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Just did a Google image search and I got hundreds of images. A large number of them came from pInterest. When you click on the link, you're required to either log into the site or use their app before you can look at the content. This also happens when using text searching.

Meanwhile, I'm developing a site for a client and Google Search Console is flagging all kinds of issues it's finding with mobile friendliness, such as wether the page requires too much scrolling, button placement, etc. The site is actually usable.

I can't fathom how a site that obstructs visitors from merely seeing their content unless they log in or run an app is considered mobile friendly. It is more puzzling that the content is mostly user generated links to other public sites. Why can't Google present those links directly? Is this web payola or some other reason?

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    FWIW I seem to have quite a "good" experience using Pinterest on mobile - having followed a link in Google image (and text) search. (?) It looks mobile friendly to me - I can easily read everything without zooming/scrolling. I'm not prompted to login or "open in the app" (which you should only get if you have the app already installed - I do not). Sure, there is a small banner suggesting to download the app, but this is easily dismissed. Tried Google Chrome and Firefox on Android and iOS, as well as Safari on iOS.
    – MrWhite
    May 19, 2020 at 10:21
  • I will bet you that you're preauthenticated through Facebook or Google.
    – ATL_DEV
    May 20, 2020 at 4:11
  • I'm not "preauthenticated" - I get prompted to create an account using one of those methods, which can be dismissed. After a couple of clicks on Android/Chrome there was a small notification at the bottom to login, but this was easily dismissed by scrolling. However, after more clicking I do eventually get the annoying/persistent pop-over prompting to "sign up to see more". This "delayed" login prompt is maybe what allows Google to index and rank these pages? Any "first-click" from the SERPs appears to display a mobile friendly page with the intended information and no popup. (?)
    – MrWhite
    May 30, 2020 at 11:57
  • @MrWhite My point exactly! The interface is obstructive, preventing anyone from navigating the web in the way it was intended. I am not advocating Pinterest should change their site, but questioning why Google would rank them so high yet beat everyone else up about mobile usability. I suspect Pinterest detects bots and allows them to crawl the pages without the intrusive JavaScript.
    – ATL_DEV
    Jun 4, 2020 at 13:55

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I guarantee Google is flagging issues with Pinterest's mobile friendliness too, left and right. The problem (and yes, I consider it a problem that Pinterest ranks in google search because it's so user-hostile), is that Pinterest has so many quality backlinks that Google overlooks its flaws and ranks it highly anyways.

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