Or maybe you’re just a smartie who’s thinking ahead.
The topic of intellectual property theft from bloggers and content creators is a distressing one for me. I love to encourage creativity and hate to see creatives taken advantage of.
But I’m going to keep calm and give good advice. So read on.
What is Pinterest copyright infringement?
When you allow your content to be shared on Pinterest, you’re agreeing to have your image saved, shared, and displayed across the Pinterest platform.
This includes being embedded in Pinterest widgets on other websites.
But you retain copyright on your content, and it should always be linked and credited to you.
Don’t know the Pinterest Terms of Service? There’s lots more. Read them here.
About copyright, Pinterest says,
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 and at our discretion—to disable or terminate the accounts of people who repeatedly infringe or are repeatedly charged with infringing copyrights or other intellectual property rights. ~Copyright on Pinterest
When Pinterest users talk about “stolen pins” or copyright infringement, they’re usually referring to Pins that belong to one website being changed to link to another website. This is highly unethical, and almost certainly illegal. Don’t ever do it.
*I’m not a lawyer and don’t play one online. Seek legal advice if you have questions about the law and how it may apply to you.
But I don’t want my images on Pinterest, ever!
<meta name=”pinterest” content=”nopin” />
<meta name = “pinterest” content = “nopin” description = “Sorry, you can’t save from my website!” />
<img src = “foo.jpg” nopin = “nopin” /> source
How can I prevent Pinterest copyright infringement?
Unfortunately, you can’t. No matter what measures you put into place, there are people who don’t know better, or don’t care. 🙁
BUT I do recommend you put measures into place to mitigate the problem:
- NEVER change the URL on a Pin that’s not yours. Just. Don’t. Ever.
- ALWAYS put your logo, website name, or URL on your Pin images. All my favorite design tools make this easy to do.
- NEVER repin anything without ensuring the linked site is the right one, that is, they have a right to link from the Pin to their site.
I also strongly recommend you develop a recognizable visual style or branding for your Pin images. This will help other Pinners notice when something’s not right, for instance your Pin has been hijacked.
Be careful when saving Pins from Pinterest!
I know, it isn’t always easy to tell if the Pin link is correct. Best bet is if the Pin image has an identification on it that matches the site it links to.
It starts to get difficult when images from another site are used with permission. I constantly get PR companies asking me to post infographics on my site in exchange for a link back. So in this case it’s not only OK for me to post them, but desirable.
Here are some clues that the site has no right to link from the Pinterest image, when the identification on the Pin doesn’t match the linked site:
- The image isn’t on the linked page, and the page doesn’t relate to the image.
- There’s no credit and link to the image’s source on the linked page.
- Linked page has lots of ads or otherwise looks spammy.
NOTE: I am NOT saying that using someone else’s image on your site with credit and a link back absolves you of copyright infringement! Only use others’ images with permission. It might be wise to note “used with permission.” Read this for more about copyright.
What happens if I mistakenly save a stolen Pin?
Maybe nothing, except spreading bad content. Someone may click on your “save” of that Pin and find a spammy site. Sharing spam is certainly not good for your own reputation on Pinterest.
And you risk your account being closed. What?
Yep. If the content owner finds the Pin and reports it, and marks a “strike,” you could get a notice from Pinterest that you have a strike on your account.
Even though you didn’t change the URL.
How many strikes ’til you’re out? Unknown. But don’t risk it.
How do I find stolen Pinterest Pins?
If you’re a Pinterest newbie and your content isn’t popular on Pinterest yet, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I think it’s popular Pins that are targeted for theft.
If you want to look for stolen Pins, here are some things to try:
- Click on one of your own Pins and look at the related Pins that come up.
- Search for one of your Pin titles.
- Search for one of your Pin keywords.
- Check in a Facebook group about Pinterest for a list of accounts that steal Pins.
On a computer, you can quickly mouse over any Pin and see what site it’s linked to.
How do I report Pinterest copyright infringement?
Truth: I can’t be sure this is even safe to do right now.
A few people have said that after reporting Pins stolen from their own content, they got a notice from Pinterest that their Pin was reported.
