Pinterest Opens API Platform To All Developers

Pinterest is throwing open its API sandbox to all developers.

This summer, the social bookmarking network gave API access to selected developers, leading to integrations with Polyvore, IFTTT and, this month, Topshop.

Today, the company announced that developers no longer need to be pre-approved to start working with the levers to integrate Pinterest with their sites and apps. Pinterest software engineer Zack Argyle explained in a blog post:

Once you’ve read and agreed to our terms and policies, you’ll be able to add a select number of testers and collaborators to help you build your app. After someone authenticates, you’ll get access to their Pins, boards, profiles and follows. If you have the ID of the object, you can retrieve its information — otherwise, you can fetch info for authenticated users.

When third-party apps are ready to launch publicly, developers need to submit them to Pinterest for review and approval. Pinterest says developers have submitted more than 5,000 ideas for apps and integrations, including recipe recommendation apps, travel planning apps, gift registry integrations and publisher integrations.

Fashion retailer Polyvore and Internet automation service IFTTT, whose integrations have been around the longest, are experiencing very good results, Pinterest says. Polyvore’s traffic from Pinterest increased by 35 percent, and the number of Pins saved from the site has jumped tenfold. The number of Pins from IFTTT has grown 33 percent week over week.

You can read more information about the API sandbox on Pinterest’s engineering blog.

About The Author

Martin Beck

Martin Beck was Third Door Media's Social Media Reporter from March 2014 through December 2015.