You’re scrolling through a sea of mid-century modern living rooms or maybe looking for that specific infographic on sourdough hydration. You find the perfect one. Now you want it on your phone or your desktop, but the interface feels like it’s trying to hide the exit. Honestly, Pinterest is a bit of a walled garden. It wants you to stay on the platform forever, pinning things to boards that you might never look at again. But sometimes you just need the file. You need to know how to save an image from Pinterest so you can actually use it for a mood board, a wallpaper, or a reference photo while you’re at the hardware store.
It’s not as straightforward as a right-click sometimes. Especially on mobile.
The Desktop Method: More Than Just a Right-Click
Most people think you just right-click and "Save Image As." Sometimes that works. Often, it doesn't. If you do that on the main feed, you might end up saving a low-resolution thumbnail that looks like it was taken with a potato.
First, click the image to open the "Pin" in its expanded view. Look for the three little dots (...) usually located in the top right or bottom right of the image block. This is the "More" menu. Click that, and you’ll see Download image. That is the gold standard. It pulls the highest resolution available directly from Pinterest's servers.
If you're using a Mac, the "Control + Click" shortcut serves the same purpose as a right-click. But again, avoid the browser's native save function if the Pinterest-specific download button is available. The browser might try to save the entire webpage as an HTML file or a WebP image, which can be a pain to open in older software.
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What if the download button is missing?
It happens. Some creators or specific types of pins (like promoted ones) might have restricted menus. In this case, you can try the "Open image in new tab" trick. Right-click the image, select "Open image in new tab," and then save it from there. This bypasses the Pinterest UI overlays that sometimes block the save function.
Mobile Users: The App Experience
On the Pinterest app (iOS or Android), the process is slightly different but arguably faster once you know where the buttons are hidden. You don't need to long-press the image like you do on Instagram. In fact, long-pressing on Pinterest usually opens a "quick action" wheel that lets you send the pin or save it to a board, but not to your device.
Tap the pin to open it. Look for the three dots in the top right corner. Tap them. Select Download image. You’ll probably get a pop-up asking for permission to access your photos. Say yes.
The image usually drops into a folder named "Pins" or just your main "All Photos" album. If you’re on an iPhone and it doesn't show up, check your "Recents" album in the Photos app. Android users should check the "Downloads" or "Pinterest" folder in Google Photos or their native gallery app.
The High-Resolution Secret
Ever noticed how some images look crisp on the site but blurry when you save them?
Pinterest uses a lot of compression. To get the best quality when figuring out how to save an image from Pinterest, you have to ensure you are at the source. Many pins are actually links to external websites—blogs, shops, or portfolios. If the Pinterest download looks grainy, click the image once more to visit the original source website. Often, the blogger or photographer has a higher-quality version of the image there. You can then use your phone's native "Save to Photos" or the desktop "Save Image As" on the actual source file.
It’s more work. But if you're planning on printing the image or using it for a professional design project, those extra clicks are the difference between a sharp 300 DPI image and a pixelated mess.
Dealing with WebP Files
This is the modern bane of the internet. You think you're saving a JPG, but your computer downloads a .webp file. Chrome and Edge love this format because it’s small. However, your basic photo viewer might hate it.
If you end up with a WebP, you can:
- Rename the extension to .jpg (sometimes works, but it's "dirty").
- Use an online converter like CloudConvert.
- The Pro Tip: Use a browser extension like "Save image as Type" for Chrome. It allows you to force the download into a PNG or JPG format directly from the right-click menu.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Just because you can save it doesn't mean you own it. This is the part people ignore until they get a DMCA takedown notice or a grumpy email from an artist. Pinterest is an aggregator. Most of the content there is "borrowed" from somewhere else.
If you are saving an image for personal inspiration—like a haircut idea to show your stylist—you’re fine. If you’re saving a piece of digital art to repost on your own Instagram or, heaven forbid, use in an ad for your small business, you are stepping into a legal minefield. Always check the "Source" link. If it leads to an Etsy shop or a professional portfolio, the image is copyrighted. Reach out to the creator or look for a license if you plan to do anything beyond just looking at it on your phone.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
"I hit download but nothing happened."
Check your storage. Pinterest won't tell you that your phone is full; it just won't execute the command. Also, ensure the app is updated. Older versions of the Pinterest app are notorious for "broken" download buttons where the UI registers the tap but the background process fails.
Another weird glitch: Private boards. If you are trying to save an image from a "Secret Board" that was shared with you, sometimes the permissions get wonky. Try moving the pin to a public board first, then downloading it. It’s a strange workaround, but it works surprisingly often.
Browser Extensions
If you are a power user—maybe a researcher or a designer—saving images one by one is a nightmare. There are browser extensions like "Image Downloader" that can scrape every image on a Pinterest page and download them in bulk. Use these with caution. They can be heavy on your CPU, and they often pull every tiny icon and UI element along with the photos you actually want.
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Bulk Saving and Boards
Technically, Pinterest doesn't want you to bulk download. They want you to keep those images on their platform. If you need to save an entire board to your computer, you’re looking at third-party tools. Sites like WFDownloader can handle Pinterest boards, but they require a bit of a learning curve. You provide the URL of the board, and the software crawls the page to find the direct links to the source images.
This is particularly useful for wedding planners or interior designers who have 500+ pins and need to move them into a local folder for offline client presentations. Just remember that the more you automate, the more likely you are to trigger Pinterest's "bot" detection, which might temporarily lock your account. Keep your bulk downloads at a reasonable speed.
Practical Next Steps
Stop just "pinning" things you actually need. Start a dedicated folder on your computer or a "Reference" album on your phone.
- Open your most important Pinterest board.
- Go through the top 10 pins.
- Use the three-dot menu to download the high-res versions.
- Move them into a cloud storage folder like Dropbox or Google Drive.
This protects your inspiration. Pins disappear all the time. Links break, users delete their accounts, or Pinterest removes content for violating new terms of service. If a photo is critical to your project, the only way to ensure you keep it is to get it off the platform and onto your own hardware.
If you find yourself constantly getting WebP files, go to the Chrome Web Store and install a "Save image as Type" extension today. It will save you hours of conversion frustration in the long run. Lastly, if you're on mobile, double-check your "App Permissions" in settings to make sure Pinterest actually has "Full Access" to your photos, otherwise, that "Download image" button will remain a useless decoration.