Others have said their own top-performing Pins have disappeared.
If you’re confused, I understand. It’s a big mess right now, and I’m hoping Pinterest is working on a big fix because I personally don’t feel safe reporting thieves of my content.
If you want to report your own intellectual property as stolen, you can use this form.
DO NOT check “Remove all” unless you want all like images to be removed – including the ones that link to your site.
DO NOT check “Strike” unless you’re sure the Pinner of that particular Pin is the baddie who changed the URL.
DO NOT include your home address in the Contact Information. If the reported Pinner complains, Pinterest may supply your report, which might include your contact info.
You may submit your completed DMCA notice via the web, or by mail, FAX or email:
Pinterest Copyright Agent
808 Brannan Street
San Francisco, CA 94103-4904
Fax: +1 415 762 7100
Email: copyright@pinterest.com
There’s also a phone number where I suppose you can leave a voice mail.
Telephone +1 650 308 4604
At this time, Pinterest won’t accept reports of entire accounts – even if all the images are stolen content.
You can’t file a DMCA if you aren’t the copyright holder, but you can still report the Pin.
- Click the 3 dots above the Pin image.
- Click “Report Pin.”
- Choose “This Pin isn’t useful.”
- Choose “I can’t find the image on the site.”
- Click the “Report Pin” button.
If your website traffic has tanked due to stolen Pins, you may need to create new Pin images. Users may be wary of images that once led them to unreliable sites.
What’s next for Pinterest?
If you’re wary about Pinterest after reading this, I don’t blame you.
I still believe in Pinterest – it’s still my best social traffic referrer, and I still get 20K – 200K website sessions a month from Pinterest.
But you can’t put all your eggs in one basket! While Pinterest is still the best place for a new business or blogger to start for traffic, it shouldn’t be your only source.
My goal is to continue making valuable content that people want to read, share, and subscribe to. I believe this should be the top goal of any blogger – not “getting more Pinterest traffic.”
For further reading (bold links are on my blog):
Why you should never take images from Pinterest
Inside Pinterest spam rings turning your clicks into cash
This info is not specific to Pinterest:
How to strike back if your photos are stolen
Tactics to deter casual photo thieves
Pat Flynn and his attorney on copyright infringement and DMCA
Great tips to combat website content scrapers from Neil Patel
Peg Fitzpatrick and Marie Forleo on “copycats”
I hope I’ve helped you understand the problems with Pinterest copyright infringement and stolen Pins. Leave a comment if you have more tips!
Freddy G. Cabrera says
Hey Louise!
This is very important advice. In the long run, such things can catch up with you if you are not very careful, right. So, it is better to be safe now than sorry later.
I’m aware of intellectual theft online. It’s good to know such advice and spread the word amongst new bloggers. We don’t want anybody getting in any trouble and have all their hard work go to waste overnight.
Thank you for sharing these tips!
Best regards! 🙂
Louise Myers says
Thanks Freddy! Sorry for the delay, just found a bunch of comments in the spam folder!
Nancy says
This information will be very helpful to me. Thank you. I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Peter Piggott says
I received a notification from Pinterest as to copyright and that if I have to many copyright
infringements they will stop me saving also stop my account alltogether how can any one
of the members stop breaching copyright if we have no indications that a particular
pin is copyrighted as we are not mindreaders
Louise Myers says
Before you save a pin, you do have to check its link to make sure it goes to the right website.
Bianca says
Hi Louise,
Are you saying that is best not to report your stolen pins?
I keep finding a lot of my stolen pins but I always report them with one strike. Now, I’m not sure what to do because it is true that Pinterest traffic to my site has decreased and maybe it has something to do with this.
Thanks!
Louise Myers says
I don’t know whether others should report their stolen pins. I’ve decided that for me, it’s a poor use of my time.
Some people feel there’s a backlash to their account from reporting pins. More likely it’s the fact that the image may already be considered as spam by pinners.
Either way, my personal feeling is my time is better spent creating new images – or something else that’s more profitable and less frustrating than monitoring theft.
