Short answer: Click your profile → Settings → Security, and turn on two-factor authentication. Pinterest offers an authenticator app or SMS — choose the app. Scan the QR code, confirm the six-digit code, and save the backup code. If you signed up with Google or Facebook, your 2FA lives on that account instead.
Why bother with Pinterest?
Two reasons that are easy to underestimate.
Business accounts have reach. Pinterest drives meaningful traffic for bloggers, shops and creators. A hijacked account can have its pins edited so the links point somewhere else entirely — your carefully built traffic redirected to spam or affiliate fraud, from an account that looks legitimate because it is.
Personal boards are personal. Wedding planning, house moves, health topics, gift ideas for people who might see them. It is a quieter privacy exposure than most social platforms, and it catches people off guard.
There is also the link between accounts: many Pinterest logins are the same email and password used elsewhere, so a Pinterest compromise is often a symptom rather than the event. It is worth running the same check on 2FA for your Twitter/X account and 2FA on Reddit at the same time.
First: check how you sign in
If you use “Continue with Google” or “Continue with Facebook”, Pinterest does not handle your password and the 2FA setting will not apply. Secure the upstream account instead — Google, Facebook.
Worth knowing regardless: this is single sign-on, and it means one account protects several.
Step 1: Open Security settings
- Sign in at pinterest.com.
- Click your profile picture (top right) → Settings.
- Open Security (sometimes shown as Security and permissions).
- Find Two-factor authentication and turn it on.
Desktop is easier than the app for this, though the mobile path is similar under Settings → Account management → Security.
Step 2: Choose the authenticator app
Pinterest offers:
- Authentication app — six-digit codes generated offline. Choose this.
- Text message (SMS) — convenient, and exposed to SIM swap attacks. See SMS vs authenticator apps.
Select the app option. Pinterest shows a QR code with a manual key beneath it. Scan it with Google Authenticator, Aegis, 2FAS, Microsoft Authenticator, or a password manager. If this is unfamiliar, read what is an authenticator app first; if the code will not scan, use manual key entry.
Do not screenshot the QR code. Ironic on a platform built around saving images, and exactly why it is worth saying — that image contains your raw secret key. More detail: what’s inside a 2FA QR code.
Step 3: Save the backup code
Pinterest provides a backup code for when you cannot reach your app. Store it offline or in a password manager, not in a pinned note.
Pinterest’s account recovery runs through your registered email, which makes that inbox the real weak point — see where to store backup codes and make sure your email has strong 2FA of its own.
Step 4: Tidy up the account
- Sessions and devices — under Security, review where you are logged in and end anything unfamiliar.
- Apps — revoke third-party scheduling and analytics tools you no longer use. Pinterest marketing tools accumulate quickly for business accounts, and each holds posting permissions.
- Connected accounts — check which social accounts are linked for cross-posting.
- Email address — current, and protected. This is the recovery route.
- Claimed website — if you have claimed a domain, that connection matters; secure the domain too (domain security).
The Pinterest-specific scams
- Spam pins with malicious links — attractive images leading to fake giveaways, surveys or credential harvesters. If you click through from Pinterest and land on a login page, close it.
- Fake brand collaboration emails aimed at creators, with an attachment or a “contract portal” link.
- “Your account will be suspended” phishing, leading to a fake Pinterest login.
- Copyright complaint scams — a favourite against business accounts because they create panic.
The habit that defeats all of them: never sign in from a link. Type pinterest.com yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Does Pinterest support security keys or passkeys?
Not for standard accounts at the time of writing, so an authenticator app is the strongest option available. Where passkeys are offered elsewhere they are stronger — see passkeys vs 2FA.
Which authenticator app works with Pinterest?
Any standard TOTP app. Pinterest uses the normal algorithm — see how TOTP codes work.
Why is my code being rejected?
Usually clock drift on your phone. Turn on automatic network time in date and time settings. More: why 2FA codes get rejected.
What if I lose my phone?
Use the backup code, or Pinterest’s email-based recovery. Which is why the email account matters more than the Pinterest one — see recovering accounts after losing your 2FA phone.
Will 2FA affect my Pinterest scheduling tools?
No, provided they authorise through Pinterest’s official app permissions rather than storing your password. If a tool asks for your actual password, that is a reason to distrust it.
Can I have 2FA on a business and personal account?
Yes — each account is separate and needs its own setup, even if they are linked. Add both to your authenticator with clear labels.
The bottom line
Two minutes for the app and the backup code, three more for old third-party tools and active sessions. And if you use Pinterest for business, spend the extra time on your email security — because that inbox is the recovery route, and recovery is where account takeovers are finalised.
Securing your other creator accounts? See Instagram, TikTok and Canva. Also worth a look are 2FA on Snapchat and 2FA for Adobe Creative Cloud.