What does Pinterest describe itself as?

Pinterest describes itself as a visual discovery engine. The phrase captures Pinterest's central purpose: helping people find ideas through images and other visual content rather than simply presenting a stream of conventional text-based search results.

Users discover recipes, room designs, outfits, travel inspiration, crafts, and products through Pins arranged on personal or shared boards. A Pin can lead to an external website, allowing Pinterest to function as both an inspiration source and a gateway to more detailed information or shopping.

Pinterest is often casually called a social network because users can follow accounts, share content, and interact with creators. It also has visual-search tools that make “search engine” sound reasonable. However, those labels do not match the company's preferred description as closely as “visual discovery engine.” Its emphasis is on finding and organizing possibilities for what users might try, make, buy, or plan next.