- Speculation that OpenAI could buy Pinterest sparked an intense backlash from some Pinterest users
- They are concerned AI would disrupt one of the internet’s last largely user‑curated creative spaces
- The rumor, which originated as a prediction rather than a reported deal, nonetheless boosted Pinterest’s stock price.
The idea that OpenAI might acquire Pinterest was born of a speculative predictions piece from The Information, but it was enough to fire up outrage among many Pinterest users and boost Pinterest’s stock price even without any sort of official statement. Across Reddit and other corners of the internet, longtime Pinterest users didn’t hesitate to voice their revulsion over the potential move.
The original prediction framed the acquisition as a logical extension of OpenAI’s strategy. The company could exploit Pinterest’s rich image archive, existing advertising channels, and connections to stores to help build out its own generative commerce ambitions.
OpenAI’s image models and Sora video generation tools are already advancing quickly. Pairing them with Pinterest’s consumer-facing curation engine and catalog of buyable inspiration might be a shortcut for its goals. That probably helped lead the stock uptick for Pinterest.
But Pinterest’s users are concerned about more than logistics or stock prices. They have questions about control and creativity in the wake of OpenAI acquiring the platform they spend so much time on. A dislike of the idea of AI filling their digital scrapbooks suffused the reactions.
On Reddit’s r/Pinterest, the backlash was fast and emotional. “But seriously this is genuinely depressing. I hate AI being shoved in to every corner of my life. wrote one user. “I know we JUST started the new year, but I need it to be April Fools so bad right now,” wrote another.
Many voiced the opinion that Pinterest feels like the last social platform that still feels like it belongs to its users. People use it to collect ideas, plan renovations, gather recipes, design weddings, map out fantasy bookshelves, and other speculative dreams.
Some promised to download their boards and walk away from the platform entirely if the purchase actually happened. Many didn’t like the idea that their creative ideas, mood boards, or just half-formed plans could become training fodder for AI tools.
Pinterest users AI opposition
While AI-generated images and summaries are baked into Google results, Amazon listings, Canva templates, and even weather apps, Pinterest’s use of AI has been mostly experimental, involving visual search, personalized feeds, and a ChatGPT-style search tool. But the user experience still centers on manual curation. You pick what goes on your board.
Arguably, that digital behavior built around collecting and visual thinking may be exactly what OpenAI wants to tap into. That mismatch between intent and perception is why the speculation feels so charged.
To be clear, there’s no concrete deal underway. The Information’s prediction was one of many forward-looking statements about 2026, not a report based on insider intel. Neither company has confirmed any interest. But even without real movement, the reaction shows that the mere possibility is enough to ignite a cultural flare.
If OpenAI were to acquire it, the brand would likely need to work overtime to reassure users that their boards wouldn’t become raw material for machine learning pipelines. The intensity of the reaction suggests that the story of AI’s consumer integration is far from settled. People are still deciding where they draw the line. And some may just go offline entirely rather than be forced into the AI space.
“I was a beta user of Pinterest in 2010. 3 years later when Google reader was taken down I went and pinned all of my saved blog posts. I’ve planned parties, designed my living spaces, made wishlists and figured out my personal style and in addition I’ve learned to be a better person and parent,” one Reddit user wrote. “I am so bummed by this, it’s a massive loss. More reason to go offline.”
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