Pinterest has slowly been rolling out a new sleek and streamlined look along with some new features. You can see a glimpse of the new look at Pinterest.com when you’re not logged in to Pinterest. While I like the new look, I REALLY don’t like the new feature they’ve released.
The new feature changes the way activity with your pins and with your account is reported. Before the change, when you logged into Pinterest, you would see a nice, easy to scan long list of what’s been happening.
In one easy to scan location, you could find:
- How many times your pins had been liked and repinned
- Your new followers
- What boards your pins were repinned to
- Notifications of comments
- Group board invites
- Suggestions of accounts to follow
This plethora of information was replaced with a ‘News’ tab and a couple of board cover images on the side of the page. Now, to see the latest happenings, you have to click the “See all News” tab below the board cover images or on the news tab in the menu bar.
When clicked on you’re taken to a page filed with board cover of where your pins were repinned to and of the group boards you’re being invited to. It’s much harder to take in all of the information in this format, don’t you think?
Another part of this change, is the loss of being to see an account’s latest activity. Before the change, there was an activity feature.
Clicking the activity button would show you all of the activity for that account including:
- What was pinned and how long ago
- New followed accounts
- Pins commented on
- Liked pins
I use this page a lot when looking at other accounts. Most importantly , it tells me how active they are on Pinterest. I’ve come across pinners who haven’t pinned in months.
The Activity tab also helps me to filter out spam accounts. When I get an invitation for a group board, I’ll check the activity of the account and if they’ve invited hundreds or thousands of other accounts to join and haven’t pinned anything themselves, that looks pretty suspicious to me and I won’t join.
With the news feature, when I go to look at another account the ‘Activity” button is gone from there too, regardless if they have the change or not.
It seems like this is still really a work in progress. On the day of writing this, no matter which account I went to I got the message that they didn’t have any news yet. I even went to Martha Stewart’s page, seriously, no news for Martha!?!?
It breaks my heart to not be completely in love with everything Pinterest does. For now, my account still has the same old beloved news feed and activity button. I will hold onto them and cherish them for as long as Pinterest allows me to.
I understand that Pinterest wants to be a visual platform but, in this case, the visuals slow things down.
Does your account have the new features. What do you think of it? Can you please tell me how I can learn to love it too?
51 Comments
Hi Cynthia,
LOVE yr blog, well designed, you are a great write. Glad I found you via Pinterest.
I am getting vertigo cos images flip/spin … from the main board, to repinning, and back to main board. I’ve Googled, I’ve written on Pinterest’s Facebook wall and msgs, I’ve written to Pinterest. How to stop the flipping?
I seriously have to stop being on Pinterest. I pin alot very quickly. I am a VERY fast typist and I work very quickly online or in the computer. Seeing images flip around really bothers me! I’m a photographer, writer, web designer, super multi-tasker computer power user who spends about 14 hrs online or on computer every day! … I’ve a lot on my mind.
I come to Pinterest to share, be inspired … I link back to FB … but really, if this is permanent, I’m outta here. And that saddens me, but I cannot handle it!
ANYONE else notice this? Plus as you said, all the activity info … so vital for businesses and anyone who takes this seriously.
I don’t see an option to be notified if/when there’s a response. I really wanna know where or whom I can adress this issue? I must not be the only person suffering from flipping images. Urgh.
Thanks for an op to share.
Sad 🙁
Hi Jenny,
Sorry to hear you’re having such trouble with Pinterest. They’re implementing changes then changing back on some accounts it seems like they’re trying new things on small groups to see what works.
You might be able to hover over and click on your profile name at the top for a drop-down menu and hopefully you still have the option at the bottom to switch the look. Let me know if this works for you.
Cynthia,
YOU are amazing! I hadn’t checked yr wall, so I missed yr reply. I DID NOT KNOW about that option … I usually try all options, but missed that. I love that we no longer have to hunt and peck for the like and pin button. Thought that was nuts. I often didn’t quite hit where I thought it would be and clicked on the image. That took me to the original site w/image. NOW the those links/buttons are clearly labeled, and not ON the image.
Being new and someone who doesn’t utilize all the features you mentioned, I can’t weigh in about the changes you very carefully detailed.
I will pay closer attention to your site for tips. YOU are sooo helpful. Thanks and my best to you.
I’ll be ramping up more activity. I’m in the process of creating new art from my photos, a new site for old and new pix, and Pinterest is a great place for artists. I’ve found some wonderful ppl here.
It’s really a lot easier for me to find doll artists, illustrators, photographers, etc here than anywhere. By sharing interests, and seeing a big board of images, it’s very stimulating, relaxing, inspiring and fun.
But I can’t spend a lot of time here. I’ve art to create, and to build my new site and more. NOW I don’t have to close my eyes every time I pin something! No more vertigo. Thanks!
Jenny, so glad I could help, your message made my day!
You have some incredible photography, can’t wait to see your new site.
