaving the title and description empty, so the Pin never shows up in search.
• Mixing every topic on one board. Keep a separate board for each subject.
• Stopping after a few days. Pinterest rewards steady work, and results build slowly.
• Ignoring analytics. Check which Pins get the most clicks and make more of that kind.

Final Thoughts

Once you understand what Pinterest is, you will see it is not just a place to look at pictures but a large visual search platform for finding ideas, planning and shopping. Open a free business account, build topic boards, pin quality content regularly and improve using analytics. Whether you are a blogger, an online entrepreneur or a freelancer, Pinterest can become a long-term source of traffic.