Ok, let me start out by saying that I absolutely LOVE Pinterest, and you all have my permission to pin anything you find on my blog to Pinterest. Seriously, pin away!
That said, there are some people who do not want their images pinned to Pinterest for one reason or another. Luckily for them, Pinterest has a very simple way to protect your photos from being pinned!
Yes, I do see the irony in having that “Pin It” button right there, thanks 🙂
A lot of people use Pinterest, but I don’t think every person who uses Pinterest actually reads through the terms when they sign up. Cuz seriously, who does that?!
Anyway, the point is there was a bunch of hullaballoo about Pinterest’s terms recently (I’m sure you can Google it and find all the details; I’m not going to go into them here). Basically, people were very worried that once an image is pinned to Pinterest, they no longer have control over it.
Some of those people are professional photographers who wanted to retain rights to their photos, some of those people are moms who didn’t want pictures of their kids floating around the internet, some of those people are bloggers who feature other people’s work but want the credit (and pins) to go to the original source…
Whatever the reason, sometimes it just makes sense to keep some of your stuff off Pinterest. (Stacy from Not Just A Housewife had a crazy experience with a staged photo that was pinned and taken out of context a while ago)
So if you fall into any of those categories, there are two options for you.
By the way, if you’re reading this post on a mobile device, the code I share below might appear cut off by the edge of the screen. If this happens to you, just load this post on a full sized computer screen and it will display the full code!
1. Prevent a specific image on your site from being pinned to Pinterest
Before I pin anything from anyone’s blog, I always try to check their terms to see if they say anything about whether or not they would like their stuff pinned. And I see something like this ALL THE TIME:
“Please feel free to pin any images of projects you find on this site as long as the pin links back to my blog. However, please do not pin any images of my children, husband, or any other family members.”
Fair. Totally fair.
But if you’re worried that people won’t read your terms before pinning, or won’t respect your wishes, here’s a little piece of code to help you out.
nopin = "nopin"
Just add that code in the HTML of your post, inside your img tag, and that specific image will not be available for users to pin. When you are writing a new post or editing an old one, you can usually view the HTML of your post by clicking the HTML view tab. Then look for the img tag of your photo; it should look something like this:
<img style="border: 0px;" src="https://practicallyfunctional.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/signature2.png" width="206" height="74" nopin = "nopin" />
Just copy that nopin code in right before the closing bracket and your image will be protected!
If I used this code to create my signature image at the bottom of the post, it would make it so that no one can pin my signature from this post. The graphic image at the top of this post would still be available for pinning, as would everything else on my blog, but this signature would be excluded from possible pins.
NOTE: WordPress likes to try to do you a favor by pulling out any unknown code from your HTML whenever you switch from HTML view back to Visual view. This can be great in case you don’t close a tag properly, but it does mean that WP will pull out the nopin code. You have two options: Add the nopin code last, and schedule or publish right from the HTML view without switching back to the Visual view, or Ashley from Forgetful Mama told me about a WP plugin called Pinterest Repellent that will prevent this from happening. Just install that plugin and then you can switch between the views to your heart’s content and your nopin code will be safe!
2. Prevent every image on your site from being pinned to Pinterest
If you don’t want anything from your website to show up on Pinterest ever, you need the following code:
<meta name="pinterest" content="nopin" />
You will need access to the HTML of your entire blog in order to do this, not just a single post. And you need to be VERY CAREFUL when editing HTML; you can do serious damage. You can access the HTML of your blog in a Blogger blog by going into Templates and clicking the Edit HTML button. You can access the HTML of your self-hosted WordPress blog by going into the Appearance tab on the side and choosing Editor, then selecting your Header file. Unfortunately, if you have a WordPress.com blog, you don’t have access to edit your HTML and must use the code in the previous example.
Once you have your HTML open, search for the following tag: </head>
Once you find that line of code, press return a few times to make a few empty lines just before it, and copy in the code above. Save your file, and you’re done!
If you can’t find your HTML files or the </head> tag, just shoot me an email through the Contact form; I can help!
If anyone tries to pin an image from your site they will see a message that says “This site doesn’t allow pinning to Pinterest. Please contact the owner with any questions. Thanks for visiting!”
If you want to customize the message that appears you can use the following code instead.
<meta name="pinterest" content="nopin" description="Sorry, no pinning of images on this site please!" />
Just change the description bit to whatever you want to say. Make sure to leave the quotes there though, they’re important!
[hr]
So there you have it. Next time you post an adorable photo of your baby you can protect it from being wildly thrown about the interwebs with this simple tip! (Anyone seen the “success kid” meme? That is someone’s kid!)
I don’t want to start any huge debates or anything, but what are your feelings about your images on Pinterest? Are all your images fair game, or now that you know you can exclude a few choice photos, will you be doing that from now on?
I link up at these awesome parties!
Pissed says
But why should I do anything to prevent people from stealing my images and posting on that thievery website? This should be the DEFAULT. If they want to use my images, THEY should ask me. Opt-out is illegal. It’s what spammers and other scammers do. Opt-in is the way to go.
And why do I have to send all my personal information to Pinterest and prove that I’m the real copyright owner if I want them to remove my content that they stole? People who pinned it didn’t have to compromise their privacy nor prove their copyright.
This website is thieves supporting thieves. It should be mass-sued and kicked out of their scammy “business”.