Just wanted to point out that in the new look, the activity button is gone, but if you click on the Pinterest logo in center of your page, the activities list displays on the left side of the resulting page. Hope this helps you.
Bob, when I wrote this blog post I must have caught Pinterest in a state of transition, I’m SOOOOO happy to see that the activity list on the right side of the feed is back. I really did not like the news tab, I’m glad it’s gone. Thanks so very much for your feedback 🙂
I do not have the new page layout yet and I’ve had no problem seeing the “Recent Activity” log over on the left sidebar — until this week. I’ve been away from the computer for a few weeks due to travel so it’s removal must have happened during this time period. Plus, I can’t see anyone else’s activity when I go to their pages either which is a real bummer as I’ve always loved seeing who repinned items from my boards (some of whom I would follow due to a mutual interest). I also very much enjoyed looking at my friends’ recent activity directly from their own page. I was rather happy that I hadn’t been switched over to the new page layout but now that the activity log is gone, I don’t know if it even matters.
nellAAruAl (on Pinterest)
http://pinterest.com/nellAAurAl/
its removal – not it’s. Darn auto- correct. I hate it when that happens. :-]
Laura, auto correct and I have a love hate relationship, I completely understand.
I was so sad when I realized the activity tab was completely gone from Pinterest. It was a quick and easy way to learn more about my fellow pinners. Now, I have to rely more on my PinLeague analytics.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
I have the new set up and I hate it! No activity button is annoying and everything loads slower. 🙁
Meg, I’ve found the same thing, it is loading much slower. I hope it’s something Pinterest addresses soon. I hung on a long time to the old look just to keep the activity button I’m keeping my fingers crossed it comes back. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I was one of the users that was changed to the new news feature. I didn’t like it. Now I have neither. Both the activity and news tabs on my profile page are missing. I have the basic activity sidebar on my feed page. That’s it. A support ticket has gone unanswered…
Pete, I completely understand your frustration, mine is the same way. I have found a workaround though, on both my iPad and my iPhone if I open Pinterest on Safari (not in the mobile app) it takes me to the mobile version. There, my account still has the old look and my beloved activity tab! 🙂 If you have a mobile device, give it a try and let me know if this works for you.
I have noticed things acting pretty quirky on Pinterest the past couple of days hopefully this is a sign that they are still making changes and they’ll bring the activity tab back.
Thanks for for taking the time to leave a comment, I really appreciate hearing from you.
My biggest problem with the new look is when you are on a page-just scrolling, like through Women Fashion-and you reach the end of the page, that’s it. There is no ‘see more pins’ button. I’ve submitted one support ticket, to which my only response was “Thank you for your feedback” with a button asking me to rate the support response (?), and one feedback to how I like the new look (no response). Such a pain, especially when so many of the pins are similar and I’m trying to find older pins that have more variety.
I agree! I have searched and searched Pinterest help and Google to see if that feature is coming back. I hope someone else knows how to “see more pins” and posts about it here!
Amanda, if your’re looking for the activity tab and have an iPhone or iPad you can still find it by going to Pinterest in Safari and switching from the mobile version to the full site from the drop down menu by your profile picture. This works for now, but not sure how long it will last.
No, the comment was not about the activity tab but the “see more” button that Pinterest has removed. Why did they do this? It makes no sense. It limits browsing.
Maria, I’ve been using the “Also pinned to” and the “People who pinned this also pinned:” options that are now found under pins to help me find related content. I do miss the see more option though.
My ‘activity’ feature disappeared this weekend. Activity allowed me to see what was on the author’s mind as it showed activity and when the activity took place. This info usually determined who I followed, i.e., someone who was actively using pinterest and in my fields of interest. Bummer.
It is a BIG bummer that the activity tab is gone from the new look, I used it the same way. But, I have a work around for you (this is in Google Chrome):
1. Go to the account you want to check out
2. Log out of Pinterest
3. Use the browser’s back button to get back to the account you were looking at
4. You will be taken back to the old look of Pinterest complete with the activity button 🙂
If you have an iPad and go to Pinterest on Safari, switch from the mobile version to the full site and you will find the old look there too while being logged in.
Hopefully, these work for a long time. Thanks for your comment! Let me know how this works for you or if you have any questions.
cynthia,
did as you suggested. after i log out and hit back button i arrive at twitter login page which starts a vicious circle. 😉
Hmmmm, are you using Google Chrome? I just tried it and it worked for me.
You could also try copying the user’s Pinterest URL (http://pinterest.com/CynthiaPins/)
Then logging out of Pinterest and pasting the URL into the search bar. That worked for me in Safari and Chrome.
I stumbled across your site while trying to figure out where the Activity button was on the new layout. Very informative! Logging out and using the browser’s back button didn’t work for me but I did discover that if you simply type /activity/ into the URL using the user’s name, it drops you right into their activity history. Ex: pinterest.com/username/activity
Sorry, should have mentioned: like the back button method, you have to be logged out to access the user’s activity history. If you’re logged in it says the page couldn’t be found. Odd.
