# Pinterest Pincode > Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/pinterest-pincode > research date 2026-06-03 · extracted at 2026-10-06 > Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards Specifications: - [Pinterest rolls out new Pincodes feature — 9to5Mac, 2017](https://9to5mac.com/2017/11/14/how-to-use-pinterest-pincodes/) - [Create Pincodes™ — Pinterest Help](https://help.pinterest.com/en/article/pincodes) ## Overview **Pinterest Pincode** (styled **Pincode™**) is a proprietary, circular scannable code from **Pinterest** that, when scanned with the Pinterest app's camera (Pinterest Lens), opens a specific Pinterest **profile or board** [2][2]. It launched in 2017 as part of the late-2010s wave of branded, app-locked social-media codes [1][1]. The feature is now **effectively discontinued in practice**: it is no longer promoted, it depends on the in-app Lens scanner rather than a native camera, and it is a relic of the pre-native-QR era — though Pinterest's help centre still documents how to create one and the company has not published a formal shutdown date [2][2]. ## History Pinterest introduced Pincodes on **November 14, 2017**, giving every user a unique personal Pincode (accessible from their profile) and letting users and brands link a code to a profile or to any board [1][1]. Pincodes were a Pinterest-specific, app-only code in the same family as Snapchat's Snapcodes, Facebook's Messenger Codes and Instagram's Nametags — branded scannable codes that bridged the physical world into a single app [1][1]. At launch Pinterest leaned heavily on retail and print partners to place Pincodes in the real world: **Nordstrom** featured them on curated gift boards in select stores, **Kraft Heinz** linked them to recipes on products, select **Home Depot** locations carried them, **Kia** used one at its LA Auto Show exhibit, and the December issue of **REAL SIMPLE** magazine printed one [1][1]. As native phone-camera QR scanning became universal over 2019-2022, app-only codes like Pincode lost their rationale; Pincode is no longer a promoted Pinterest feature, even though the help documentation persists [2][2]. ## Technical specification Pinterest never published an open encoding specification for Pincodes. What is documented is the visual form and the scanning model: a Pincode has a **circular** scannable element (Pinterest's help guidance specifies that "the circular part should be a minimum of 1.5 inches in diameter to be scannable" when printed) [2][2]. Scanning is performed **inside the Pinterest app** — the user opens the app, taps the camera icon next to the search bar, and points the phone at the Pincode; Pinterest Lens reads it with no need to take a picture, instantly opening the linked Pins, board or profile [1][1], [2][2]. The bit-level encoding behind the circular pattern was not made public [1][1], [2][2]. ## Use cases Pincodes were used to **share a Pinterest profile or board from a physical or printed surface** [2][2]. A user could share their personal Pincode so others could quickly find and follow them, and brands could attach a Pincode to in-store displays, products and magazine pages to send shoppers to a curated board — for example Nordstrom gift boards, Kraft Heinz recipe boards, and Home Depot and Kia activations [1][1]. The core action was always the same: scan with the Pinterest app to open the linked profile or board [2][2]. ## Implementations There are **no public, open-source implementations** of Pincode generation or scanning. The format is proprietary to Pinterest; codes are generated in the Pinterest product and scanned only with the Pinterest app's Lens camera, with no published spec or third-party SDK [1][1], [2][2]. ## Comparison Versus a **standard QR Code**, a Pincode is **app-locked**: it must be scanned with the Pinterest app, whereas QR codes are read by any phone's native camera [1][1], [2][2]. Its circular form distinguishes it visually from a square QR module grid, much like Snapchat Snapcodes and Facebook Messenger Codes [2][2]. Pincode is part of the broader **2017-2018 wave of proprietary social codes** (Snapcode, Messenger Code, Instagram Nametag, Amazon SmileCode) — most of which were retired or abandoned during the **2019-2022 industry retreat back to standard QR codes**, once native camera QR scanning made app-only codes unnecessary [1][1], [2][2]. ## Status **Effectively discontinued / abandoned in practice.** Pincode launched in November 2017 as an in-app circular code; it is no longer a promoted feature and belongs to the pre-native-QR era of app-only social codes [1][1], [2][2]. Note the caveat: Pinterest's help centre still documents how to create Pincodes and the company has not published an explicit shutdown date, so no formal discontinuation date is sourceable [2][2]. ## Sources [1] [Pinterest rolls out new Pincodes feature for easily accessing curated boards](https://9to5mac.com/2017/11/14/how-to-use-pinterest-pincodes/) — 9to5Mac, 2017 [2] [Create Pincodes™](https://help.pinterest.com/en/article/pincodes) — Pinterest Help [1]: https://9to5mac.com/2017/11/14/how-to-use-pinterest-pincodes/ [2]: https://help.pinterest.com/en/article/pincodes ## Deployments _No country reports mention this standard by name._ ## Regions / aggregations not mapped to a single country - Universal