How to Remove Revenge Porn & Intimate Images (2026 Guide)

If intimate images of you have been shared without your consent, or someone is threatening to share them, take a breath. You can act right now, and there is a clear path forward. This guide walks you through exactly what to do, in order, using free tools and legal protections that did not exist a few years ago. Nothing about this situation is your fault, and asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Here is the short version so you can start immediately. First, preserve evidence by taking screenshots and saving links. Second, use a hash-matching tool (StopNCII.org if you are an adult, or Take It Down by NCMEC if the images were made when you were under 18) so the images get blocked across many platforms at once. Third, report the content to the platform hosting it, which now must act within 48 hours under federal law. Fourth, ask Google to remove it from search so it stops appearing when people look up your name. Each step is explained in detail below.

One urgent safety note before anything else. If you feel unsafe, if a current or former partner is involved, or if you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please reach out to someone now. You can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US, and you can reach the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Crisis Helpline free and confidentially at 1-844-878-2274, available 24/7. Your safety matters more than any image on a screen.

Act now, but breathe: your first hour

The most useful thing you can do in the first hour is stay methodical rather than panicked. Reacting emotionally, such as messaging the person who posted the content or the platform without a plan, can sometimes make things harder. Work through the steps in this guide in order. If your mind is racing, that is completely normal, and it is exactly why a checklist helps: it lets you make progress even when you do not feel calm.

Do not delete anything yet, and do not confront the person who shared the content. Deleting the evidence can weaken a future report or legal case, and contacting the perpetrator can escalate the situation. Instead, spend your first hour documenting what exists and starting the removal tools described below. If a minor is involved in any way, skip ahead to the hash-matching section and go straight to Take It Down by NCMEC and law enforcement.

Preserve the evidence before you report

Before you ask anyone to take the content down, save proof that it existed. This protects your ability to report a crime, pursue civil action, or escalate if a platform ignores you. It takes only a few minutes and it is worth it.

Capture the following for each place the content appears. Take a screenshot that shows the image or post along with the surrounding page. Copy the exact web address (URL) of the page and, if possible, the direct link to the image or video. Note the username, profile, or account that posted it. Record the date and time you found it. If there are captions, comments, or messages (especially threats), screenshot those too. Save everything into a single folder, and consider emailing copies to yourself so there is a timestamped backup.

If you received threatening messages, save the full conversation, including the sender's handle and any phone numbers, email addresses, or payment requests. Do not respond to them. This documentation is what law enforcement and the FBI will ask for, and it is far easier to gather now than after content starts disappearing.

Block the images everywhere at once with hash-matching

The single most powerful free tool available to you is hash-matching. Instead of chasing the content from site to site, a hash tool creates a unique digital fingerprint of your image and shares only that fingerprint (never the image itself) with participating platforms so they can detect and block it automatically.

If you are an adult (18 or older), use [StopNCII.org](https://stopncii.org/). Operated by the UK-based Revenge Porn Helpline, StopNCII lets you select the intimate images or videos on your own device and generates a hash locally. As their team explains, the hash is sent but the image itself never leaves your device. Participating platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Bumble, OnlyFans, Pornhub, and others (with Google recently joining), use that hash to find and remove matching content and to block it from being uploaded again. You can hash images even if they have not been posted yet, which is useful if you are being threatened.

If the images or videos were taken when you were under 18, use [Take It Down by NCMEC](https://takeitdown.ncmec.org/). This free service from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children works the same way, assigning a hash on your device without the file ever being uploaded. It is built specifically for content involving minors, and participating platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Yubo, OnlyFans, and Pornhub use the hashes to remove and block the material. Sexual images of a minor are illegal to possess or distribute, so also report to law enforcement and to the NCMEC CyberTipline.

Be aware of what hashing can and cannot do. It works only on participating platforms, so it will not reach every corner of the internet, and it does not remove content already shared through private messaging or on encrypted services. It is still the fastest way to knock out the largest share of the problem in one move, so start here.

Report the content to each platform, step by step

For any site showing the content, file a report directly with that platform. Thanks to the 2025 TAKE IT DOWN Act, covered platforms in the US are now required to have a clear removal process and to act on valid requests within 48 hours. When you report, state plainly that the content is a non-consensual intimate image of you shared without your consent.

Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads): Use the report option on the post itself, and see Meta's guidance page on what to do if someone shares an intimate image of you without permission. Meta also honors StopNCII hashes, so submitting there covers Meta platforms automatically.

X (formerly Twitter): Report the post and the account under X's non-consensual nudity policy, using the report flow on the tweet and selecting the option for intimate media shared without consent.

TikTok: Use the report button on the video or account and select the category for non-consensual intimate imagery or harassment. TikTok is a StopNCII partner.

Reddit: Report the post to Reddit through its involuntary pornography reporting form as well as to the specific subreddit's moderators. Reddit participates in StopNCII.

Snapchat: Use the in-app reporting on the Snap or story, and Snapchat's support site has a dedicated flow for reporting nudity or sexual content shared without consent. Snapchat is a StopNCII partner.

For adult websites and smaller sites, look for a report abuse, DMCA, or content removal link, usually in the footer or on a dedicated compliance page. Reference the TAKE IT DOWN Act and state clearly that this is non-consensual intimate imagery. Keep a copy of every request you send and note the date. If a covered platform fails to remove the content within 48 hours, or has no working removal process, you can report the platform itself to the FTC at [TakeItDown.ftc.gov](https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/). The FTC's consumer guidance on image-based abuse explains this process.

