Do you know that saying “history repeats itself”? If you were around when Pinterest first launched in 2010, you know that the app was originally invite-only—which ended in 2012 when Pinterest dropped its exclusive policy and became open for all. But low and hold, Pinterest is back serving its A-list creators with Shuffles. Now, what is Shuffles from Pinterest? It’s a new, invite-only app for creating collages from your Pinterest boards. According to its description, users can do anything from curating fashion inspo to creating mood boards to designing room aesthetics. Although some say it’s changing a much bigger game.
The up-and-coming app broke the internet when creators started posting talk of its epic mood boarding capabilities, secret codes and level of exclusivity. Those lucky enough to snag a code to join the app are rewarded with three (sometimes up to five) invite codes back to keep sharing with others.
But why would Pinterest return to its once exclusive status? In recent years, Pinterest has seen a huge wave of users joining the app to increase their following on other social platforms. Essentially, users re-post an Instagram photo onto Pinterest for users to click on and be re-directed back to Instagram—essentially exiting the Pinterest app to spend time on another social platform. We can assume the Shuffles app may be Pinterest’s way of rewarding its OG creators for being creative on the app and using it with the right intentions.
How Shuffles Works
Once you download and open Shuffles, you’re asked to log into your Pinterest account. Next, you’ll see a list of all the Pinterest boards you’ve ever created. Clicking on a board name will open up all the pins you’ve saved. From there, you can choose which photos you want to use to create a brand-new collage. The app is already saving users tons of time creating digital art. Unlike other creator apps, such as Picsart where you download an image and hand cut each element, Shuffles recognizes objects and automatically cuts them out for you.
Other in-app features include adding text, searching for photos from within the Pinterest app that you don’t already have saved to collage with, and re-shuffling. Re-shuffling allows users to re-mix any collage on the app, which will link back to the original creator as inspired by and create a library of user-generated content that links back to all of your pins.
And if you’re still not convinced Shuffles is on the come-up, think again. Users are predicting the collage-maker will be a key player in the success of social media managers and business owners. They envision the tool to be used for posting challenges, creating templates for customers and hosting giveaways.
How To Get An Invite Code
Here comes the dicey part: snagging a coveted invite code for Shuffles. We did the research, and there are at least four ways to start your Shuffles account.
- Ask A Creator: If you know anyone in the creative sphere—think graphic design or digital marketing—keep them close. These are the types of industry professionals that just might already have access to the app to give you code.
- Enter A Giveaway: Users on social platforms like Instagram and TikTok are sharing invites through giveaways. For most, it’s as simple as a like, follow, comment, or re-share.
- Shuffles Code Train: We love a good thread on Reddit or Twitter. If you search for Shuffles, you’ll find users are creating threads where people can find codes and leave codes for others as they get them—similar to a ‘pay it forward’ system. While this might be the hardest way to grab an invite code, as people are constantly swooping up codes the second someone posts them, persistence is key. One Shuffles user said it took her almost 30 minutes of refreshing the page until she was finally able to get a code that wasn’t already used.
- Pay Cold, Hard Cash: Believe it or not, there are money-makers out there pawning off their invite codes. Some codes go for as little as $2. Others, as much as $120.
If all else fails, you can download the app and hit “Join the waitlist.” Shuffles will ask to enable notifications, so you’re notified once you get accepted into the creator tool. How long the waitlist is? That no one knows. The introduction screen does say Shuffles is invite-only right now, so hopefully, that means they plan to expand access to all—a la original Pinterest.