Roamy says
Thanks for sharing, after my Pinterest traffic went down almost 60% in one month and nothing I did changed things, it was just moving down too fast. I decided to inspect my pins. I thought the pins might be leading nowhere(or whatever)how else could I explain this.
So yesterday,I found my pin, leading to a site I did not know, a site filled with ads like you mentioned in your post. So I asked Pinterest to remove then pin.
Today at closer inspection, I found 3 more of my pins, all leading the same URL.I`m now so frustrated and angry, how can anyone do this.
What they did best (to their advantage) is select my highest ranking pins.I`m so angry. But reading your post, I realize this is not an isolated case.
Really appreciate you sharing this, I just hope Pinterest finds a way to stop this soon.
Louise Myers says
I’s a huge problem. I’m sorry it’s affecting you too.
K Kuryliw says
We have a great company page on Pinterest. Lately a lot of our pins are being put to other Pinners folders. They are removing the website links and putting in their own link. The link they are using is not even a real website, it is just set up to get people to click on their ads so they make money. I just sent a large package to the Pinterest copyright address, waiting to hear back from them. I have found over 15 pinners, they use the same exact folders and the images are not theirs. They have removed all the website links and put in the one that all 15 are using. I try to go in a report the images one by one in the copyright complaint area, but there are too many to keep up with. Same exact four folders, same folder names, but 15 different people. Pinterest should shut them down. I have tried to email but I get nowhere, tried to complain through their website and I get no where also. We are thinking it is a BOTT set up doing this.
Louise Myers says
Yes, this is sadly a “thing.” We are trying to petition Pinterest through any available means to shut these spam circles AND bot creators down. Right now it feels like a losing battle.
Ewelina Kur says
Hi! Great article. I wander if I could use Pinterest this way that I would put “no pin code” on my blog and just Uploading email prepared photos for Pinterest with links to my blog posts? I wouldn’t mind those to be shared through Pinterest but wouldn’t like people be choosing amongst other photos on blog and sharing to Pinterest. Do you know if that would work? Thanks!
Louise Myers says
I think you can block pinning on your site and still upload images. It’s worth a try. You can also disable pinning of specific images on your blog with a bit of code.
Whatever you do, there’s sadly no way to stop people from stealing your images.
LC says
I’m running into an issue with stolen pins right now – is this your most up-to-date take on the subject?
I use a couple hashtags pretty consistently and have found that searching for them is a GREAT way to find stolen pins. However, I’m at a loss as to the best thing to do once I find them…
Louise Myers says
Unfortunately, it’s still a big mess, and I still don’t report stolen pins.
In my opinion, the best thing you can do if you find stolen pins is to make new pins for your website.
Each person has to decide for him/herself as there’s just no way to say what’s “best practice.” We really will never know what Pinterest is doing behind the scenes.
LC says
Thanks so much for the reply – I’m still not sure how to handle it. I’m making new pins for the affected posts, but it’s been a big hit to traffic which is just infuriating.
I really wish Pinterest were more transparent and more responsive on these issues.
Louise Myers says
I know, but due to it being a legal issue they probably can’t comment.
Nergis Yonet says
It is a great article, thank you. Since the last 30 days, Pinterest has blocked my Blogspot address for being spammy, but I am not. Those spam accounts have stolen 15 of my pins’ pictures and used them with a link to their websites full of ads with no content. I mailed, reported and nothing changed. Now I am moving all my content to another Blogspot address. Now I understand how important SEO is.
Louise Myers says
Best of luck. It might be a good idea to move to something other than Blogspot as those are highly used by spammers.
Michelle says
Hi there! This is a great post and very informative. I was wondering if you have any insight on recovering pins? When reporting pins, I accidentally selected “remove all” instead of “strike” and now some of my top performing pins have been removed. I’ve tried emailing them but a ZenDesk robot keeps answering. Anyone who has had this experience? Are the pins gone for good?
Louise Myers says
I’m going to see if I can find anyone who has had them restored. In the meantime try creators-support@pinterest.com and you should eventually get a human being to respond.
John says
Hi, I realized that alot of my pictures are downloadable. how do I prevent that option? I don’t see anything in the settings for this. thanks
Louise Myers says
Unfortunately there’s no way to prevent this.