Jessi Wohlwend says
Yeah, people should definitely ask before using anyone’s images (or any other property, really) but unfortunately, they don’t. 🙁
Leigha Staffenhagen says
Jessi–Thank you for this! I tried to find a similar code on another site and it didn’t work. You’ve saved me all sorts of headaches!
Aliz says
Hi Jessi! I’m Aliz, I was trying to understand the codes, but I couldn’t do what I wanted on my blog. I have an Instagram Footer in my Theme footer, which looks good with the latest Insta pics, but those shouldn’t be pinnable pictures. At the “Editor” I found the codes, but those aren’t normal photos. Do you have a tip how to deactivate the “Pin it” button on the Instagram footer?
Thank you in advance!
Aliz
Jessi Wohlwend says
Unfortunately there isn’t a really good answer for that question. Because those images are pulled in using a plugin or a theme-specific piece of code (rather than the regular post or page editor that you would use to manually insert photos), you would have to go into the plugin code or theme code to get the Pin It button to not show there. If it’s a plugin, you can contact the plugin creator and see if they can help you, but unless you have experience and feel comfortable editing code files, I wouldn’t suggest you try it yourself. Sorry I don’t have a better answer!
Aliz says
Thanks for your help. I’m not experienced with codes, so I’ll contact the plugin creators. Thanks for the tip 🙂
Mary says
Thank you!! I am so below-entry-level at all this! But your explanation solved it for me.
Jessi Wohlwend says
I’m so glad it helped!
Karla Mai says
Thanks, I have been trying and trying with other web tutorials. Yours is the most understandable…
Jessi Wohlwend says
Good luck with it! Let me know if you have any issues and I can try to help!
Keely says
Hi, I have a question! I have a banner on my page. It’s a photo. I’m not sure how I will put the no pin on that. I tried just putting the code you said in the description box on the configure header widget, but that didn’t work. I could really use your help! 🙂
keely /// life, love, and exploration
Jessi Wohlwend says
Keely, send me an email at [email protected] and we’ll get it figured out!
Loralee says
Thank you for this post.
I found the spot but still unclear where I type in “nopin = “no pin” in the line of html stuff.
Jessi Wohlwend says
Are you trying to protect just one single image, or every image on your blog?
Loralee says
Thank you for your reply! I was able to do it! Thanks for the post!
Jessi Wohlwend says
Oh good, so glad you got it working!
Gina says
I am someone that had a family blog that was just for family that sort of evolved into a place to share my photography. As I learned my craft I was sharing images with the family & then eventually friends…….and then had my images of my kids & myself stolen & used to create a fake Facebook life by someone. It was traumatic & upsetting. I’m so happy you wrote this. I have seen the option in WP to disable pins on specific posts. I have not used it since I have almost completely stopped sharing images of my family. But I am so happy to know how to disable on individual images. Like when I have a guest poster who will repost & want the credit on their site later – or when I’m doing features. Great post Jessi!! Bottom line is that it’s so sad that people think that because they see something they like that it’s okay to just take it. They completely suck the joy out of sharing ones creations or happy moments. But they do it & we have to be wary of it. Thank you for discussing it.
Jessi Wohlwend says
Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that happened to you Gina, that is horrible! And so scary! It’s just crazy what some people will do… 🙁
Amanda Evans says
Thanks so much for this tip! I’ve used the code for months on single images, but now I am wondering if there is a way to use it for a gallery of photos? The html for the gallery is [gallery type="rectangular" ids="449,450,469,452,454,456,457,470,471,460,461,462,459,463,464"] so could/would it go in those brackets? Thanks if anybody can help!
Jessi Wohlwend says
I’ve only ever used it on single images before, so I don’t know if it will work for a gallery. I think it’s tied to working within the tag, but I don’t know for sure. If anybody figures it out I’d love to hear about it!
Jana Williams says
I feel like a complete idiot because I don’t know exactly where to go to pin the “no pin” code! I have the code and I know what to do when I get there but I don’t know where I am supposed to go? I am not this bad at most things but I always seem to have problems using a computer! I ha ve not posted a blog before on pinterest so what do I next? I would greatly appreciate ANY help I can get, as I have looked everywhere for answers! I guess I am more visual and if I knew what I was looking for it would be a lot easier! Thank you so much and have a blessed day! Jana
Jessi Wohlwend says
Jana, when you are writing a blog post, switch to HTML or Text mode and copy the nopin code into the HTML for your image. It starts with tag. Hope this helps!
Jana Williams says
Jessi Thanks so much for writing me back! I can’t believe how hard it has been trying to find some answers on this matter, I’ve looked everywhere online! Someone was trying to charge me for any kind of help, So Thank You Again! I know what to do to insert that bit of code, my problem is I have never written a blog before on Pinterest and I don’t know how or where to go to write a blog? I know it sounds crazy but on my home page I don’t see anything about where to go to write blogs, if I knew how to get there than I would be fine! I don’t know if there is any way you can see my Pinterest page or not? It shouldn’t be so hard to do something so simple; there should just be a button you could push to keep others from pinning! I am sorry to bother you again but I appreciate any help I can get! Have a Blessed Day…Jana Williams
Jessi Wohlwend says
What sort of photos are you trying to protect from being on Pinterest Jana? This code works for bloggers who share posts with photos they don’t want on Pinterest. If you have a blog or a website where you share photos, the code will work for you. But it doesn’t work for anything already on Pinterest.
Zenia says
I don’t know if I’m doing anything wrong but this isn’t working for me. Help!
Jessi Wohlwend says
Can you paste the HTML you are using in a comment here so I can see?
