How to delete your Pinterest account
The official route, in the right order: export what you’ll miss, unhook whatever depends on the account, then delete it. Below the steps we’re also straight with you about the part most guides skip — what carries on existing after the account is gone.
To delete a Pinterest account, sign in and open the official deletion page at help.pinterest.com, then confirm. You get a window to undo it — a short window after the confirmation email before the account closes for good — and logging back in during that time cancels the deletion. Deleting the account closes the account. It does not remove your name, address, phone number or relatives from the data-broker and people-search sites that already copied them — those need a separate opt-out.
Delete your Pinterest account, step by step
These steps follow Pinterest’s own documented process. Official links only: account deletion.
Download your data from Settings → Privacy and data → Request your data if you want a copy of the boards and pins you saved.
Note which boards you'd miss — secret boards and saved recipes are the most common regret after deletion.
Open Settings → Account management and choose Deactivate account (reversible) or Delete account (permanent).
Pick a reason and confirm; Pinterest emails you a confirmation link.
Follow the emailed link to finish the closure — the request isn't complete until you do.
How long you have to change your mind
A short window after the confirmation email before the account closes for good. Worth knowing: a phone or tablet with the app still installed can log itself back in and quietly cancel the deletion. Sign out everywhere, or remove the app, and check your email at the end of the window.
What trips people up with Pinterest
- The request only completes when you click the link in the confirmation email, so accounts people believe they deleted are often still open.
- Pins you created stay saved on other users' boards after your account closes — Pinterest is built on re-saving, and those copies aren't yours to remove.
- If you signed up through Facebook or Google, deleting that account first can lock you out of Pinterest before you can close it properly.
Maybe you don’t want to delete it
Deactivating hides your profile and pins from everyone while keeping the boards intact, and you can reactivate by logging in.
What still exists after the account is gone
- Your pins re-saved onto other people's boards
- Images you uploaded, still reachable by direct link
- Public boards cached by search engines until they re-crawl
And the bigger one, which has nothing to do with Pinterest: data brokers and people-search sites keep their own profile of you, assembled from public records, marketing lists and scraped social profiles. Your name, age, address history, phone number and relatives sit on those sites whether or not you still have a Pinterest account — that’s why people delete everything, search their own name, and find themselves still listed on the first page.
See where I’m listed — free →After deleting: three things worth doing
- Opt out of the broker sites. This is the step that actually shrinks what a stranger can find about you. Our free opt-out guide walks through 190 of them, one by one.
- Check what already leaked. The email and password behind the account may sit in known breach data regardless of whether the account still exists. A free breach check tells you which dumps include it.
- Clean up the search results. Cached pages and old profiles can outlive the account by weeks — see how to clean up your Google results.
Deleting a Pinterest account, answered
How do I delete my Pinterest account?
Start at Pinterest's official deletion page (help.pinterest.com) while signed in to the account you want gone. Work through the confirmation steps, then stay logged out: a short window after the confirmation email before the account closes for good.
Can I get my Pinterest account back after deleting it?
There is a window: a short window after the confirmation email before the account closes for good. Inside it, signing back in usually restores everything and cancels the deletion — which is also why an app left installed on an old phone can undo a deletion you thought was done. After the window closes, it is gone.
What still exists after I delete my Pinterest account?
More than most people expect. Your pins re-saved onto other people's boards; Images you uploaded, still reachable by direct link; Public boards cached by search engines until they re-crawl. Deletion removes your account and the copy of the data held under it — it does not reach into other people's devices, third-party archives or the databases that already copied your details.
Should I deactivate my Pinterest account instead of deleting it?
Deactivating hides your profile and pins from everyone while keeping the boards intact, and you can reactivate by logging in. Deleting makes sense when you want the data gone; pausing makes sense when you want the noise gone. It's worth being honest with yourself about which one you're after before you press anything irreversible.
Does deleting my Pinterest account remove my personal information from the internet?
No, and this is the part that surprises people. Data brokers and people-search sites built their profiles of you from public records, marketing lists and scraped social profiles — they hold their own copy, and closing an account on Pinterest does nothing to it. Your name, age, address history, phone number and relatives stay listed and searchable until you opt out of those sites one by one, or have it done for you.