Pinterest Finally Allows You to Filter Out AI-Generated Images – Here's How

Pinterest, one of the largest image-sharing platforms and a go-to source of references for thousands of Digital and Traditional Artists worldwide – which, in recent years, has suffered the same plague affecting many other websites and become flooded with poor-quality AI-generated images – has made what many online are calling a step in the right direction by finally allowing users to filter out the visuals produced by machines.

In order to do that, go to Settings (top-right corner):

Click on the "Refine your recommendations" option:

Go to "GenAI interests" and paint every toggle in there gray:

Over on social media, thousands of individuals have celebrated the update and praised Pinterest for implementing it. For instance, a celebratory tweet from Illustrator hansoeii went absolutely viral, racking up over 6 million views and nearly half a million likes in less than 24 hours, showing that despite the normalization of generative AI and many creators simply accepting it as a given, many – especially within the artistic community – still strongly dislike the controversial technology.

The update, unfortunately, wasn't without its own caveats, acting as a proverbial fly in the ointment. In the comments on the aforementioned tweet, some users reported still seeing AI-generated visuals in their feeds despite applying the filter, while others noted that the option to disable GenAI is limited to just a few categories, leaving out some of the most popular ones like Food, Travel, and DIY.

Moreover, the pop-up notification that briefly appears when you toggle off GenAI images for various categories clearly states that "you'll start seeing fewer" AI images in your feed, not that you won't see them entirely, showing that, as useful as it will be for countless artists, the system is not yet perfect.

Not to mention, the policy changes Pinterest implemented earlier this year, which allow the platform to use your information to train, develop, and improve its technology, including machine learning models and generative AI features, remain in effect and have not been removed.

That said, as a character far wiser than myself once declared, "A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad the good," and even with these caveats, most users agree that Pinterest is nonetheless on the right track and hope the newly added filter is indeed "a step in the right direction," with many more steps to be taken in the coming months.