SAN FRANCISCO — Pinterest confidentially filed paperwork to go public, according to two people familiar with the decision, joining a stampede of high-profile start-ups heading toward the public markets.

The company, which has an app and a website that allow people to save images and links to virtual pin boards, filed its paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission in early February, the people said. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the filing publicly.

Private market investors have valued Pinterest at $12 billion. In September, it was expected to top $700 million in revenue last year, a 50 percent increase from 2017. At the time, it had 250 million monthly active users.

Mike Mayzel, a Pinterest spokesman, declined to comment.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Pinterest had filed the paperwork with regulators.