Pinterest Users Can Now Block, Report Accounts

Marketers that are active on Pinterest may want to tread a little more carefully now, thanks to a couple new features that Pinterest is rolling out this week.

Pinterest users now have the ability to block and/or report others at the account level. Reporting was previously available only on individual pins, which was an inefficient way for users to tell Pinterest about accounts that might be violating the site’s guidelines.

Both new options are available under a small flag icon on the profile page. Here’s a screenshot from Pinterest’s announcement:

As you can see, users have several pre-set descriptions when they’re reporting an account, one of which is “Spam.” When an account is reported, Pinterest says “we send an alert to our Community team to review the account.” Up until now, over-aggressive brands and marketers didn’t have much to fear — the worst a Pinterest user was likely to do was to stop following the account.

The new controls are rolling out this week and may not be visible yet for all users. In addition to blocking and reporting, Pinterest is also adding several new communication options that let users determine when Pinterest sends email alerts about activity on the site.