Zenia says
1.
2.
These are the two images and then there are few images on my blog post from which I want to remove the pin it option from.
Or is there a code that can be applied to only few pictures that I actually want to give a pin it option n rest remains unaffected .
Jessi Wohlwend says
Hmm, that didn’t show up as HTML… But basically if you want to make a single image unpinnable, in the HTML of your post where you have inserted the image, it should look like this: (just put the code below between and open bracket < and a close bracket > and change ImageURL to the URL of your actual image)
img src=”ImageURL” nopin=”nopin”
Tasha says
I tried this for one of my posts on my self hosted wordpress site and the nopin=”nopin” code doesn’t work 🙁
Jessi Wohlwend says
Bummer! Sometimes when you switch back to visual mode WordPress pulls the code out. Maybe try editing in HTML mode, put the code in, and publish it or schedule it immediately from HTML mode?
Tasha says
I tried that as well. Not sure why it’s not working. :/
Jessi Wohlwend says
Hmm, weird! Can you share the URL of the post you are trying to use the nopin code in; I can go take a look and see if I can tell what’s up.
Tasha says
Sure thing! Here is the post I am having issues with http://canadianangelxo.com/2013/05/happy-mothers-day.html Thanks for your help 🙂
Tasha says
Hmm I think I figured it out. I changed the image from .png to .jpeg and now it’s working. Guess the No Pin code doesn’t like PNG images? lol
Jessi Wohlwend says
Oh weird, I guess I’ve never tried it on a PNG since my images are usually JPEGs! Glad to hear it’s working now!
Tasha says
So very strange! When I paste the url of my post into Pinterest to add a new pin, it doesn’t show the image I don’t want pinned. But if I use my share buttons on my blog post, it shows up there and is pin-able. :/ Sigh why does this have to be so difficult? 🙁 lol Grrr!
Jessi Wohlwend says
A lot of the plugins that allow you to pin things don’t follow the same rules that Pinterest does… So luckily it means that anything that is officially from Pinterest (Pinterest itself, or any Pin It button from Pinterest) will follow the “nopin” rules, but other plugins doesn’t necessarily recognize that code. 🙁
Tasha says
Ah OK! Makes sense now! Thank you so much for all your help! I appreciate it a lot 🙂
Jessi Wohlwend says
You’re welcome! It’s a bummer it doesn’t work for every single plugin out there, but it works for most of them, plus Pinterest itself!
Minta says
Thank you so much for the info, worked perfectly!
Jessi Wohlwend says
Glad to hear it!
Raven says
Hello Do you know how I remove the pin it button from my header and side bar? Widgetsseem to be coded a bit different and I keep getting an error code
Jessi Wohlwend says
Are you using a plugin? If so, which one?
Raven says
Thank you for replying…. this is the code i originally used to add the pin it button
Raven says
/script>
<script data-pin-hover='true' src='//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js' type='text/javascript'/
Jessi Wohlwend says
That seems to be the standard Pinterest code to add the button. The only way I know of to hide the Pin It button when you have that code on your site is to use the nopin=”nopin” code inside of the tag. So you need to go into the backend files of your blog and add that nopin code to the tag for your header and sidebar images. It’s kind of a pain, but once you do it once, you don’t have to ever again unless you change the image! Be careful editing the actual files of your blog though; if you’re not comfortable with it I’m sure you can find someone who can help you, or do it for you.
Foodiewife says
Thank you! I don’t mind having my photos pinned, but I’d like to choose which one! Makes sense now.
Katrina says
Thanks so much! It works perfectly!
Melissa says
How can I get them to delete photos that are already pinned?
I have a photo of me that is not even on my website, the photo however is of me holding one of my own art works so it is obvious that it is an infringement.
Pinterest are NOT responding in any way to my contact emails and DMCA requests, so it feels like I am helpless.
Jessi Wohlwend says
So sorry to hear that! The only way I know of is to report the pins to Pinterest when you find them by clicking the little flag on the pin itself. Whenever I’ve done that in the past Pinterest has removed the pins within a week or so.
Dasha says
Brilliant! Thanks heaps.
joanny says
Thank you for your help, I wish I would have known about this a whole lot sooner. At first I didn’t mind a few pins here and there , till one woman came through and had a pinterest feast and even took my banner, LOL my photo is embedded in it..
Well thanks to you at least I have some protection. So much for posting a copyright and letting people know to ask for permission.
joanny
Jessi Wohlwend says
Glad you were able to get the code to work! At least it’s something 🙂
Samantha says
Great post! But here’s my main thing, though – use common sense. If you don’t want pictures of your kids all over Pinterest, don’t put pictures of your kids on the internet.
Jessi Wohlwend says
Very true! But a lot of people just don’t think about that, like if they have a personal blog just for their family, but then a few years later it has grown a lot and has a bigger following. They probably didn’t realize it at the time, but you are absolutely correct: the only 100% fail-safe way to protect your photos is to not put them up there in the first place! 🙂
Nina says
Samantha, it certainly isn’t about ‘common sense’ only or privacy issues. Like I said above, I am happy to have a main image pinned, but random pictures and screenshots from the middle of a post are another story.
This doesn’t mean that I’m weird or greedy or any other negative thing, but simply that I wish to have some control over how my brand is going to be perceived. In fact, it’s good rather than bad business.
This also includes not wanting my blog buttons, headers, etc. floating around either, or a photo by someone else that I with special permission have posted on my blog.
