Pinterest Teams Up With Apple to Promote App Pins

Pinterest has teamed up with Apple to enable users to discover apps via a new type of pin that leads to the App Store.

Called App Pins, the new feature will include an “install” button, which lets users download the application to an iOS device without being taken to a page outside of Pinterest.

App Pins are the only one of six “Rich Pins” that are actionable. Launched in May 2013, Rich Pins are Pins that include extra information, such as prices and locational availability on Product Pins, and maps and contact information on Place Pins.

The new feature is the latest in a series of enhancements that aim to make Pinterest more attractive to marketers. It’s also another step forward in its mobile strategy.

Three-quarters of Pinterest’s traffic comes from mobile. Pinterest has at least 70 million users – that figure is outdated and likely too small; the company doesn’t publicly release membership statistics so the only available information is from a nearly two-year-old Semiocast study. Out of all those users, only 25 percent primarily pin from desktop.

For now, App Pins is only compatible with the iOS App Store. As the feature only launched last night, Android may be included in the future.