Pinterest is a popular visual discovery platform used by over 400 million people to find and save creative ideas. While most content on Pinterest is public, the platform does allow users to keep their boards private if they wish.
As a Pinterest influencer and content creator with over 100k monthly viewers, I often get asked how to make Pinterest boards private. So in this article, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process for making your boards private using Pinterest’s “Keep This Board Secret” feature.
Table of Contents
Why Make Your Boards Private?
Here are some common reasons Pinterest users make their boards private:
- To save personal pins or inspiration you don’t want to share publicly
- To collaborate on group boards without making them public
- To organize affiliate pins or products you plan on promoting before launching your campaign
- To brainstorm content ideas you eventually plan on publishing
- To avoid spoilers for a future event you are planning like a wedding or birthday party
Making your boards private gives you more control over who can view and interact with your content. It also allows you to organize your ideas without concern of them being copied or shared prematurely.
How to Make an Existing Pinterest Board Private
Making an already created Pinterest board private is easy and only takes a few seconds. Here is how to do it on desktop and mobile:
On Desktop
- Go to Pinterest.com and log into your account
- Click on the board you want to make private
- Click the pencil “Edit Board” icon in the bottom right corner
- Toggle the switch next to “Keep This Board Secret” on
- Click “Save” and you’re done!
On Mobile
- Open the Pinterest app on your iPhone or Android
- Tap your profile icon in the bottom right corner
- Select the board want to make private
- Tap the 3 dots in the top right corner and choose “Edit Board”
- Toggle the switch next to “Keep This Board Secret” on
- Tap “Done” and your board is now private
Once you toggle a board to private, only you (and any collaborators you add) will be able to view it. To make a private board public again, simply repeat the same steps but toggle the “Keep This Board Secret” switch off.
How to Make a New Private Board
When creating a brand new board on Pinterest, you can also make it private from the start. Here is how:
On Desktop
- Click the “+” icon in the top right corner of Pinterest
- Select “Create board”
- Give your new board a name and description
- Toggle the switch next to “Keep This Board Secret” on
- Click “Create” and your new private board is ready to pin to
On Mobile
- Tap the “+” button at the bottom of the screen
- Choose “Create board”
- Enter your board title and description
- Toggle the switch next to “Keep This Board Secret” on
- Tap “Create” and start pinning privately
Just like making an existing board private, new private boards will only be visible to you. You can add collaborators to help manage private boards as well.
Who Can See Your Private Boards?
When you make a Pinterest board private using the “Keep This Board Secret” option, the only person who can view it is you. However, you can also invite collaborators – people you trust – to help you manage private boards.
To add a collaborator to your private Pinterest board:
- Edit your private board
- Choose “Collaborators”
- Enter the username or email address of the person you want to invite
- Choose their permission level (Admin or Contributor)
- Click “Invite” and they will get notified to join
Admin collaborators have full control to edit your private board while contributors can only add and manage pins.
I recommend only inviting 1-2 close friends or colleagues to collaborate on private boards. Too many collaborators increases the risk of your secret pins getting leaked.
Pinning to Secret Boards
When you come across an idea you want to save privately on Pinterest, pinning to a secret board works the same as a public board:
- Click the “Save” button on any Pin
- Choose your private board from the list
- The Pin will now only be visible to you and any collaborators
You can continue finding and saving Pins to build up your private board inspiration without anyone else seeing what you’ve collected.
Security of Private Boards
While Pinterest has security measures in place, no online platform can guarantee complete privacy. However, when used properly, Pinterest’s private boards feature does offer a secure way to organize your pins away from public view.
To keep your secret boards safe:
- Only invite close friends or colleagues as collaborators
- Use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication
- Don’t overshare private board names or details publicly
- Periodically review your private board collaborators
Making Secret Boards Public Again
If you eventually decide to make your private Pinterest boards viewable publicly, it only takes a few seconds:
- Edit the private board you want to make public
- Toggle the “Keep This Board Secret” switch off
- Click Save and your board is now public!
All previously private pins will automatically become visible to your followers and anyone searching Pinterest. You can also remove any collaborators at this point if you want.
So that covers everything you need to know about keeping your Pinterest boards private! Making boards secret is great for organizing personal ideas or hiding affiliate pins until you’re ready to promote them.
If you have any other questions on Pinterest privacy settings, let me know in the comments. And if you found this tutorial helpful, please give it a share!