Paul says
Hi Jessi,
Thanks for this tip, but I have discovered that when I edit posts in the HTML view to include the nopin code, when I save the edit, the code is stripped out! What is going on here? Is there a workaround? Thanks.
Paul
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
Yep, WP automatically strips out unknown code when you switch from HTML view back to Visual view. It actually affects a lot of types of code like link party scripts or giveaway widgets as well as this nopin code. But if you look up in the comments a bit Ashley @ Forgetful Mama found a WP plugin that prevents it from pulling out the nopin code! It’s called Pinterest Repellent and it has worked great for me so far, so I suggest you try it out and hopefully it works for you too!
Paul says
Thanks, Jessi.
However, it is my understanding that if you have a “free” WordPress hosted site, there isn’t an option to install plugins, so I’m back where I started.
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
I used the nopin code for about six months before Ashley told me about that plugin, so you definitely can still do it! You just need to make sure that adding the nopin code is the last thing you do before publishing or scheduling your post. If you publish or schedule from the HTML view after you add the nopin code, it works fine!
Paul says
I did that, but the code was still stripped out of the post. I’m not sure why this works for some, but not for me.
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
Bummer Paul! I wish I had a better solution for you!
Nina says
Jessi, did you use it on a free WP blog? The code doesn’t work (or hasn’t in the past anyway) on dot com blogs, but only on WP dot org. It might include dot com when upgrading to have a domain point to it, too, although I’m not sure.
Jessi Wohlwend says
The nopin code works anywhere you put it, as long as you can keep it from being stripped away before you publish. I haven’t used the free WP editor for blogging, but I know in other systems like Blogger you just need to make sure that you put in the nopin code as the very last thing you do, then hit Publish or Schedule while you are still in HTML or Text mode. If you switch back to the visual editor it will strip the code out. For people using WordPress, there is a plugin called Pinterest Repellent that stops WordPress from stripping out the code when you switch back and forth from HTML to Visual mode, and I’ve found it works great!
Artemisia Moltabocca says
Thanks for the nopin image html! My blog banner gets pinned frequently, but it doesn’t look good on Pinterest. I was wondering how to remove that one image from the pin list. All I could find was the nopin for the entire site. Again, thanks for the info.
Alyssa B says
Thanks! I found the no pin code on Pinterest, but couldn’t figure out where to put it. This was helpful and it worked!
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
So glad the tutorial helped Alyssa!
Indigo says
I’m attempting to make some of my photos pinnable, however for some reason they aren’t and I’m wondering if my entire blog has this code in it (which I cannot locate said code). Any ideas?
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
Unless you manually added this code (or maybe have a plugin installed that has this code as part of it) your pictures should automatically be pinnable. I just visited your blog and all of your images are pinnable to me! What sort of problem are you having?
Indigo says
When I get to the final Pin It, I get an error message when I get to the final pin click and it says: Whoops! Sorry we could not fetch the image. Everything else up to that point makes it look like it’s pinnable, but it just cannot actually do the pin.
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
That’s super weird! Unfortunately I don’t know what to tell you. If you install this nopin code your image won’t even show up as an option when you first go to choose an image for your pin, so it sounds like your issue is related to something different. 🙁 Maybe google that error message and see if anyone else has been having the same issue? Good luck with it!
Ashley @ Forgetful Momma says
I had been using this code since you posted about it, then all of a sudden WP was deleting if I edited the post in some other way, have I confused you? LOL. Anyway, I mentioned it in a blogging group and someone came up with this WP plugin. Pinterest Repellent – I have it installed and it has made life much easier. It was created to use with nopin=”nopin” 🙂
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
WP deletes this code from my posts all the time! It’s a huge hassle and I have to publish straight from the HTML view so it doesn’t do it, but I will definitely look into Pinterest Repellent, because if that solves the issue that will be a HUGE help! Thanks for the tip!
Nina says
Thank you so very much for this pearl of information! I’m only starting my website (coming soon still active) but I’ve had other blogs and knew of no-pin. Since it was WordPress dot com rather than org, I haven’t been able to test it before now, but the html code was stripped away every.single.time I tried it. Until today that is.
On topic, it amazes me how people can be so narrow-minded about the no-pin function. It really isn’t just about sharing content or not, making something available for free or hoarding it on one’s own computer because one is greedy, but like you and others have mentioned, there are kids’ pictures, blog headers and buttons, round-up photos, etc. to consider.
As well as something that has been shared with permission by the copyright owner. This last part is what really boggles my mind the most, as just because something is online, doesn’t mean it is for everyone to use as they please. Even if I am of a specific opinion, I wouldn’t dream of imposing my own choices on others, but the entitlement is real out there *eyeroll*
Yet another example is when I write a tutorial of some kind. I’m happy to have others pin the main/featured image, but it really doesn’t make any sense at all to have a random step 5 photo or step 11 screenshot swimming out there somewhere. Is this really so hard to understand? Clearly.
Kimber says
This was a GREAT post! In general we want anything and everything pinned from our site BUT I was trying to see if there was a way to make one specific page not pinnable. I originally thought I would just not include an image, problem solved, but if I do that the header and some side bar images still come up as pinnable for the page. I am thinking I can add the no pin tag to those images as a work around, but do you know if there is a way to make one specific page not pinnable? Thank you again, so much for all of the tips in this post!