Get it out of Google Search

Removing content from a website is one job. Removing it from Google Search results is a separate one, and it matters because search is how most people would ever find it. Google offers a dedicated process for non-consensual explicit imagery. On a search result image, click the three dots, choose Remove result, and then select the option that reads It shows a sexual image of me. You can submit multiple images in one form, and you can opt in to filtering that proactively hides similar results going forward.

You can also use Google's help page for removing explicit or intimate personal images to start a request directly, and track its status through Google's Results about you hub. Removing a result from Google does not delete the content from the site hosting it, so do both: ask the host to take it down and ask Google to de-index it. If the content appears on Bing or other engines, each has a similar removal request form worth submitting too.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act and your legal rights

In May 2025, the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act was signed into law, and its platform requirements took full effect in May 2026. This is a major shift in your favor. The law makes it a federal crime to knowingly publish, or threaten to publish, non-consensual intimate images of an identifiable person, and it explicitly includes AI-generated images and deepfakes that depict a real person.

The part most useful to you day-to-day is the notice-and-removal requirement. Covered platforms that host user-generated content must provide a clear way to request removal, and once they receive a valid request from you or your representative, they must remove the content within 48 hours and make reasonable efforts to remove identical copies. Enforcement sits with the Federal Trade Commission, which can pursue platforms that ignore the rule. The FTC's alert on what enforcement of the TAKE IT DOWN Act means for you is a plain-language summary worth reading.

Beyond federal law, every US state now offers protection. As of 2025, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws criminalizing the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, with South Carolina becoming the final state to do so in May 2025. These laws vary, and many also allow you to sue the person who shared the content for money damages. A local attorney or the CCRI Crisis Helpline can help you understand what applies where you live.

Deepfakes and AI-generated images

If someone has created fake sexual images or video of you using AI, whether by editing a real photo or generating one entirely, you are still protected, and you should treat it exactly like any other non-consensual intimate image. The TAKE IT DOWN Act specifically covers digital forgeries and deepfakes of real, identifiable people, so the same 48-hour platform removal requirement applies. You do not have to prove the image is real to get it removed; you have to show it depicts you without consent, and a fabricated image absolutely qualifies.

Report deepfakes through the same platform flows and the same Google removal process described above, and make clear in your report that the content is a fabricated or AI-generated sexual image of you. StopNCII can hash a deepfake just as it hashes a real image. Because AI images can be generated in variations, opting into Google's proactive filtering and keeping the platform reports on file is especially helpful here.

Use DMCA when you own the copyright

There is one more lever that is easy to overlook. If you personally took the photo or video, for example a selfie or something you filmed yourself, then under US copyright law you are the copyright owner, and you can file a DMCA takedown notice demanding the host remove it. This is a separate legal path from the privacy and NCII rules, and it can work quickly because most websites and hosting providers respond to DMCA notices to protect themselves from liability.

To file, locate the site's designated DMCA agent or copyright contact (often in the footer or terms of service), and send a written notice that identifies the infringing content by URL, states that you are the copyright owner, and includes the required good-faith statements and your signature. Many hosting companies and search engines have online DMCA forms. If the content sits on a site that ignores everything else, a copyright claim is sometimes the fastest way to force action. Note that DMCA applies only if you created the image; if someone else took it, rely on the NCII tools and laws instead.

Sextortion: do not pay, and report it

If someone is threatening to release intimate images unless you send money, more images, or anything else, that is sextortion, and it is a crime. The most important guidance from the FBI is simple: do not pay and do not comply. Paying rarely makes it stop. It signals that pressure works and often leads to more demands, and offenders frequently release the material regardless. Stop responding, but do not delete the conversation.

Report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at [IC3.gov](https://www.ic3.gov/). You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov. Bring the evidence you preserved: the account details, messages, payment requests, and any images. If a minor is involved, report immediately to the NCMEC CyberTipline and law enforcement. The FBI has also warned that some for-profit companies prey on sextortion victims, so be cautious, and know that reporting to law enforcement and reputable non-profits is free. If you already paid, that does not disqualify you from getting help, so report anyway.

Protecting yourself going forward

Once the immediate crisis is handled, a few steps reduce the chance of recurrence and help you regain a sense of control. Tighten your accounts: change passwords, turn on two-factor authentication, and review who has access to your cloud photo backups and devices. Search your own name and known usernames periodically so you catch any reappearance early, and keep your evidence folder in case you need it again.

Pre-emptively hashing your images through StopNCII or Take It Down means that if the content resurfaces on a participating platform, it can be blocked automatically. Set a Google Alert for your name so you are notified if it appears in new indexed pages. And be gentle with yourself through this. Many people find that talking with a counselor or a support organization helps as much as the technical steps, because the emotional weight of this is real and deserves care.

When to get professional help

You can absolutely handle much of this yourself with the free tools above, and many people do. But there are moments when bringing in help makes sense: when content keeps reappearing across many sites, when a platform or foreign host ignores your requests, when the material is spreading faster than you can report it, or simply when you would rather not have to look at it and manage it yourself while you focus on your life.

Free support is available right now. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative runs a Safety Center and a 24/7 Crisis Helpline at 1-844-878-2274 offering guidance, referrals to attorneys, and emotional support at no charge. If you want a professional team to manage removals confidentially on your behalf, Reputation Resolutions offers revenge porn removal, sextortion help, OnlyFans leak removal, and broader content removal and negative image removal services. We have handled more than 5,000 engagements across 40+ countries since 2013, we work confidentially, and you pay after removal is confirmed. Whatever path you choose, please know this is survivable, help is real, and you do not have to face it alone.