Are you looking to leave a comment on Pinterest that contains a photo?
Perhaps you found this easy to do in the past, and the photo commenting option no longer appears for you. Not only is this frustrating, it can be quite confusing as well – especially if you see other people commenting photos all the time!
So where did the photo commenting option go, and can you get it back? How do you a comment a photo on Pinterest?
In this article, we’ll cover everything that you need to know!
How Do You Comment With A Photo On Pinterest?
Unfortunately, Pinterest officially removed the ability to comment with a photo in August, 2021 – much to the frustration of their users.
In fact, they sent out an email notifying users of this change, encouraging them to utilize ‘Idea Pins’ instead.
However, not all hope is lost.
As you browse Pinterest, you may still be seeing people leave photo comments, as if they were completely unaffected by this update. Kind of confusing, right?
While Pinterest did state in their email that old photo comments would remain on the platform, there are still people posting new ones, even to this day.
So why is this, and how can you comment a photo yourself? Ultimately, there are two primary methods that still work.
1. Sideload An Older Version Of The App
Some users have reported that as long as you use an older version of the app, the ability to comment with photos will still be there.
Unfortunately however, sideloading older versions of the Pinterest app is only possible if using an Android phone, or an Android emulator on PC.
Essentially, this requires you to download older versions of the app from an external website, outside of the Google Play store. Then, the app is installed as normal.
To view download links for the older version of Pinterest apps, click here.
Note that if you’re going to try sideloading an older version of the Pinterest app, then you should try one that was released prior to August 2021. This is because this is when the ability to leave photo comments was removed.
Therefore, Pinterest 9.21.0 (released on July 16, 2021) is the version that we recommend.
If you have old iPhones that also have a version of the app that allows you to comment with pictures, we recommend that you avoid updates unless you’re willing to lose the feature.
Note however that even an older version of the app does not guarantee you’ll be able to leave photo comments.
2. Be Part Of A Pinterest Test Group
Did you know that Pinterest regularly runs tests on its users?
For example, they may add or remove certain features from a small group of Pinterest users, to see how it affects their usage of the website or app.
It’s possible that some Pinterest users are part of a test group that still allows them to leave comment replies that contain photos.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to request to be part of a specific test group. If you have multiple Pinterest accounts however, you’re more likely to have at least one account with access to beta features.
Why Did Pinterest Remove The Ability To Comment With A Photo?
At this time, it’s unknown exactly why Pinterest decided to remove the ability to leave photo comments – the company has not made any official statement about it.
However, we do have a few ideas.
When Pinterest first took away the ability to comment with photos, they sent out an email beforehand notifying users that despite no longer being able to comment with a photo, they would be able to add their own Pins to an ‘Idea Pin’, to show how the result turned out.
For example, if somebody created an idea Pin for a certain craft design, users could try it out and share their results on the same Pin.
This was already being done using photo comments anyway, but Pinterest likely wanted to increase the usage of idea Pins. Rather than adding additional benefits, they took a beloved feature away.
It’s also possible that photo comments were harder to moderate, and Pinterest did experience a problem with people using photo comments for spam and advertising purposes as well.
While Pinterest automatically blocks many links in comments, they had no way of doing this if the link was written out in a photo instead.
Therefore, the combination of these things may be why Pinterest has removed the ability to comment with pictures.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, Pinterest has discontinued the ability to comment on Pins with a photo.
While some people still seem to be able to leave photo comments while using an older version of the Pinterest app, this can only be sideloaded if using an Android phone – or owning an older smartphone that hasn’t yet updated the app.
I do apologize, as I know this wasn’t the news you were hoping to hear. If you want Pinterest to bring the photo comments back for all users, leave a comment below to share your thoughts! Who knows, maybe someone from Pinterest will read them?
In any case, here’s hoping they return soon. Thank you for reading, and wishing you the best,
– James McAllister
It really is a bummer that because of the spammers out there people who truly loved to see how peoples recipes or crafts turned out and to take pride in showing something successful I was able to do thanks to the pin. Thanks for the update.
Heather Bennett(Quote)
It sucks, but I kinda understand. Wish theyd do something about all the pins that lead to viruses and spam now that they don’t have to moderate picture comments.
Grump(Quote)