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
Glad it was helpful Kimber! Unfortunately I don’t know of a way to make one single page or post unpinnable; the only ways I know to do it is make the entire blog unpinnable, or do it picture by picture… I had to add the nopin code to some of my photos in the sidebar (like my headshot) to keep them from being pinnable for the page, but that’s the only way around it I know of. 🙂
Geoff says
A meta tag can be set for just a single page, versus the entire website. Thus, you should be able to do it just on the single page, if you can “inject” that tag on only that page.
michal eitam says
hi Jessi
thank you soooo much for the tips.
i have been trying to get rid of the pinit for ages.
unfortunately i tried and tried and couldn’t do it. i have no idea why. i could get into the HTML but nothing helped.
what else can i do?`
thank you so much!!
Michal
Amy @ The Happy Scraps says
Thank you for this post! The pictures on my blog are free game for the most part. I pin all of them! The trouble that I’m having is that I have a blogger widgets of recent posts at the top of my blog, and when people don’t use the pin it button under the photo I’ve put it with, and they use the pin it button on their tool bar, they pick the little thumb nails. They show up really small in pinterest. I would love to figure out how to prevent the photos in the widget from being pinned. I tried the code you provided, but it didn’t seem to work. Any ideas on that?
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
The code for individual images only works if you can put it in the HTML image tag for that specific image. So, unfortunately, it doesn’t work for most plugins since the plugin generates the HTML for the thumbnails behind the scenes. I know it’s a bummer because sometimes there are pins of my “Popular Posts” thumbnails from the sidebar widget that lead to the wrong URL… 🙁
If you manually make a sidebar widget by writing your own text or HTML (like my little welcome blurb with the photo of me at the top of my sidebar), you can add the nopin code to that HTML to protect that image. But I don’t know of any solutions for plugins, sorry!
Amy @ The Happy Scraps says
Thank you for responding to me. 🙂 It totally makes sense what you are saying. I would make my own html for the recent posts, but I don’t want to have to update them every time I post something new. I’ll have to see if there are any other options.
Thanks so much!
Amy @ The Happy Scraps says
I just changed the thumbnail size to 80 down from 115 and the images are too small to pin now, so they don’t show up when you use the pin it button on the toolbar. The only problem is, I wonder if they are too small to even help drive traffic now. I just thought I’d let you know that tho. 🙂
Kimberly says
Thank you so much for this and I’m now going to go implement this onto the pictures of my son.
Sally says
Jessi, I just saw this pinned (again with the irony), and I am pinning too. This is great information. I just tried it out with a craft post that had a lot of photos of my daughter. I double-checked my work by clicking “pin it” in my tool bar, and all of the photos of my daughter are now not available to be pinned. Brilliant, and so easy. Thanks!!!! ~Sally
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
You’re so welcome Sally, I’m glad it worked for you!
Traci Bunkers says
hmmm, I just tried the nopin = “nopin” code with some photos, and it doesn’t work for me. I was mainly trying to keep things like background images, sidebar images from showing up as an option. But they still show up, and you can still pin them.
Judy says
Thank you so much!
ngnrdgrl says
Good to know!!! I have put pictures (with links) from other blogs that are my inspiration so that viewers can see what I was going for. It would be great to use this code to encourage people to click over and pin from the original source. Ironically, I’m going to pin this so I can remember it when I want to use it. Thanks for the share!
Anja says
What a great piece of advice to share with your readers! I had been thinking about this problem, too, so when I found your post, I had to pin it right away onto my Blogging pinboard. It is not making it impossible to pin your photos, as you have pointed out, but it is making it a bit harder, so people who just want to remember your post by pinning it will definitely not pin your more “private” photos (kids etc.) by accident or just because they think they’re cute. And with the other people, well… if a html code existed to keep the crazies, spammers, and the like off our blogs, we’d all add it! 😉
Jessi says
Haha, yep that’s exactly right! This isn’t a fool-proof method, but it’s a gentle reminder for people who just want to remember your post by pinning it.
Samantha D says
Needed this – thanks!
Samantha D
http://cooksandcreates.blogspot.com
Jeannie says
posting challenged…where do I … how do I … find the image coding? blogspot blogger.
Meredith says
THANK YOU!
I have been Googling this all freaking day! I found several sites with the meta code, but this is the only place I found with the code for single-image pin disabling.
I’d love to have people pin my images, but I have a few on my blog that aren’t mine, they’re links to other blogs (plus one picture of me that’s kind of unflattering, and while I don’t mind it on my blog I don’t want it circulating all around Pinterest).
Bella says
Great post with really useful information. I have no problem with my images being pinned, as long as it links back to my blog. But if I started posting more images of my kids, I would definitely want to use some of that code 🙂
Connie says
Thanks for the info. While I have no problem with most of my images being pin, love it actually ;), I DO NOT WANT my kids pics being used. Thanks again!
Sarah Elizabeth says
Thank you so much! I have my family blog private, but I’m glad to be able to take extra measures to make sure it stays that way!
Shannon says
Thank you. I just used this tip (looks like it worked) I interviewed a lifestyle photographer and I wanted to protect her photos.
Ali says
Such an easy thing to add into the code.
Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve already gone through and added the nopin = “nopin” to all the photos I don’t want on pinterest.
Planet Mommy says
Stopping over from the blog hop… following you now! Would love a follow back on my blog.
http://www.theplanetmommy.blogspot.com/
Claire says
Oops, you not your! 🙂
Claire says
Hi Jessi!
