Pinterest to Test In-App Live Streaming With an Upcoming Virtual Event

In an attempt to amp up its inspiration game and break out of its mold, Pinterest is adding an exciting new feature to its resume.

You’ll Soon Be Able to Watch Live Content on Pinterest

Pinterest is planning to test live streams on its platform for the first time ever. The company is hosting a virtual event this May 24-25, where you’ll be able to watch 21 of Pinterest’s top creators stream content live inside the app.

If you try to access the streams via the Pinterest site, you’ll be greeted with a yellow notice that says “Live sessions are only available on mobile.”

From beauty and productivity to fashion and cooking, the upcoming streams look to cover a variety of topics. Some big names confirmed to host their own live sessions include hairdresser Jonathan Van Ness, fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff, and chef Ming Tsai.

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While a creator is streaming, they can bring on up to five “guests,” but their audience can consist of an unlimited number of people. Throughout the stream, you can leave comments to interact with the creator.

To ensure that things don’t run amok, live sessions will be moderated by Pinterest employees. They will have the ability to remove people from chat that do not uphold Pinterest’s community guidelines.

You can make sure you don’t miss the streams hosted by your favorite creators by hitting the red Remind me button below that creator’s video announcement. You’ll then receive a push notification to open the app when the stream has started.

“As a visual platform, people discover billions of ideas on Pinterest every day, and we’re always looking for new ways to help them bring those ideas to life,” said Pinterest head of content and creators David Temple.

The popularity of live streaming has boomed over the past year, as governments around the world placed restrictions on social gatherings during the pandemic. That’s probably why this isn’t Pinterest’s first attempt to expand into that market.

In November 2020, reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong discovered that the company was working on Class Communities, a feature that allowed you to sign up classes through Pinterest that were conducted via Zoom.

But now that Pinterest is providing its own native access to live content, there’s a real possibility that the platform will keep its Classes on-site.

When Pinterest added Story Pins to the top of feeds in January, the platform was criticized by some of its users for being “unoriginal.” Though it was, perhaps, just another step in the new direction that Pinterest seems to be moving in.

The platform is daring to be more than just a place to share images with your friends, and we’re excited to see how it develops as a result.

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