Update: Pinterest now lets you disable Picked For You pins! Go to your profile, then press the settings button (a hexagonal bolt). Scroll down to "Home feed", then switch 'Show "Picked for you" Pins in your home feed' to 'No'.
Thank you all for your kind comments and bug fixing for this script. I hope it was useful.
It's no secret that I love Pinterest more than is really okay. They've started doing this thing where they show you "Picked for you" pins on your homepage, interspersed with your friends' pins. I quite like the curated pins they choose, but sometimes I like to just see what my friends have been up to.
You have the option to go through and deselect all of your boards, which I assume would prevent you from getting "Picked for you" pins at all. However, I wanted something a little less permanent, so I've made a bookmarklet.
The easiest way to use it is to drag the following link onto your bookmarks toolbar:
Remove Picked For You
Then, if you go to pinterest.com and click on your new bookmark, the "Picked for you" and "Promoted by" pins will have disappeared.
To keep the pins hidden, you have to click on the bookmark every time you load the page. However, there's a browser add-on for Firefox (or Iceweasel) called Greasemonkey, which lets you run little bits of javascript all the time. First, install Greasemonkey. Then, copy the text below:
// ==UserScript==
// @name Remove Picked For You
// @namespace bethmcmillan.com
// @include *
// @version 2
// @grant none
// ==/UserScript==
function hide_picked_for_you() {
divs=document.getElementsByClassName("creditFooter");
for(i=0;i<divs.length;i++)
{if (divs[i].innerHTML.indexOf('Picked for') != -1)
{divs[i].parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.style.visibility='hidden';}
}
divs=document.getElementsByClassName('creditName');
for(i=0;i<divs.length;i++)
{if (divs[i].innerHTML.indexOf('Promoted') != -1)
{divs[i].parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.style.visibility='hidden';}
}
}
window.setInterval(function(){
hide_picked_for_you();
}, (5000));
Next, click on the Greasemonkey icon in your browser (usually in the top right), go to "New User Script", then "Use Script From Clipboard". Now, when you go to Pinterest and click on the Greasemonkey icon again, there should be the option "Remove Picked For You". If you tick it, you'll see that the pins disappear. For Google Chrome, there's an extension called Tampermonkey, which works in the same way.
If the script or bookmark aren't working for you, try reinstalling them from this page, as I might have updated the code. If this doesn't fix it, tell me in the comments. The latest code is always available on Github.
Hey guys. Currently bending someone's ear at help about this. I refuse to close this ticket.
Anyway, in the mean time, you can block each board they use to "Pick just for youuuuu!!!" individually by choosing "Block all from this board" when you click the X.
I haven't seen one of these things in days.
Bless you, Beth! I too like some of the pins they pick for me and even pin quite a few of them, but sometimes you JUST want to see what your friends have been pinning. All my buddies were getting lost of the sea of Picked-For-Yous! This is perfect!
P.S. The "I hate my friends" link is fun as well! LOL!
Thank you :)
This is brilliant, thanks so much! The "picked for you" was driving me crazy!
I only want to see boards I've subscribed to in my feed, not other ones - if I want to see more of a particular thing I'll just search for it!
You have the option to go through and deselect all of your boards,
Where is this option?
Hi Lisa,
When you see a "Picked For You" post, there's a little cross at the bottom right that you can click, which comes up with the option "Hide all pins inspired by this board".
-Beth
I clicked on the x on the Picked for You pins and then chose 'Hide all pins related to my ____ board'. After doing this on several pins, the Picked for You pins were gone. Hope it lasts!
^ Ignore- I read more closely and see that Beth addressed this option! No need to post.
Thank you so much! I don't mind the "picked for you" pins in general, but I don't like getting ideas for Christmas decorations in March. I do seem to have to keep pushing the button as I scroll down through my feed but that's not a big deal. Thanks again!
Thank you for this. Even though you said there were some problems using the link with Chrome I tried it anyway and it worked great! Shocked to see though almost half of my feed went away. Crazy how much they're "spamming" us now. I guess it was only a matter of time before Pinterest became like so many other sites.
Using the Hide All Pins Associated with This Board worked for me! Could it be that Pinterest listened to us? I hope it lasts, and that we don't find a new avalanche of promoted pins in our home feeds. Thank you, Beth, for sharing your expertise with us!
Thank you!!
Hi Beth,
I tried to drag the links to my bookmarks bar, but it only highlights the text as I drag. I tried clicking & dragging all around the links as well. It is just treating them as plain text. I also tried to use "inspect element" to try to find the associated link, but no luck. I am using Chrome as my browser.
Thank You.
Hi,
Just wanted to say thanks for this! I'd already gotten rid of 'picked for you' pins by clicking the 'x' and hiding all from my boards. Am trying to hide all 'promoted' pins (they drive me nuts!!). I installed Greasemonkey (running FF), clicked on the icon in upper right corner, click on 'New User Script'. The page that comes up does not have any '"Use Script From Clipboard" option. No clue what to do, any help would be greatly appreciated!
Also, your "Removed Picked for You" link, above, doesn't link to anything for me and I cannot drag it either.
Oops, I briefly broke the link! Dragging should work now.
Nevermind, I deleted then reinstalled the add-on and now I can add your script. Thanks so much!
My comment disappeared, I still can't drag the links to my bookmarks bar. It treats them as if they're plain text & highlights the paragraph as I try to drag the "link."
Oops, I briefly broke the link! Dragging should work now.