Thanks for editing your post to include my suggestion about using the no pin code when your have other people’s images in a post. I’m giving this code a try for the first time in my next post because I do a series called “Pinspiration” where I share my take on a Pinterest-inspired project. I’ve found in the past that my projects are being pinned with the original inspiration photo as the pin. If it’s as easy as it sounds, I’ll definitely be doing this for everything in the future to protect both my work, and the original creator’s work as well.
Thanks again!
Claire
Jessi says
Yeah, thank you so much for that idea! I now use it for every single picture that I share when I feature other bloggers’ work from my weekly link party and it works great!
Ann @ The Scrapbooking Housewife says
Love, love, love this tip!! Thank you so much! I have a photo that was pinned which includes all of my personal information (name, phone number, address, email) that Pinterest refuses to delete! :*( I know, I don’t know what I was thinking; I am going to be much more careful from here on in!
Elle says
Hi Jessi,
Just wanted to let you know I’ve linked you up on my blog. I found your post super helpful, and too good not to share. Thanks!
Jessi says
Glad you found it helpful! And thanks for sharing the post 🙂
Jessica says
I guess I just kind of take this position: If I am worried that someone will misuse a photo, it doesn’t go on the internet. Period. End of story. I am very turned off to blogs that don’t allow me to pin- part of blogging is having people develop a bond and a sense of community. No pinning allowed makes it feel like they don’t trust you (and I know the argument would be made that it is for those non-readers who just come to exploit but that doesn’t take away the fact that honest people will feel punished for something they didn’t do). It is kind of like going to your favorite store and they won’t let you carry your purse around because they are afraid you will steal something- it wouldn’t be your favorite store much longer!
It is a tricky world to navigate- esp if you post pictures of your family.
Jessi says
Yep, I definitely agree. I don’t post photos if I’m not okay with them being out there and public, because even if your whole site is set to be un-pinnable, someone will find a way around it if they are determined. But I do really like using this code to protect other bloggers’ photos when I use them on my site in a featured post or as inspiration. That way their photos are linked to their site instead of mine and hopefully they get the credit for their photos and their projects.
Di says
Hi again(yes, again!! Ok ok) Jessi,
It’s so funny that I saw this post last, considering the post I have left in my previous comments on your site. You know, the one where I’m inviting everyone to pin EVERYTHING on their site, lol! However, I LOVE this, I’m pinning it to my board on blogging here: http://pinterest.com/cookthetv/how-to-blog-better/.
These tips are so helpful to anyone who doesn’t want just everything pinned but would still like to promote their blog on such a huge social platform as Pinterest has become. Many bloggers have found most or a lot of their traffic is now coming from Pinterest. It’s so hard to ignore that. And well, in most cases, you shouldn’t ignore it, I believe.
I do understand completely,though, wanting to keep control of your photographs. Of course, if you sell your photos it’s a must. But for bloggers, the main purpose of pinning is to drive traffic to their sites. You could lose that ability if you lose control of your photos.
Jessi, I will add this post–as a link–to an update on my post inviting people to “pin all”. If you don’t want me to, just let me know. Thank you for sharing your wisdom:) Di
Jessi says
It’s totally fine with me to link to this; I think you’re right that it’s good info for people to know. You have to be careful about what you put out there on the internet, because someone who is determined can find a way to exploit it. But this will help a little bit for most people. 🙂
Pam says
Hi Jessi, I’ve featured your post today… Threading Your Way with Threading My Way Features” .
Marilyn says
Just gave this great post a shout out!
http://4you-withlove.blogspot.com/2012/08/blogging-tips-10.html
Marilyn
Jessi says
Wow, thanks so much!
Amanda says
It is never possible to stop something from showing up on Pinterest. There is some called the snipping tool and the print screen/system request button. It’s not hard to just take a picture of the scren, save it to a folder, and upload to pinterest or any other site.
Amanda says
*something called
Jessi says
Yep, definitely true. I mentioned in the post that you can right-click and download photos and then upload them. Screenshots is another way to do it. Like I said, this will discourage many people, but you have to be careful about what you post on the internet. If you put it on the internet, it’s public, no matter what you do. And the most determined people will abuse it somehow 🙁
Kelly says
Thank you so much for this tip!! 🙂
Melissa says
I have a blog mainly for my family but I just changed it so nothing from my blog can be pinned. Thank you for this information. I read once how to protect my pictures so that no one can click on them to save them to their computer but it seemed like a lot of work to do that for every single picture. I wish now that I would have taken the time to figure it out, especially since this was so easy to do and now I have random people following my blog that I don’t even know.
Beth @ Aunt B's Kitchen says
Is it wrong that I just pinned this to my “blogging and networking” board on Pinterest? lol! 😉 Good information here. Thanks.
Jessi says
Haha! No, I don’t think it’s wrong, but kinda funny 🙂
Miranda @ The Pinterest Project says
I agree with Cheryl! The entire premise of my blog is to recreate things we’ve seen on Pinterest – we always do a screen shot of the original pin, complete with a watermark of the blog name and a link to find it, but people STILL pin the screenshot, and it gets linked up to our site. We’ve hated it, and tried to think of ways to give enough credit and discourage people from pinning from our site – but it hasn’t worked 100%. This is a great way to send people to the original blog site. Thanks for this!!
Cheryl @ That's What Che Said says
This is awesome information!!! I love the ability to add the code to specific photos so that they cannot be pinned! This will work PERFECTLY when I post a photo that was my inspiration! Then everyone will be forced to click through to THEIR site and pin from there! Love it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Jessi says
That’s exactly why I love this! People may not do it on purpose, but every once in a while they pin someone’s idea that I’m featuring from my site instead of theirs. Or my idea is pinned from their site instead of mine.
