Pinterest is facing a GDPR complaint from the privacy organization noyb over personalized advertising aimed at European users. The complaint, sent to France’s data-protection authority CNIL in October 2024, alleges that Pinterest relied on “legitimate interest” instead of affirmative consent and did not fully answer a data-access request about recipients of the complainant’s information.
The case remains pending in the latest available update. Pinterest says its personalized-advertising practices comply with the GDPR. No final finding, fine or remedial order against Pinterest has been established in the available material.
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What is Pinterest accused of?
The complaint was filed by an unnamed Pinterest user represented by noyb, the European Center for Digital Rights. It names Pinterest, Inc. as the controller and was submitted to France’s CNIL.
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noyb’s complaint raises two separate issues:
- The legal basis for personalized advertising. noyb alleges that Pinterest processed European users’ personal data for personalized advertising under GDPR Article 6(1)(f), which covers legitimate interests, rather than obtaining consent under Article 6(1)(a).
- An incomplete access response. The complainant allegedly asked Pinterest to provide access to her personal data. noyb says Pinterest did not adequately identify the categories of recipients or third parties with whom the data had been shared, even after follow-up requests.
The precise filing date is reported differently in noyb’s materials, so “October 2024” is the safest description.
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What data and activity are involved?
According to noyb, the complainant found that Pinterest’s ads-personalization setting was enabled by default. The complaint concerns processing associated with personalized advertising, rather than establishing that every Pinterest cookie, advertising signal or tracking technology is part of the case.
Pinterest’s own help documentation says personalization can involve activity both on and off Pinterest. Its examples include:
- Activity involving Pins on Pinterest.
- Visits and purchases on external websites or apps using Pinterest technology.
- Pinterest tags installed on third-party websites or apps.
- Customer lists supplied by advertisers.
- Other information supplied by third parties.
These examples describe Pinterest’s published personalization practices. They should not be read as proof that every mechanism was used in the complainant’s case or that Pinterest tracks every European user in the same way.
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Under GDPR Article 6(1)(f), a company may process personal data when it has a legitimate interest, provided the processing is necessary and the individual’s rights and freedoms do not override that interest.
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noyb argues that Pinterest’s commercial interest in personalized advertising does not outweigh users’ privacy interests when tracking is enabled by default and users are not first asked for consent. The complaint says Pinterest should instead have relied on affirmative consent.
That is a legal argument made to CNIL—not a final ruling that Pinterest violated the GDPR.
How the Meta judgment is relevant
noyb’s argument relies heavily on the Court of Justice of the European Union’s July 4, 2023 judgment in Meta Platforms v Bundeskartellamt, Case C-252/21. The CJEU’s summary says direct marketing can, in principle, qualify as a legitimate interest. But processing must still be necessary, and the company must balance its interest against the person’s rights, expectations and the impact of the processing.
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noyb says that reasoning undermines Pinterest’s reliance on legitimate interest for default personalized advertising. The judgment does not automatically decide Pinterest’s case: it concerned Meta, and CNIL would need to examine Pinterest’s actual configuration, disclosures, processing activities, user expectations and legal basis.
It is therefore inaccurate to say that the CJEU banned legitimate interest for all personalized advertising. The legal question is fact-specific.
What has Pinterest said?
Pinterest rejected the allegations and told TechCrunch that its approach to personalized advertising is GDPR-compliant.
Pinterest also said it does not serve personalized advertising to people under 18 in the European Union and United Kingdom. That statement addresses the company’s position on younger users; it does not resolve the complaint’s separate allegations about legal basis, default settings or the access request.
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What remedies is noyb requesting?
According to the complaint and noyb’s announcement, the requested remedies include:
- Deletion of data processed unlawfully for personalized advertising.
- Notification to recipients that the data has been deleted.
- Completion of the complainant’s access request, including information about recipient categories.
- A deterrent fine or other enforcement action.
These are requests made by noyb. They are not orders imposed by CNIL, and the request for a fine does not establish that a fine will be issued.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is the status of the case?
noyb’s latest available case-status page describes the complaint as pending and under investigation by CNIL. The page records procedural developments in 2025, including noyb’s requests for access to correspondence between CNIL and Pinterest and CNIL’s refusal to provide that correspondence.
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- A final CNIL decision.
- A fine against Pinterest.
- A finding that Pinterest breached the GDPR.
- A confirmed change to Pinterest’s European advertising-consent model.
- A final determination of which Pinterest entity is responsible as the lead controller.
CNIL could seek more information, assess Pinterest’s processing and legal basis, coordinate with other European authorities, require corrective measures, impose a penalty, or close the matter without the remedies requested by noyb. The eventual outcome cannot be predicted from the complaint alone.
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Can European users disable Pinterest’s personalized advertising?
Pinterest’s current help guidance says users can review personalization controls through their account settings:
- Open Pinterest account settings.
- Select Privacy and data.
- Review the available personalization options and disable the options you do not want enabled.
- Separately review device-level advertising and tracking controls.
Pinterest also describes controls for off-Pinterest activity, browser-level preferences, mobile advertising settings and Apple’s App Tracking Transparency controls. The exact labels and available options may vary by country, app version, account type and operating system. Business accounts and iOS 14.5 or later may have different behavior.
Turning off personalization may reduce behavioral targeting, but it does not necessarily stop all advertising or all data processing. Contextual advertising, security, account-operation and other necessary processing may continue. Account, browser and device settings can also operate independently.
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What happens next?
The central issue is whether Pinterest’s particular use of personal data for personalized advertising could lawfully rely on legitimate interest, or whether the circumstances required consent. CNIL would also need to assess whether Pinterest properly complied with the complainant’s Article 15 access request.
The Meta judgment gives noyb an important legal precedent to cite, but it does not determine the outcome. Until CNIL issues a decision, the accurate description is that Pinterest faces a serious privacy complaint—not that Pinterest has been found to be illegally tracking European users.
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