I'm excited to use this. I just don't quite understand how to get the link bookmarked. I tried highlighting and dragging it but it did nothing. When I click or hover on it, there's no link there. I also tried the Greasemonkey script, but it didn't do anything for me - maybe I'm installing it incorrectly in Greasemonkey? I tried pasting it, but I couldn't find a field that worked to enter the script into. I also tried pasting the script automatically from the clipboard and it doesn't do anything. I think it's great you're sharing these, I just wish I was technically inclined enough to figure out how to install them, let alone write them!
Oops, I briefly broke the link! Dragging should work now.
I can't seem to drag the link at all. I've tried three different browsers. What am I doing wrong??? Thanks!
Oops, I briefly broke the link! Dragging should work now.
Can you please post the details of the bookmark so that I can paste it into a bookmarklet for safari? Dragging it doesn't work on a phone.
Oops, I briefly broke the link! Dragging should work now.
Beth, this sounds like a great bookmarklet! Except the links are no longer there? I check the code and its just:
<p><a>Removed Picked For You</a></p>
?
Oops, I briefly broke the link! Dragging should work now.
Track*
How do I drag your links into my toolbar? On Mac Safari. When I hover over the "Removed Picked For You" and "I Hate My Friends" "link" there is no link info/URL to bookmark. What am I missing? Thanks!
Oops, I briefly broke the link! Dragging should work now.
Thanks!!
Cool! Works in Safari!!! Thank you.
You, madam, are a NATIONAL HERO. I had seen your comments on other blog articles about it but never got around to trying it. Would just go to pinterest every once in a while to see if it still sucked and would ragefully sign out. Now I can enjoy my favorite timesuck once again! Yay!!!
p.s. LOL at how empty my home feed is now! It's about half blank space with the "picked for you" pins removed.
Hi! I just wanted to pop in and say that I installed Tampermonkey for Chrome and then added the script in your article, and it works. There's a couple of seconds' delay before the Picked For You pins disappear, but I can live with that! So, thank you very much. :)
Thank you so much! I am so glad to have found your site. After removing the picked for you pins I am left with about a quarter of the page. The number of unwanted pins on my board is beyond ridiculous but getting rid of them made my day!
Thank you for this! I just pinned it and will spread it far and wide.
Thank you for making this tool. I've just broken off my engagement, and I kept opening Pinterest to a feed full of suggested wedding related pins and wedding dresses. Now I don't have to see those things anymore. Thank you.
You can use the same bookmark link idea to remove "Promoted by" pins as well. Just make a copy of the "remove picked for you" on your bookmark bar, right click the copied bookmark and select edit. Under the URL, replace the text "Picked for you" with "Promoted by" and click save.
Good idea, Rebeca! I've updated the link above to do much the same thing.
This is great! I do find myself, however, sometimes wanting to see some of the picked for you pins. How can I modify what you have given here to allow for two saved scripts in greasemonkey that I can switch between as I choose? Thanks!
I think it should be something like:
The easiest thing to do is just use the Greasemonkey button to turn the script on and off when you like.
for those who had trouble dragging the bookmarklet to the toolbar:
do not highlight it to drag, just click on it + hold down, it will appear in a small grey box which can be dragged to the toolbar. You can rename it later by clicking on the toolbar entry and clicking Edit on the drop down menu.
This is great! Thanks so much :)
YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!
Thanks for helping me get rid of "picked for you"!!!
Thank you. Thank you! Thank you!!
Viva la awesome script writers!
*mwah*
Thank you! Any way you can do this to stop those annoying "promoted" pins?
I've updated the post so that there's a new link to drag and drop, which should sort the problem out (let me know if it works - I don't actually see any "promoted by" pins)
Thanks for this, the promoted pins have been driving me CRAZY lately.
YOU ARE A GODSEND!!!!
Love this so much! Sometimes I just want to see the people I follow, but sometimes I want to see it all. It's great to have a way to easily see my pinterest feed both ways. Thank you for sharing this
You are my hero! I was about to deactivate my account. Now, if there was a fix for pins appearing out of chronological order, I'd be happy with Pinterest again. And, I'm not crazy about the upcoming "Buy" pins either. Thank you for sharing this fix!
I'm not sure how to use this, or if it works on Safari browser, but I would love it!! When I click on the link in Safari, nothing happens.
Thank you. Thank you so very much. I can not believe how insistent Pinterest has been at trying to hobble the elements of it that I like the best.
First THANK YOU!!!! I had stopped pinning because those pins were driving me nuts!
Does this work if you use their app?
WOW - this is great, but I can't believe how many holes there are. I didn't know they were forcing that many on us. If you hate "Picked for you" go here and give Pinterest feedback.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OIIFuQJ7Tc9FvwDI9R4APgD_8Hm1-fpCfL0iX3s1rvE/viewform?fbzx=4350400058163568906
Thank you so much for sharing your work with us! Pinterest should be grateful to you for creating this bookmarklet. Without it, I would just avoid visiting Pinterest or cancel my account.
YESSSSSSSSSSS! Thank you! And to second what Libby said above, wow. I had no clue so many were "picked for you". Thank you again!!!
Thank you so, so much. Honestly, I was ready to quit, as the "Picked for You" pins were taking all the joy out of Pinterest for me.
This is brilliant. THANK YOU!
I LOVE YOU! It looks so nice and airy between my pins now too. Lovely feeling...
You, my lady, are a saint. I've been hoping someone cleverer than me would write a script to kill those horribad Things from the Dungeon Dimensions already. Thank you!