Pinterest: Usability, Accessibility, and Ethics
Pinterest is a rather straightforward app for your daily dose of inspiration. At a first glance, users encounter an infinite-scroll feed of random content related to interests and previous searches. The innovative concept behind the product is to provide a space to find inspiration, research references, and save them into unique folders, giving users the ability to refer back to their collections and update them. Users can also create shared folders or share their personal collections with friends and the rest of the world.
Small businesses and professionals can also link their work to Pinterest, making them more discoverable. Inside the content page, the original website is linked and can be easily accessed through the “visit” button. Pinterest also has a solid presence on search engine results, attracting new users regularly.
In terms of usability, Pinterest offers a minimal image-based interface with a bottom menu bar and a side-scroll menu on the top that gives users 1-click access to their folders. When inside a folder, a brief message indicates how to add new pins. There they can also see their pins and a specific feed related to its content.
The app maps the experience of a bulletin board, used in pre-internet days to “pin” photos and ideas into a collection. Although it does not visually resemble a bulletin board, the functionality behind it is similar, also allowing users to reorganize content in folders to better tell a story.
In earlier versions, Pinterest used the pin icon to indicate a save action.
In its current mobile version, however, the save action is attributed to 3 different buttons. While inside a specific folder, the user must press the + button to save, when browsing the user must hold press an image and move the finger in the direction of the pin icon, and, finally, on the content page, there is an iconless “save” button. These inconsistencies may cause confusion to the user.
The app uses only 4 colors — red, white, gray, and black. Red is the brand color, used for the main CTA buttons, white is used as background, and secondary buttons alternate between gray and black. Black is used mostly to indicate active states. On the bottom tab, icons shift from gray to black when active, and on the top side-scroll menu, buttons receive a black background fill when active. A loading icon is used for feedback, making it clear to the user that they should expect new results soon.
The Pinterest app can be a bit difficult for unfamiliar users to get around. Inconsistent icons and unnecessary steps are the main reasons for that. As mentioned earlier, the app uses different icons for the same function. But that is not the only problem. If the user wants to delete a pinned content from a folder, they must endure 8 steps. This option is so hard to find that I had to do a Google search to find out how. Fortunately, they have a step-by-step explanation in their help center. Still, should it be this hard to perform a simple task?
The interface can also be confusing for non-regular users (although it has improved from its earlier versions). Most icons in the app are not labeled, compromising usability and accessibility. Notifications are blocked together, making it hard to differentiate which is which. Finally, on the content page, there is the option to comment. However, the comment icon sits above its designated section, where the action can also be achieved through a text field (see image below).
The use of native components such as holding press is an interesting solution to avoid cluttering the interface, however, if users are not familiar with it, it may take a while to get there. I also question why the “delete pinned content” option mentioned earlier isn’t included in this menu… It would make the whole process much simpler.
Regarding accessibility, in 2018, Pinterest launched 5 updates meant to improve the experience of people with disabilities. These included improved color contrasting sensitivity, screen reader support, bolder type, and customizable text size, clear focus indicators, and accessibility best practices for engineers and developers. (Mashable, 2018) Labeled icons, as mentioned earlier, were not included in the update.
In 2014, following the path of other social media platforms, Pinterest incorporated paid ads into the user’s feed. They are presented in a subtle way, making it difficult to distinguish them from organic content. The only indication that it is a paid ad is a tiny caption containing the logo and the “promoted by” information. If users are scrolling and scanning (as it is intended), they can easily go unnoticed. Good for the advertisers but not so much for the whole user experience… Dark pattern, anyone?
Overall, the user experience on Pinterest is satisfying and delightful. It serves a unique purpose in the industry and delivers what is promised. There are, however, certain aspects of overall usability and accessibility that could be improved to make it friendlier for first-time and regular users. Let’s wait and see how Pinterest surprises us in the years to come!
