Until just recently, the official Pinterest app for iPhone did practically anything you could do on the Pinterest web site, from browsing and sharing pins to creating new boards—anything, that is, save for actually pinning something you’d found on the web.
A new update to Pinterest’s iPhone app finally adds its own web browser complete with a “Pin It” button, perfect for pinning the latest fashions, books, tasty delights, or any other goodies you discover online.
(In case you’re wondering, the iPad version of the Pinterest app already has its own web browser, while Pinterest for Android adds a handy “Create pin” sharing option to your phone’s native Android browser.)
The updated Pinterest app makes it much easier to pin items on the web from an iPhone.
Granted, the new browser in Pinterest’s iPhone app isn’t perfect—you won’t find any bookmarks, for example, nor is there any tabbed browsing.
That said, pinning from the app’s “Pin It”-ready browser is better than nothing—and indeed, it’s probably better than trying to install a Pin It button in Safari on the iPhone’s tiny screen.
So, ready to pin? Let’s get started…
- First, make sure you’ve updated the Pinterest iPhone app to the latest version (2.4, to be exact). Tap App Store, Updates, and tap the Update button next to the Pinterest entry.
- Go ahead and launch Pinterest—and when you do, you’ll notice the old camera button at the bottom of the screen has been replaced by a new “+” button.
- Tap the button, and you’ll get a couple choices for pinning: either by snapping a photo with your iPhone’s camera (which used to be the only way of pinning something from the Pinterest iPhone app), or by browsing a website. Tap the Website button.
- Now, the new Pinterest web browser will slide into view. You can enter a web address into the form at the top, or (probably easier) just type in a word or phrase—like, say, “Amazon” or “Penguin shirts”—and tap “Go” for Google search results.
- Found something to pin? Tap the red “Pin It” button at the bottom of the screen, then pick an image, edit your pin, select a board (or not), then tap the final “Pin It” button in the top-right corner. All done!
Looking for more Pinterest tips? Click here!