Pinterest on Monday unveiled a number of new security features designed to better safeguard young users of the service.
“We’ve noted this multiple times that Gen Z is our fastest-growing demographic and our largest contributor to overall engagement, which means it’s not just a high growth rate on a small denominator. It’s our largest contributor to overall engagement growth,” Pinterest CEO, Bill Ready said.
The features are comparable to those added to other popular social media sites with teens, including Instagram, and include things like private accounts, more control over followers, and message safety restrictions.
Users on Pinterest who are 16 years old and older can now choose between a private and public profile. By sending a special link that enables connections, they can still network with pals if they opt to remain private.
These private accounts are not seen by other users on the platform and are still the default setting for users under the age of 16.
All users, even those who are under the age of 16, will also have more control over their followers and be able to evaluate and unfollow those who they don’t want to keep an eye on their posts.
Teens under 16 will have their followers removed, requiring them to start over and carefully select who they want to work with and who they can trust.
The report from NBC News earlier this year revealed how paedophiles had been utilising Pinterest’s service to curate image boards of young girls, however, made these modifications necessary.
The picture platform will start the rollout of the features this week.
