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Pinterest Users Can Now Block Users, Report Indecent Content

(CNET) — Despite Pinterest's clean image, some smut does work its way onto the site -- and now the company is doing something about it.

The social network announced today that it's rolling out a new feature that lets users report and block questionable activity. People will be able to block other users, flag certain pins, or report an entire user profile for review.

Here's more from a blog post by Pinterest software engineer Dannie Chu:

"Blocking prevents both of you from being able to follow each other's boards as well as like, repin, and comment on each other's pins. When you block someone, the other person is not automatically notified. However, a blocked person will know they've been blocked if he or she tries to follow you or interact with your pins."

Having millions of users and being one of the top three social-networking sites comes with its negatives.

For Pinterest, these downsides entail users pinning banned items that include nudity, pornography, attacks on a group or individual, graphic violence, hateful speech or symbols, self-harm promotion, and spam.

Along with the blocking and reporting feature, Pinterest also announced new e-mail settings today. As it is, users can sign up for notifications when someone repins an item, writes a comment, and likes a pin. Now, Pinterest is adding even more e-mail settings that users can adjust, such as weekly recommendations, updates to group boards and more.

Pinterest will be rolling out these features throughout this week. The block and report feature will also be available for mobile with the next app update.

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