Contents
- 1 Pinterest just introduced a new feature that will make it easier for users to share what they’re seeing in the real world as inspiration for their Pins.
- 2 Called “Lens Your Look,” the new tool is a part of the app’s existing Lens feature that allows users to browse items and save them on Pinterest.
- 3 Users can take up to five photos at once and search for similar items across categories like home, fashion, and food.
- 4 “We’re really excited about this update because it makes Pinterest more accessible,”
- 5 Bottom Line
Pinterest just introduced a new feature that will make it easier for users to share what they’re seeing in the real world as inspiration for their Pins. The feature, called “Lens Your Look,” uses the same technology as the existing Lens feature, but with a different focus: instead of focusing on the user’s appearance and style, the new feature allows users to take photos of real-world objects and get results—similar to shopping features on Instagram and Snapchat.
According to Pinterest, Lens Your Look is designed specifically for fashion and home decor ideas. In addition to allowing users to take photos of everyday items like shoes or plants and get results, it will also allow them to put together outfits using their smartphone camera. Users can also build projects by taking photos of multiple items at once; up to five photos can be used at a time. Like with other Lens features, artificial intelligence is used to power this new tool; according to Pinterest, AI has been trained on “millions of images” in order for Lens Your Look to be created.
Up until now, Pinterest offered a visual search tool that could identify objects within Pins and link to related products. Now, though, the site is rolling out a feature that allows users to take pictures or upload existing images from their device’s camera roll to its mobile app and then see products similar to those featured in the image. The new feature differs from other image-recognition services in that it goes beyond merely identifying the object—the user can limit the search by category or price range as well. It also means that Pinterest has made its visual search tool far more accessible than before: Users no longer need an active Internet connection or an account with Pinterest—they simply need their camera roll and the Pinterest app.
The move makes sense for Pinterest—it combines two of its most popular features (visual search and shopping), offers a richer user experience, and reflects our increasingly mobile lifestyles
Called “Lens Your Look,” the new tool is a part of the app’s existing Lens feature that allows users to browse items and save them on Pinterest.
Called “Lens Your Look,” the new tool is a part of the app’s existing Lens feature that allows users to browse items and save them on Pinterest. With Lens Your Look, you can take up to five pictures at once, which makes it easier for users with visual impairments and limited mobility to access the feature.
Pinterest announced Monday that it was expanding its Lens shopping tool from the camera screen to a new “visual search” bar at the top of users’ home screens.
The update aims to make Pinterest more accessible for users who might have difficulty using a smartphone camera, or prefer not to use one at all.
Pinterest says that making its tools more accessible also helps other types of users — including those who are too busy, or simply don’t want to use a smartphone camera.
Users can take up to five photos at once and search for similar items across categories like home, fashion, and food.
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“We’re really excited about this update because it makes Pinterest more accessible,”
The new Pinterest update is exciting, because it makes the platform more accessible. That’s according to Pinterest product manager Hiral Shah, who told TechCrunch that the company wanted to make it easier for users to “share what they care about from outside of Pinterest.”
For example, a user could open their camera app on their phone and snap a picture of a sweater they like in a store window. Then, rather than copying and pasting the url or typing out a long description about where it can be found online, they can simply send the image to Pinterest, which will then search for visually similar items available for purchase. The feature will also be useful if you want to share images you’ve already taken on your phone. If there are details you want to include with your image (such as an article you’re pinning), all you have to do is add them when prompted by the app.
Bottom Line
Pinterest is trying to give itself a leg up on the competition, and it is safe to say that this new feature is a strong start. In addition to other image search engines like Google Images, Pinterest hopes that combining Lens Your Look with its existing pin-it capability will make it even easier for Pinners to navigate the site’s extensive inventory of ideas. It also doesn’t hurt that Lens Your Look combines technology with something many users already do: snapping a photo. For example, if you see a dress you like, you can “lens” it and find similar items elsewhere—like a mass market retailer or another online store—instead of having to resort to memory when online searcher later come across the same item of clothing. It’s also not surprising that Pinterest included outfit recommendations in its Lens Your Look platform; it has always had an eye on fashion, and recently released an algorithm-based suggestion system for users to follow.
