Why Pinterest downloads look small
You download a pin and get a 70 KB file that looks soft on a big screen. Is it a thumbnail? Sometimes. Often, though, it's the original — just a small one.
The sizes Pinterest keeps
For every image, Pinterest stores the original upload plus several resized copies. Their addresses differ only in one part:
| Size in the address | What it is | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
236x | 236 pixels wide | Board grid thumbnails |
474x, 564x | 474 / 564 pixels wide | Larger grid tiles |
736x | Up to 736 pixels wide | The pin close-up view |
originals | The file as it was uploaded | Not shown directly on Pinterest |
Saving an image from the page usually gets you one of the resized copies. A downloader that "upgrades" to originals gets you the real file.
Why some originals are small
Pinterest never enlarges an image. If someone pinned a 555 × 987 wallpaper, the original is 555 × 987, and the 736x copy is the same file. Many popular pins are screenshots or re-saves of re-saves, so their originals are modest.
In one board we tested, about half of the originals were 736 pixels wide or less — exactly as their uploaders posted them.
How Moodstash handles it
- It asks for
originalsfirst and only falls back to the next size down if Pinterest won't serve the original. - Every ZIP's
manifest.csvlists the size each file came from (image_size) and its real pixelwidthandheight, read from the file itself. - When a download finishes, Moodstash tells you how many images are originals, the largest size, and how many originals were uploaded at 736 pixels or less.
Want a bigger version?
- Visit the source. Many pins link to the website they came from, which may have a larger version. The
source_linkcolumn in the manifest has every link. - Search by image. A reverse image search can turn up the photographer's or designer's original.
- Ask the creator — especially if you want to use the image beyond personal reference.