Nick,
Thanks so much for the tip! I will be making a video soon to go over this. I’d like to mention your tip in the video, do you have a site I can link back to?
Hi Cynthia,
No site for me. Just a fan of Pinterest and now, your blog! Looking forward to the video!
Thanks Nick!
So I can’t even access activity from my iPhone even when I switch to the full site. There is nothing on the pull down tab and nothing that says “news” I have absolutely no way to see who pinned what now…it used to appear on the left side. Now it’s gone.
Marisa, I noticed that this morning and I broke my heart. I tried every trick I knew and nothing, sad day. I’ll drown my sorrows in some 4th of July celebrating.
Thanks for keeping us updated.
It looks like the the activity tab is now gone. What a terrible mistake by Pinterest and such a loss for Pinterest users like us. Do you think there is a way to convince them to bring it back? I know someone earlier in this thread mentioned a support ticket. It was such a useful feature (I used it very much like you and others did – the see activity to make decisions). I’m at a loss without it – it provided such great additional context. 🙁 Sad Day.
I want ACTIVITY back!!!!!
Waaaaah
I could find something I looked at recently
Holly, I miss it too. 🙁
Is this the same as the Notifications? Currently on my account, when viewed on the computer, the top right on the bar has my profile and two “pins” one faces up, one faces down. When I have new activity, like, somebody re-pinned my pin, it is read.
I can view on my iphone app too.
I now notice that that feature, along with activity, is gone from my ipad. It is very frustrating, and a downgrade on Pinterest’s part. They remind of me of facebook, changing something every month for the sake of…what? Don’t fix what’s not broken pinterest!
I have submitted a ticket. I don’t like any of the changes. I remember one article a while back beaming about Pinterest changes, the first thing like that to make changes people actually like. Well, that’s changing quickly.
*RED!! Not read!
Hi
We do not like these changes . We are going to quit. Please let us know when coming back on track 🙂
Aw, this was an extremely good post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to create a really good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a lot and never manage to get anything done.
Is there anywhere I can send a comment to the Pinterest powers that this new format sucks???????
I am not signed up for pinterest, but I like to browse pinterest occasionally,,, I used to be able to, but now on my ipad, I only get half a page and then get kicked off because safari cannot open the webpage because the address is invalid….it’s saying I need to down load the app….I have never had to do that before, and I don’t see why I have to do it now…any input will be helpful…
What happened to the psst. You already pinned this ? It was very helpful and now its gone….. Not likeing this!
I hate the update bring the old pinterest back!!!!!!
Why has the Twitter option been removed from Pinterest sign in? It is SO frustrating!
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I am not a Pinterest user, but my daughters set up an account a few years ago, which I have never used. Yesterday, I decided to login and see what it’s all about. I found an offensive picture under my “likes”. I do not know how it got there unless I inadvertently did it. I do not want this picture in my likes or associated with my account, but have not been able to find a way to delete. I do not see any visible [heart] button, or any other way of removing it. Any ideas?
Pinterest, like yahoo, doesn’t get it. Always keep the original of what you started out with (yes fix glitches, etc), but update and change and create a new and better with an an updated version IF people want to update. I hate the new pinterest. If they get competition, I’m LEAVING!!! 8/2016
I detest them. I’ve looked every where I can think of to turn that side notification tab off and there doesn’t appear to be one. It is messy and distracting.
PINTEREST IS RUINED!!! I have sent over 5 complaints to them trying to get them to understand exactly what you detailed (perfectly) above. I don’t care what LALA in LILI is pinning LOL I need to see MY PINS, MY NEW FOLLOWERS, MY NEW BOARD FOLLOWERS. I can’t even add anyone to my blogger group board anymore cause I can’t see who’s following. Pinterest in a nutshell is RUINED. It serves no purpose if I can’t see my pins or what being repinned or any of my OWN activity for that matter. Thanks for posting this!!! I hope Pinterest listens- seriously were the developers drinking that day ? lol Ridiculous move on their part. Used to log in 50 times a day, lucky if I check it once a day now…
@ whipped Green Girl…I sent in my complaint and suggestions, as well. I asked Pinterest, why they would mess with perfection. It’s like they are trying to to hard. The site is awesome how it’s been. Now the notifications are a mess. It was easy and efficient with the three, specific, tabs. Who wants news clogging up the updates and vice versa. When I want to research or review my news I don’t want someones comment popping up. I hope they return it to normal (Dina Blast)
You’re right. Pinterest have screwed up. I’ve lost interest.I’ve had it with web design geeks ruining perfectly good platforms. If it ain’t broke….
It’s interesting that this article was written in 2013 but only now are people commenting. I guess the roll out took that long… and it seems Pintrest was never swayed to keep things the way they were, thats why I ended up here.
What a shame. Pintrest really screwed up a good thing for, what I imagine, was to profit more on paid ads from users. I have never used them, but I’m going to assume it’s much like Facebook – absolutely destroy the organic appeal and distribution of information for a buy-in that barely even recovers what was lost.