Doxxing in Singapore: What the Law Says and What to Do Now

Doxxing in Singapore, meaning publishing someone’s personal details such as their home address, phone number or photo to harass, threaten or endanger them, can be a criminal offense under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA). If you’ve been doxxed, put your safety first, save evidence of the posts, report them to the platform, make a police report, and consider applying to the Protection from Harassment Court for a protection order. You can also report certain online harms, including doxxing, to the Online Safety Commission.

This guide covers what the law says and the practical steps, in the order most people need them. It’s general information, not legal advice; for your specific case, speak to a Singapore lawyer. If you feel you’re in immediate danger, call 999 or SMS 70999 now.

First: are you safe right now?

Doxxing is frightening because it moves a dispute from a screen to your front door. Before anything else, deal with the physical risk.

• If there’s a threat of violence, or someone has turned up at your home or workplace, call 999. SMS 70999 if you can’t speak.
• Tell the people who share your address, so family or housemates know not to open the door to strangers or share details with callers.
• Alert building security or your condo management if you have it, and your employer’s security or HR team if your workplace was posted.
• Vary routines for a while if your schedule or regular locations were shared.
• Look after yourself. Being doxxed is distressing. Samaritans of Singapore (1767) and National Mindline 1771 offer round-the-clock support, and our help resources page lists more services.

What counts as doxxing under Singapore law

POHA doesn’t use the word “doxxing” as a headline offense. Instead, its provisions in section 3 and section 5 cover publishing a person’s identity information with a particular intent:

• intending to cause harassment, alarm or distress to that person, or
• intending to make them believe violence will be used against them, or to facilitate violence against them.

“Identity information” is broad. It covers information that identifies or purports to identify a person, such as their name, photo, home address, phone number, email address or identity numbers. The provisions can also cover publishing information about someone related to the target, such as a family member.

Intent and context matter. Some illustrations, in general terms:

Scenario	How it’s likely to be viewed
After an online argument, someone posts your home address and urges others to “pay a visit”	Squarely the kind of conduct the doxxing provisions target
A post shares your workplace and phone number with a call to “flood” you with complaints	Likely to raise POHA concerns, depending on intent and effect
A business publishes its own registered address and contact line on its website	Not doxxing
A news report names a company director in a story about a court case	Generally not doxxing, although other laws may apply if it’s inaccurate

Information being findable elsewhere doesn’t automatically make it fine to weaponize. The question is generally about why it was published and what effect it was meant to have. Whether a particular post crosses the line is a question for the police, the courts or a lawyer, not something we can decide for you. Our guide to POHA in Singapore explains the wider law.

Step 1: Preserve the evidence

Save proof before you report, because posts often disappear once platforms act or the poster gets nervous.

1. Screenshot each post so the account name, date, time and content are visible.
2. Copy the URL of every post, comment and profile involved.
3. Record where it spread: group names, repost counts, and which platforms it appeared on.
4. Keep related messages, calls or visits that followed, with dates.
5. Store it safely, somewhere backed up and private, in one folder.

Don’t reshare the post yourself, even to warn others, because that spreads your details further. If the doxxing includes intimate images or anything involving a minor, don’t save or forward that content; report the link to the platform and the police, and use the support listed on our help resources page.

Step 2: Report it to the platform

Most major platforms prohibit posting people’s private information without consent, and many have a specific reporting option for it. Use the in-app report tool on each post, choosing the option for private information, doxxing or harassment. If you have a police report number, some platforms’ escalation forms let you include it.

If your details also show up in search results, Google has removal routes for certain personal information, including contact details shared with harmful intent. Our guide to Google’s Results about you tool covers one of them. Removing the source post is still the priority, because search results follow the source.

Step 3: Make a police report

You can lodge a police report online through the Singapore Police Force’s e-services, or at a neighborhood police center. Include your evidence log and links. Depending on the facts and the offense involved, the police may investigate, or may explain other options such as a Magistrate’s Complaint. Keep your report number: it’s useful for platforms, for the court and for your employer if your workplace was involved.

Step 4: Consider a protection order

POHA lets you apply to the Protection from Harassment Court for a protection order, which can require the person to stop the conduct, stop contacting you, and remove the post. In some cases, orders can extend to others who republish the same material. If the situation is urgent, you can ask for an expedited protection order, a temporary order that can be made quickly while the main application is decided.

Applications are generally filed online through the State Courts’ systems, and the procedures are designed so people can apply without a lawyer, although advice helps. If you want compensation, POHA also allows a civil claim for damages, which is a bigger step to discuss with a lawyer.

Step 5: Use the Online Safety Commission

Singapore’s Online Safety Commission, set up under the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act passed in 2025, began operating in 2026. Victims can report certain online harms to it, including doxxing, and it can direct platforms and perpetrators to act, without you having to start court proceedings. Whether it expects you to report to the platform first depends on the harm, so check its official website before you file.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client. Nur, a freelance photographer, posts a critical review of a wedding vendor. The vendor’s friend replies in a public group with a photo of Nur, the name of her HDB block and her unit number, writing that “someone should teach her a lesson.”

• Safety first. Nur tells her family, and because the post hints at violence, she calls the police rather than waiting.
• Evidence. She screenshots the reply, the group name and the account, copies the links, and notes that two strangers have messaged her since.
• Platform report. She reports the post as private information and a threat. It’s removed within a day, but she already has her screenshots.
• Legal options. At a community legal clinic, a volunteer lawyer explains the protection order and expedited order routes, and the Online Safety Commission option. She applies for a protection order.

Nur can’t control how fast each route moves or what a court decides. But she’s safe, the post is down, and she has a clean record for every next step.

What not to do

• Don’t dox back. Posting the other person’s details can expose you to the same POHA offenses.
• Don’t engage publicly. A heated reply keeps the thread alive and visible.
• Don’t delete your own evidence before saving it, even if you want the thread gone.
• Don’t pay anyone who promises certain removal. No one can honestly promise that; legitimate routes are platform reports, legal orders and search removal requests.
• Don’t assume POFMA applies. It’s a government power for public-interest falsehoods, not a route for personal harassment. Our POFMA guide explains what it covers.

Getting help

For legal advice, speak to a Singapore lawyer who handles harassment matters. Free or low-cost options include the Law Society’s pro bono community legal clinics, the Community Justice Centre for people going to court without a lawyer, the Legal Aid Bureau for those who pass its means test, and SHECARES for victims of online harms. Our help resources page has contact details. For general steps that apply anywhere, see our guide on what to do if you’ve been doxxed.

Once you’re safe, if your details or the dispute keep appearing in search results for your name, our personal reputation management service can help with removal requests and the search side, and we’ll tell you plainly what can and can’t be removed.

Frequently asked questions

Is doxxing illegal in Singapore?

Publishing someone’s identity information with intent to cause them harassment, alarm or distress, or to make them fear or to facilitate violence, is an offense under POHA. Whether a specific post meets that test depends on the facts, so report it and get legal advice.

What should I do first if I've been doxxed in Singapore?

Make sure you’re safe: call 999 or SMS 70999 if there’s any threat of violence. Then save screenshots and links, report the posts to the platform, make a police report and consider a protection order.

Can I get a doxxing post taken down?

Often, yes. Most platforms remove private information shared without consent when it’s reported, a POHA protection order can require removal, and the Online Safety Commission can direct platforms to act for certain harms. No route is certain, so use more than one.

Do I need a lawyer to apply for a protection order?

No. The Protection from Harassment Court’s procedures are designed so people can apply themselves. Advice from a lawyer, a community legal clinic or the Community Justice Centre can still help you prepare.