Dive Brief: 

• Pinterest made an announcement that it will be removing all affiliate links. 
• The social site broke the news in an email to "power pinners" that include affiliate networks like RewardStyle and Hello Society. 
• The news follows several announcements that show Pinterest is on its way to monetizing the platform including an app-install deal with Apple and a "buy" button. 

Dive Insight: 

The news seems pretty clear that Pinterest wants to clear up sometimes spammy and unpleasant affiliate links prior to fully monetizing the site. The reality is that Pinterest users come to the social site with shopping on the mind, which gives an advantage over other social sites for retail marketing. Pinterest could really take the lead on the intersection of e-commerce and social if it plays its cards right. 

Regarding the decision, Pinterest had this to say: "recently, we observed affiliate links and redirects causing irrelevant Pins in feeds, broken links and other spammy behavior. We believe this change will enable us to keep the high bar of relevancy and quality Pinners expect from Pinterest.”