Pinterest is prompting teens to close the app at school
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Summary
Pinterest is testing a new pop-up which will prompt minors in the US and Canada to close the app and turn off notifications during school hours.
The prompt will only be displayed to minors aged between 13 and 17, and will only show between 8am and 3pm on weekdays.
Pinterest claims it is the first tech company to trial such a feature with the intent to help students focus, building on top of CEO Bill Ready’s pledge to support kids’ online safety and phone-free school policies.
The move comes as New York is set to enforce a statewide ban on phone use in schools, with several US states and European countries already having implemented policies prohibiting or limiting phone use in educational institutions.
As well as the prompt, Pinterest is also providing a $1m grant to the International Society for Technology in Education to help school leaders develop policies that improve students’ digital wellbeing.