Melissa says
I actually found this via pinterest! 🙂 I try to always follow through to the original site and not just repin but sometimes I’m in a hurry and I repin something to find out later it’s not the correct site and I sometimes I can never find it which is a little frustrating to be honest. I would love to be able to click on everything and have the tutorial (or original post) right away but I think a lot of people just repin and never open it.
Debbie says
This is soooo good to know! I don’t remember if I have any photos of my kids (adults) or grandkids, but I’m saving this link so if/when I do post any I will definitely use this information! And if I ever feature anyone (long way off, not big enough for that! lol) I will use this as well.
Debbie 🙂
Kristin says
Great to know- thanks so much for the into.
Kelly says
Great article, Jessi. I will “pin” this post for future reference. I hadn’t thought about putting “pinning terms” on my website….nice idea, as I do post pictures of my kids and grandkids once in a while.
Jessi says
The idea of “terms” regarding Pinterest was new to me too, but after all the uproar about the Terms Of Use for Pinterest many people are being wary of what they pin. I added my “terms” more so people know it is perfectly fine with me if they want to pin my projects, rather than to try to restrict pinning. But it’s nice to know I can restrict it a bit if I need to 🙂
Robin says
Good info to have. I like that we can just add that tag to some pictures. Stopping by from Take A Look Tuesday.
Marilyn says
Great info…”Pinned” it to my blogging idea boards so I can be sure to find this info again! 😀 (ironic, huh?)
Carolyn says
This was really great, thanks for posting. I’d wondered if there was a way to make pictures “non-pinnable”.
And the irony, I pinned this article 🙂
Liz says
I’d say probably most people pinning are not concerned at all with where the image originated, they just want that pin and when repinning, who knows where it comes from sometimes. I was looking for something last night and saw multiple numbers of my images online as if they were from elsewhere. They were pinned from link parties and attributed to those sites and others were not attributed to anyone. It’s nice to know there are deterrents, but a lot of times, people just want something and take it. They don’t even think twice that it belongs to someone. I just keep people pics offline because people can also screenshot and whatnot. It’s bad enough to see furniture you did attributed wrongly, but seeing family shots used like that would make me crazy!
Thanks for all the info.
Liz
Natasha In Oz says
That was really interesting and so informative. Thanks so much for sharing this info! Like you, I don’t really mind people pinning from my blog but it’s great to know I prevent certain pictures from being pinned.
I’m not sure if you have been by and linked up your Pinterest profile to my Pinning Bloggers masterlist at my blog yet? If you haven’t please feel free to pop by and link up! I’m also hosting me weekly Say G’day Linky party at the moment and would be thrilled if you could link up this post!
Thanks again!
Best wishes,
Natasha in Oz
Mrs. Deligtful says
This is such a great post! Thank you for linking up to Show Me What You Got Tuesday’s @ ODH
Mrs. Delightful
http://www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com
K @ Claiming Our Space says
Thanks for sharing this. Good to know how to protect those photo that you might not want shared. Thanks so much for sharing on Tout It Tuesday! Hope to see you again.
Evelyn says
I didn’t even know this was possible to prevent someone to pin something! This is super great to know. I am bookmarking your page so I can use this. Thank you so very much for share this information at Freedom Fridays:)
Hope you have a super great week!
Alecia @ Chicken Scratch NY says
I like the idea of ‘un-pinnable-ing’ pictures from other blogs, even though everyone ‘knows’ not to pin from a round up it still happens. (And yes I pinned this because I enjoy irony)
Jessi says
Yeah, it’s an unwritten rule, but it definitely still happens by accident sometimes. And I think it’s fair to pin this. Ironic, sure, but also, Pinterest is the best place to put this because anyone who sees it is basically someone who could benefit from it, so it works 🙂
gina says
Love this! Thank you! I have been fighting w/ someone that stole images of my kids & used them like they were her own family pics on her facebook page. I have been right & left click disabling every image on my blog but I know that if they are pinned they can then be saved. So this really helps.
Nicole says
Oh my goodness… how very pinteresting. =) But, really I do appreciate knowing that we can feel empowered to choose what is available to be pinned and what we’d rather not have out there on pinterest. Thanks for this.
Aloha,
Stopping by from My turn for us to follow your creativity here. If you’re up for a ride I’d love it if you’d join me at localsugarhawaii.com where we’re riding the wave of life, one little adventure at a time. Oooh, ooh, ooh and this and every Friday we host the ALOHA Friday HOP where the sweetest of bloggers link up and help each other to grow, grow, grow… come join us if you please.
Happy Day,
Nicole
localsugarhawaii.com
Jeannine @ The Concrete Cottage says
Thanks for the info! It’s great and I’ve already used it for my kiddos pics and for a pic from another website. I’m definitely Pinning this!!
One thing I did notice though… I am an avid iPad user and do most of my pinning from that. Due to the difference in an iPad vs a regular PC or Mac, there have been work arounds made in order to be able to Pin from a sight that doesn’t have a Pin It button. (without the work around, you can pin NOTHING)
That being said, if I use the “work around” Pin It button, I can still pin absolutely any pic on a site regardless if they have this code imbedded or not. I was disappointed when I tried it from there and was still able to pin all my kids pics 🙁
I still think most of the time it will prevent most users from pinning pics you don’t want, but just wanted people to be aware that at this time, it won’t stop everyone!
