Pinterest adds Private Messaging to Functionality

Pinterest logoSocial discovery platform Pinterest has added a new feature enabling users to chat in a private window.

Users start conversations by sending a Pin (a bookmarked image or video) to another user along with a message, but subsequent messages dont need to include Pins, working in the same manner as other chat and text services. Users will also be able to send group messages.

Private messaging is an increasingly major focus for social networks, with Facebook paying out $16bn (£9.5bn) to acquire WhatsApp, and both Twitters Vine and Facebooks Instagram added private messaging in the past year.

Pinterest hopes its own messaging function will differ from other offerings by making users chat about specific Pins they have shared, and future projects they are planning, making for more engaging conversations beyond casual chatting.