Pinterest shows the label “AI modified” on Pins when the IPTC metadata indicates AI, its own classifiers detect AI, or the owner has indicated AI use. On regular Pins it appears in close-up at the bottom left.
On promoted Pins, the notice sits behind the ellipsis menu and is not visible without a tap. Your own visible label may therefore still be needed.
What Pinterest requires
According to Pinterest Help:
- Pinterest checks a Pin's metadata against the IPTC standard and uses classifiers that detect AI even without obvious markers. Some Pins carry the label because the owner indicated AI use.
- For Pins that are not promoted, “AI modified” appears in close-up at the bottom left after tapping the Pin.
- For ads, the notice is behind the ellipsis menu. It can say that the Pin was modified with AI or includes an AI-generated person.
- To appeal a label, contact Pinterest support.
Without metadata, Pinterest says it cannot always tell whether a Pin was made with AI.
How this relates to your Article 50 duty
Anyone who uses an AI system professionally to generate or manipulate image, video or audio content that is a deep fake must disclose it (Article 50(4) AI Act). A retailer is that deployer when it, or a contractor working to its instructions, uses AI for product or advertising images (guidelines, paras. 12 and 14). The duty follows the image, not the platform: it applies in your own store just as on a marketplace. Whether an image is affected is answered by the labelling check.
A label that only appears after a tap or behind a menu is not visible without interaction. For ads this is explicitly the case. If an image needs a label under Article 50, put it visibly into the image.
Pinterest is on the Commission's list of very large online platforms. Under the guidelines, deployers may rely on such a platform's labelling tools within that platform if the tools allow a clear and distinguishable disclosure, and only in the context of that platform (para. 126). How far this carries for a given tool is not settled. A platform label that appears only sometimes, or only after a click, does not automatically replace your own visible disclosure.
Steps
- Check every AI image with the labelling check.
- Write the IPTC field into the file, for example with Write AI metadata. It is the signal Pinterest reads.
- Indicate AI use when uploading, where Pinterest offers it.
- If the image needs a label, upload a copy with the label burned in, made with Label an AI image.
Not legal advice. Platform rules change; the platform's current wording is what counts. A label does not make a misleading image lawful.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my real photo show “AI modified”?
Besides metadata, Pinterest uses classifiers, which can be wrong. Contact Pinterest support. Do not remove metadata to avoid the label.
Is the Pinterest label enough for Article 50?
Pinterest is a very large online platform, where deployers may rely on platform tools under conditions (guidelines, para. 126). A notice behind a menu, however, is not visible without interaction.
Which IPTC value does an AI image need?
For images created entirely with generative AI, trainedAlgorithmicMedia; for photos edited with AI, compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia. More under AI metadata.
Sources
All sources read in full. Paragraph numbers (para.) refer to the European Commission's guidelines on Article 50, C(2026) 5054.
- Pinterest Help: Gen AI labelsPinterest · Platform · 11 Oct 2026
- IPTC NewsCodes: Digital Source TypeIPTC · Standard · 23 Oct 2024
- European Commission: list of designated very large online platforms and search enginesEuropäische Kommission · Commission · 7 Sept 2026
- Commission Guidelines on the transparency obligations under Article 50 AI Act, C(2026) 5054 finalEuropäische Kommission · Commission · 20 Jul 2026
Not legal advice. This content explains the law based on primary sources; it does not replace an assessment of your individual case.
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