Time flies: Pins has been out on the App Store for a little more than a year. Pins 2022.1 is the first major update with A LOT of new features.
Link Expansion
AutoFill Metadata has been upgraded to support link expansion: Pins will take care of shortened URLs like bit.ly and t.co when you send them to the app. This also includes support for articles saved from Apple News.
First: AutoFill Metadata will not only suggest title/description but also expand shortened links (like https://t.co/UXLzA4w24J, https://t.co/GoilvFGToR) and handle Apple News article URLs. No more cryptic https://t.co/AqeAqirl68 links in your bookmarks! pic.twitter.com/TwoR7Y6CUC
— Pins for Pinboard (@GetPinsApp) October 27, 2021
This feature is free to all existing and new Pins users.
Remove Trackers from URLs
Bookmarks saved from around the web usually have tracking parameters attached to them: utm_source, fbclid, you know these things when you see them. These can be used to track the effectiveness of online marketing campaigns across traffic sources.
A new option called “Remove Trackers from URLs” are added to Pins 2022.1 which let you remove 103 different types of tracking parameters automatically. Turn this on and your bookmark URLs will look much nicer than before.
Second: Remove tracking parameters from URLs. Say goodbye to utm_source, fbclid, or whatever marketers are using to track you these days. At launch there will be a blocklist of 100+ parameters. pic.twitter.com/bQ1i1vAQTA
— Pins for Pinboard (@GetPinsApp) October 27, 2021
Tracker removal (along with Tag presets and Alternate app icons) requires unlocking the full feature set of the app. No extra purchases are required if you have done so any time in the past. As always, Pins is a one-time upgrade.
Tag Presets
This new feature lets you set up different sets of tags to apply to bookmarks with certain domains or subdomains.
For example, you want to tag links from MacStories, 9to5Mac, and MacRumors with “apple news”, so you set up a preset to automatically apply these 2 tags to URLs from these sites. pic.twitter.com/KEbJTHiEoE
— Pins for Pinboard (@GetPinsApp) January 2, 2022
Or, you can set up frequently used set of tags for the kind of things you save often, like “cli terminal bash” or “astronomy science space universe”. When saving/editing a bookmark, you can quickly choose between these without having to type anything. pic.twitter.com/n5uvFAgz9q
— Pins for Pinboard (@GetPinsApp) January 2, 2022
Or, if you’re researching certain topics, you can set up temporary presets like “research macos monterey” or “playdate console” for easy access. Once the project is done, these can be set to inactive or deleted outright.
— Pins for Pinboard (@GetPinsApp) January 2, 2022
The possibilities are endless.
Alternate App Icons
Last but not least, Pins 2022.1 comes with a brand new app icon courtesy of Parakeet and a few other icons from Matthew Skiles. Hope you enjoy these! (You can always go back to the original Pins 1.x icon if you are used to it.)
If you want to learn more about Pins, feel free to follow the app updates on Twitter at @GetPinsApp or my personal account at @quanganhdo.