Pinterest is testing a new feature designed to help students stay focused during school hours by encouraging them to take a break from the app. The new pop-up prompt will be shown to minors aged 13 to 17 in the U.S. and Canada, urging them to close the app and pause notifications until the end of the school day.
“Focus is a beautiful thing,” the message reads. “Stay in the moment by putting Pinterest down and pausing notifs until the school bell rings.”
This feature will be available between 8 AM and 3 PM, Monday to Friday, specifically targeting school hours. Pinterest states that the feature will be tested on a large scale, reaching “millions” of users. The initiative is part of Pinterest’s broader effort to support the Kids Online Safety Act and align with growing movements to make schools safer from digital distractions.
“We believe that schools can take advantage of all that technology has to offer students, while minimizing the harms and distractions,” said Wanji Walcott, Pinterest’s Chief Legal and Business Affairs Officer. She added that tech companies need to collaborate with educators, parents, and policymakers to ensure smartphones are tools, not distractions, in the classroom.
Pinterest is also backing its efforts with a $1 million grant to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) to help school leaders foster a healthy digital culture within schools.
In the U.S., states like New York are moving closer to implementing a statewide ban on phones during school hours, while several European countries, including Denmark and France, have already banned phones in schools.
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