How to create a secret board Secret boards on Pinterest let you save and organise Pins that aren’t visible to anyone else on the site. The exact labels and buttons vary between the mobile app and website, but the basic steps are the same:
- Sign in to your Pinterest account on the app or website. - Go to your profile and choose the option to create a new board (often a + or "Create board"). - Give the board a name and, if you want, a short description. - Look for a visibility or privacy toggle and set it to "secret" (or similar). - Create the board.
Once the board is secret, its Pins won’t show up on your public profile or in other people’s searches. Only people you explicitly invite can see and contribute to it.
If you already have a board you want to make private, open the board, choose Edit (or the gear/menu icon) and change the visibility setting to secret. You can reverse this later by switching it back to public.
When to use secret boards and privacy notes Secret boards are handy for anything you don’t want broadcast on your public profile. Common uses include:
- Gift planning and surprise parties — keep wishlists and ideas hidden until the reveal. - Personal moodboards — interiors, fashion ideas, recipes or fitness plans you’re not ready to share. - Work-in-progress projects — drafts, research and private inspiration for a freelance or personal project. - Collaboration — invite a small group to pin to the board while it remains hidden to everyone else.
A few important privacy tips:
- Secret doesn’t mean invisible to the platform. Pinterest’s systems and policies still cover content on private boards, and the service retains access as described in its terms and privacy policy. Treat secret boards as private from other users, not a place for highly sensitive personal data like passwords or bank details. - If you pin images or links that come from public websites, those sources may still be accessible separately. Don’t assume a secret board removes every trace of the content from the web. - Be careful when inviting collaborators. Anyone you invite can see and add Pins; if they change the board to public, the content may become visible to others depending on the platform’s options.
Tips for organising secret boards - Use clear names and descriptions so you can find boards later, especially if you have several private boards. - Create sections inside a board to separate themes or stages of a project, if the platform supports it. - Regularly review who has access and remove collaborators when a project finishes. - Delete a secret board if you no longer need it — that removes the Pins from your account (though copies elsewhere will remain).
Secret boards are a simple and useful way to keep parts of your Pinterest life private while still enjoying the organising and inspiration features. Check the app or website’s help pages if buttons or wording differ — the functionality and where the controls appear can change over time.