Jessi says
Good to know! When I pin something from my iPad I just do it directly from Pinterest and use the Add + link, and when you pin from Pinterest directly (or from the Pin It button on a website, or from the Pin It button you can drag to your bookmarks toolbar) it definitely doesn’t allow those images to be pinned. I don’t have the work around button on my iPad so I hadn’t tried that out, but it’s good to know.
Also, just be aware that if you update a page with this code, your images will still be able to be pinned until you reload the page. So if someone happens to be looking at your post before you make the changes, they will still be able to pin your pics unless they reload the post before trying to pin.
You just have to be careful about what you put on the internet; this isn’t a perfect solution 🙂 I mean, if someone really wants to pin your image all they have to do is right-click, download it, and upload it as a new pin. Anything you put out there on the internet becomes “fair game” but this code will prevent all but the most dedicated from pinning your stuff, so it’s a step in the right direction!
Jeannine @ The Concrete Cottage says
I completely agree with you! It’s the same as “if the burglar wants in they’re getting in”, but yes, it’ll stop most.
Thanks again for the post!!
Jeannine
Pam says
I have no problems with any of ‘my’ photos being pinned. However, I will use this code for photos of featured projects. I’ve just added it to eight photos… easy as!!! Thanks so much for sharing how to do add the code for individual photos. I’ve pinned this post…
Pam says
Jessi, I would love for you to share this post at our ongoing linky that’s just for Blog Tips…
http://threadingmyway.blogspot.com/2012/07/threading-your-way-blog-tips-link-party.html
Raquel says
Hi Jessie! Great tutorial! Found you site on the Happy Hour party. I am your newest Twitter follower 🙂
Betsy @ Romance on a Dime says
This is great information. Thanks for sharing!! I’m glad you linked up at Romance on a dime.
Christine says
This is a fabulous tip Jessi!! I totally don’t mind having my stuff pinned as long as I’m credited 🙂
Thanks for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!
Claire says
Thanks for the information – ironically, I’ve pinned this for future reference!
I certainly cringe when I see that someone has pinned someone else’s project from my site instead of going to the source. I might try this method to prevent people from selecting inspiration photos from other posts as the pin for one of my projects.
Jessi says
That’s a GREAT idea Claire, I didn’t even think of that. I was mostly thinking it would be useful for family photos or professional shots or something. I always leave a reminder in my Feature posts for people to click over and pin from the source, but just in case it’s super smart to set those photos to “nopin” so someone doesn’t accidentally pin them. Thanks for the idea!
Shannah @ Just Us Four says
This is really great info for anyone looking to protect their photos! I, for one, don’t have a problem with people pinning my stuff. If I don’t want it spread about the interwebs, I don’t put it out there. However, I do have worries that, like Stacey, stuff maybe taken out of context or re-used in an inappropriate manner. If that happens, I may change my mind on people pinning my stuff and need to use this!
Shari @ Turnstyle Vogue says
This is great. Thanks. I’m all for my photos being pinned, but have always cringed that my kids and other family could be pinned. I didn’t realize you could be “photo-specific.” I will do this from now on to those pictures 🙂
Bethany says
Great info to have! Thanks! 🙂
Marty Walden says
Thanks for commenting on my blog. I did link up with you this week. I know that the things I write for my blog and the pics I use are fair game for others. It’s just the way it is with our world. I don’t put things out there I don’t want others to see. I’m an adoptive mom and I’ve gotten a bit of grief and criticism over some of the things I’ve written. i just accept it because I put it out there. Unfortunately there are people who live to criticism viciously and they hurt others. it’s just a risk you take when you make things public.
Jessi says
Completely agree Marty! There’s really no excuse for people being jerks online and hiding behind their anonymity, but that’s sort of the risk you take with putting anything onto the internet. It becomes public, so you just have to be prepared, and it sounds like you are 🙂
Stacy says
Thanks for sharing this. In my honest opinion I don’t see me using it, but feelings could change in the future. I honestly don’t put photos on my blog that I don’t want floating around out there. I try really hard not to open Pandora’s box, so to speak. Unfortunately, there are bad people everywhere who do terrible things to other people, their blogs and their photos. Such a sad world we live in. Sharing this on my fan page for others, great info like this needs to be passed on.
Jessi says
I think it’s really smart not to put photos up that you don’t want out there on the internet. This code works to stop someone from pinning something, but there’s nothing to stop someone from downloading the photo and re-uploading it on their own site or to Pinterest or whatever!
Gina Davey says
This is my problem…I just browzed Pinterest and bam..there was my artwork pinned by someone else…no credit or reference to me at all. Obviously downloaded and saved by the pinner..is there a way to add my details???
Jessi Wohlwend says
Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to add your information to something that someone else has pinned, even if it is your own work. 🙁 What you can do is file a copyright complaint with Pinterest and ask them to take it down; they are usually pretty good about responding and removing the pins if you can show that you are the original creator. You can find the form here: https://www.pinterest.com/about/copyright/dmca-pin/
Katie says
Good to know! I’m terrible about this sort of thing; I don’t even know how to put a little watermark on my pictures, which I probably should do on at least some of them. Oops.
That’s terrible what happened to Stacy, and I imagine I’ll feel differently once T-Rex is here. I guess. I’m more apathetic about the topic than I really ought to be.
Thanks for sharing the code, though! ^_^