Can I use Pinterest images? Rights and credit
Updated on October 24, 2026
Pinterest is full of images made by other people: photos, illustrations, prints, recipes, home decor projects. Saving them to a board, downloading them for reference or putting together a moodboard is personal use. Publishing them on your website, your social accounts, a product or an ad needs the creator’s permission. This guide sums up what applies in most cases. It isn’t legal advice, and the details vary from country to country.
Who owns the image in a Pin
- The person who saved the Pin isn’t always the creator. Many Pins are images from blogs, stores and portfolios, saved by other people. The profile on the Pin may just be whoever saved it.
- The image belongs to whoever made it. In most countries, photos, illustrations and drawings are protected by copyright from the moment they’re made, with no registration needed.
- People in a photo have rights too. Someone who appears in a photo has a say in how their image is used, even if someone else took the picture.
- Public doesn’t mean free. Being on a Pin anyone can see doesn’t clear the image for use.
Reference and moodboards: personal use
For these uses, downloading and keeping the image is fine:
- saving a recipe, a pattern or a decor idea to look at later, offline;
- putting together an inspiration board for yourself or your team that won’t be published;
- studying a drawing, photography or layout technique.
Being inspired is different from copying. Creating your own piece from many references is how creative work goes. Reproducing someone else’s image, or closely copying its elements, isn’t.
Publishing: when to ask for permission
| Use | What you need |
|---|---|
| Keeping it on your phone or computer to look at later | Nothing: it’s personal use |
| A moodboard or reference that won’t be published | Nothing: it’s personal use |
| A post on your social accounts, even with credit | The creator’s permission |
| A website, blog or online store | The creator’s permission |
| A product, print, packaging or ad | A written license, usually paid |
| An image with recognizable people | Permission from the creator and from the people in it |
Credit is the minimum, but it doesn’t replace permission. Writing “image from Pinterest” doesn’t solve it either: Pinterest doesn’t own the images.
How to find a Pin’s creator
- See who Pinterest shows on the Pin. When you paste the link here, the list also shows the profile Pinterest lists as the Pin’s author. Check whether it’s really the creator or just whoever saved it.
- Look for the source link. Many Pins lead to the site the image came from, as a button or the site’s address. The creator’s name is usually there.
- Search by image. Google’s image search, like Google Lens, shows other places where the same image appears. The oldest or the largest version often leads to the creator.
- Look at the image itself. Signatures, logos and web addresses in the corners are good clues.
- Write to the creator. Say which image, where it will appear, for how long and how you’ll credit them. Keep the reply in writing.
If you can’t find the creator, don’t use the image for publishing. Look for another one with a clear license.
Options with a clear license
- Free stock photo sites, like Unsplash and Pexels, state on the page what the license allows. Read the license of each image before using it.
- Paid stock photo sites sell licenses for commercial use.
- Your own photos, or an illustrator hired for your project.
- The Pin itself. To show a Pin on your website, look for Pinterest’s option to embed the Pin. It appears with the credit and a link back to Pinterest.
If the image is yours
If someone saved one of your images to Pinterest without credit, or is using one without permission, Pinterest has its own process for copyright complaints. To keep a Pin from being downloaded through our tools, ask us to block the Pin or the profile on the removal page. We reply within 2 business days.
Frequently asked questions
If I give credit, can I post it?
That’s not enough. Credit says who made it, but permission is what allows the use. Ask first, and credit the way the creator asks you to.
What if I edit the image, crop it or change the colors?
The image still belongs to whoever made it. Changing details doesn’t make it yours.
The Pin says the image is free to use. Can I trust that?
Check the source. Whoever saved the Pin may have written that without being the creator. What counts is what the creator or the stock photo site says on the original page.
Does downloading through the site change anything about the rights?
No. PegaPic only delivers the file Pinterest stores. The rules for using it are the same however you download it. Download details are on the Pinterest image downloader page.