Pinterest opens site to all, no longer invite-only

Pinners, rejoice! The image-sharing social network Pinterest has opened itself up to the public, ditching an invite-only policy that had drawn ire from some potential users.

Previously, people needed invites to become members and "pin" online images onto its virtual "boards."

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Now all users have to do is visit the Pinterest home page and create a new account using a Facebook, Twitter or email account, BBC News reported.

A post on the company's official blog announced the new open sign-up policy on Wednesday:

"We're really excited to have the capacity to offer Pinterest to more people and if you're a Pinner with friends who've been waiting on the sidelines, we hope you'll let them know. Happy pinning to everyone!"

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Launched in 2010, Pinterest became the fastest-growing website ever, passing 10 million users in just nine months. It is currently the third most popular social network (behind Facebook and Twitter) as ranked by marketing service Experian, The Huffington Post reported.

Pinterest's value may be as high as $1.5 billion, after securing a $100 million funding round in May, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The site has had its shares of ups and downs. In February, it had to address concerns about users pinning copyrighted material.

The company nows allows sites to opt out of being featured on Pinterest by adding a line of web code.