Pinterest apologizes for accounts bans caused by internal error

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Pinterest recently apologized for mistakenly suspending a large number of user accounts due to what it called an “internal error.” 

Over the past few weeks, many users reported that their accounts were suddenly deactivated without warning or a clear explanation. 

When users appealed the suspensions, they were told that their accounts had violated Pinterest’s community guidelines, though no specific details were given.

At first, Pinterest issued a generic statement saying that it regularly checks for content that breaks its rules and may deactivate accounts when necessary. 

But this explanation only made users more frustrated, especially those who believed they did nothing wrong and received no help or answers when they tried to appeal.

On Wednesday, Pinterest gave a more direct response, admitting it had made a mistake. 

In a reply posted on X (Twitter), the company explained that while it had been trying to remove content that violated its rules, a technical issue caused an overreaction, which led to some accounts being wrongly banned. 

We hear your concerns about recent account deactivations on Pinterest. To ensure Pinterest remains a safe and positive platform, we continuously monitor for content that violates our Community Guidelines and accounts with violative content may be deactivated as a result. If you…

— Pinterest (@Pinterest) May 1, 2025

Pinterest said it was sorry for the confusion and stress and that many of the affected accounts have now been restored. They also promised to improve how they handle mistakes like this in the future.

However, Pinterest didn’t give any details about what exactly caused the error or whether the issue is completely fixed. 

Some users also noticed that innocent content, like images of everyday items, was being flagged as inappropriate, which led people to suspect that a faulty AI moderation system was behind the problem. 

But Pinterest told Techcrunch that AI was not responsible for these mistakes.

Reports from Reddit suggest that people are slowly getting their accounts back. Still, after such a poorly handled situation, many users remain upset and skeptical. 

Some say they don’t feel like Pinterest is doing enough to protect users from being wrongly banned, and they’re not eager to return to the platform just yet.

What do you think about Pinterest’s response? Was your account by the this error? Tell us below in the comments, or via our Twitter or Facebook.