Your intimate images were shared without consent: what to do
What is happening to you is not your fault, even if you sent the content yourself or agreed at first. The law protects you in most countries, and major platforms have priority procedures for this kind of content.
What to do first
- Write down the links (web addresses) where the content appears, with the date. Don’t download or forward the content itself.
- Report each link with the platform’s official form, choosing the category for intimate content shared without consent.
- If you’re an adult, create a digital fingerprint on StopNCII.org: partner platforms can then block new uploads of the same image, without the image ever leaving your phone.
- Also ask Google and Bing to remove it from search results: both have forms dedicated to intimate images.
By platform
- Facebook Report an intimate photo or video shared without consent
- Instagram An intimate photo of you was posted without your permission
- WhatsApp Report intimate images being sent or spread
- TikTok Report an intimate image shared without your consent
- X (Twitter) Report an intimate photo or video posted without consent
- YouTube Privacy complaint: video or image of you posted without permission
- Snapchat Report intimate photos shared without your permission
- Telegram Get an intimate photo or video removed from Telegram
- LinkedIn Report an inappropriate post or message
- Reddit Intimate images shared (or threatened) without your consent
- Pornhub (Aylo) Request removal of a video or photo posted without your consent
- Google (Recherche) Remove intimate images or videos of you from Google
- Bing / Microsoft Report content to Microsoft / Bing (intimate images, abusive content)
- StopNCII.org Stop your intimate images being shared (18 and over)
- Take It Down (NCMEC) Intimate images taken when you were under 18
What to avoid
- Never pay someone who threatens to publish: paying rarely stops blackmail.
- Don’t contact the person who posted it directly, especially if they’re threatening you.
- Don’t delete threatening messages: they are evidence.
Your remedies by country
- TAKE IT DOWN Act: asking for an intimate image to be removed A US federal law requires online platforms to remove an intimate image posted without your consent, whether real or AI-generated, no later than 48 hours after a valid request. It protects anyone who can be recognised in the image.
- DSA: reporting illegal content to a platform (EU) In the European Union, any service that hosts content (social network, forum, sharing site…) must let you report illegal content online, examine your notice carefully and tell you its decision. It works for any content that breaks the law: intimate images, fake profiles, defamation, personal data…
- Intimate images shared without your consent in France In France, sharing an image or recording of a sexual nature without your consent is a criminal offence, even if you agreed to it being taken or took it yourself. You can ask the platform to remove it, file a police complaint and, if the site does not respond, complain to the CNIL (the French data protection authority).
- Sexual deepfakes: what you can do in France Since May 2024, sharing without your consent a sexual montage, or a sexual image, video or audio made by AI that reproduces your face or voice, has been a criminal offence in France. It does not matter that the content is fake: that is exactly what the law targets.
- Spain: the AEPD Priority Channel for intimate images In Spain, the data protection authority (AEPD) runs a Priority Channel to request the urgent removal of sexual or violent photos, videos or audio posted online without consent. It is separate from a complaint to the police or the prosecutor.
- Under 18 in Spain: if an intimate image of you is shared If you are under 18 and intimate or violent photos, videos or audio of you are posted without your permission, it is not your fault and help exists. In Spain, the data protection authority (AEPD) has a special form for minors to ask for them to be removed.
- When a domain registrar ignores your abuse report: ICANN A .com, .net, .org or other generic-extension site is registered through a “registrar” (a domain name registration company). Its contract with ICANN requires it to receive abuse reports, investigate them and respond appropriately. If it does not, you can complain to ICANN.
- StopNCII: help stop your intimate images being shared StopNCII.org is a free tool that creates a “digital fingerprint” of your intimate images on your phone or computer (a code calculated from the image that lets it be recognised without being seen), without uploading them. Partner platforms use this fingerprint to detect and remove those images.
- Intimate image taken before you were 18: Take It Down Take It Down is a free, anonymous service from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), a US child protection organisation. It helps remove or block, on participating platforms, nude, partially nude or sexual photos or videos of you taken before you were 18. It is never your fault.
- GDPR: asking for your personal data to be erased In the European Union you can ask a website, company or service to erase data about you (photo, name, address, post…) in the cases set out in the GDPR. It must reply within one month, and it is free.
- Right to be forgotten: asking Google or Bing to delist a link In the European Union you can ask a search engine to stop showing, when people search your name, a link to a page about you. This is called “delisting”: the page stays on the original site, but becomes much harder to find.
- DMCA: requesting removal of a photo or video you created The DMCA is a US copyright law. If a photo or video you created (for example a selfie) is posted without your permission on a service subject to US law, you can send a “DMCA notice” asking for it to be removed.
If it doesn’t work
An official form can go unanswered or be wrongly refused. That’s not the end: there are other doors, heavier but effective — the company hosting the site, the company managing its domain name, the laws of your country, the data protection authority. That’s exactly what we do for you, with your agreement.
- Reporting to the platform
- A written request to the site owner
- The domain name registrar
- The hosting company
- Search engines
- The authority or the courts
Common questions
What if I sent the photo myself?
Sharing an image with someone doesn’t give them the right to publish it. You can ask for removal by explaining that you do not, or no longer, consent to it being shared.
How long does removal take?
It depends on the site. Major platforms often answer within a few days. In the US, the TAKE IT DOWN Act requires covered platforms to remove the content within 48 hours of a valid request. Small anonymous sites take more steps.
Should I go to the police?
It’s your choice. Sharing an intimate image without consent is a crime in many countries, including the US, the UK, France, Spain and Mexico. You don’t need a police report to request removal, but it’s recommended if there are threats or blackmail.
This information helps you use your rights. It doesn’t replace advice from a lawyer.