New 'App Pins' Allow Users to Install iOS Apps Right From Pinterest's App

Pinterest today announced a new partnership with Apple to launch "App Pins" that will allow users to install iOS apps on their devices without ever needing to leave the Pinterest app.

pinterest_app_pins

Let’s say you’re Pinning workout inspiration to your Marathon Training board. If you see a fitness app that helps you reach your goals, you can download it right from Pinterest.

When you come across an app Pin, tap Install to download the app right to your iPhone or iPad without ever leaving Pinterest (you’ll only see app Pins when you’re using the Pinterest app on your iPhone or iPad).

As part of the rollout, Apple is also launching its own App Store board on Pinterest, giving the company a place to feature apps on a variety of topics within Pinterest. Apple is currently featuring a number of apps and other pins focused on fashion and recipes, playing into this week's New York Fashion Week.


Pinterest tells The New York Times it believes it can be an excellent place for app discovery considering its role as a place where people come to share and discover things.

“We can be a really powerful service for app discovery, which is a problem that still really hasn’t been solved,” Evan Sharp, a founder of Pinterest, said in an interview. “Our specialty is really connecting people to the things they want to do.” [...]

Pinterest believes it is better positioned [than Twitter and Facebook] to help promote apps because of the nature of the service. People come to Pinterest, the company says, to find new things to do, see and buy. That is unlike Facebook, which has been used to connect with friends, or even Twitter, which is often about public discourse and news.

The new App Pins functionality is included in a just-released update to the Pinterest iOS app, which is available free of charge in the App Store. [Direct Link]

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Latest iPhone 17 Series CAD Images in Line With Redesign Rumors

Friday February 28, 2025 2:51 am PST by
Apple is expected to embrace a new camera system design for some models in its upcoming iPhone 17 series, and the latest purported CAD images don't deviate from what we have been hearing lately about Apple's new lineup. If you do not like the sound of an iPhone with a Google Pixel-style camera bar, look away now. Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson shared the following images in a post on X...
iphone 16e usb c feature

Apple Provides Reason for iPhone 16e's Lack of MagSafe

Friday February 28, 2025 4:39 am PST by
Apple has offered a reason why the iPhone 16e doesn't include MagSafe, one of the more notable omissions from its latest entry-level smartphone. According to Apple representatives who spoke to Daring Fireball's John Gruber, MagSafe is not included in the iPhone 16e because "most people in the iPhone 16e's target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging...
apple intelligence black

These New Apple Intelligence Features Are Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday February 28, 2025 3:17 pm PST by
iOS 18.4 was supposed to bring new Apple Intelligence Siri features, but Apple ended up needing to pull those capabilities from the update to continue testing. There are fewer new Apple Intelligence additions now, but there are still some new features that will make the update worth installing when it comes out in April. Priority Notifications Apple introduced Priority Notifications back at ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Rumored to Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Saturday March 1, 2025 11:00 am PST by
iOS 19 is still around three months away from being unveiled, but there are plenty of rumors about the upcoming update. Below, we recap iOS 19 rumors so far. Redesigned Camera App A leak earlier this year allegedly revealed a redesigned Camera app coming with iOS 19. On his YouTube channel Front Page Tech in January, Jon Prosser shared a video showing what the new Camera app will...
cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
apple c1

How Fast is Apple's First-Ever 5G Modem? The Results Are Surprising

Friday February 28, 2025 10:08 am PST by
iPhone 16e reviews are now out, and Apple's custom-designed C1 modem has been put to the test. The results so far are quite surprising, as the C1's speeds are not as slow compared to Qualcomm modems as originally expected. While the C1 does not support ultra-fast mmWave 5G in the U.S., it appears to offer comparable 5G performance to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X71 modem found in the iPhone 16,...

Top Rated Comments

prother1 Avatar
131 months ago
You've never been fewer taps away from degrading the quality of an image with some over-filtering!
Next time, actually have a clue what the service does before you bash it.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maflynn Avatar
131 months ago
WTF - going to Pinterest to install apps. So is apple going to allow this for all social sites at some point?

I really do question Apple's thinking here.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anek007 Avatar
131 months ago
Isn't this against App Store policy to install apps outside of the App Store?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
allanfries Avatar
131 months ago
I have no interest in Pinterest! ;)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
John.B Avatar
131 months ago
Apps to shovel apps to people? Really?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iZac Avatar
131 months ago
Wasn't Apple previously against 'app discovery' apps - admittedly most of which would tell you what apps went free / on sale / discounted?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)