Pinterest announced today that it is going to start putting recommendations dubbed “related Pins” in your home feed.
While this means you will be getting content from boards that you aren’t necessarily following, it also means that you will have a new way to discover content that you might actually enjoy. The keyword is “might”.
“Related Pins are picked specially for you based on the unique things you’re into, such as other Pins you’ve saved or liked,” explains Pinterest software engineer Dmitry Checkik. “So if you’ve been collecting recipes for your big holiday feast, we might show you a related Pin for fool-proof pie crust, or the perfect double-stuffed sweet potato”
Pinterest says it will only show you a few of these at first, and will use the feedback you give them to improve on what it shows you in the future. If you click the “i” you can rate the pin with a thumbs up or thumbs down.
In the comments of the blog post announcing the feature, users are already saying they dislike it, and are asking if they can opt out. While that’s only an early few, it’s not a great sign, especially since they are starting to include ads in the mix as well.