How to Remove Intimate Images Shared Without Consent

To remove intimate images shared without consent, report each post directly to the platform hosting it, use a free hashing tool (StopNCII.org for adults, NCMEC’s Take It Down if you were under 18 in the image) to help stop re-uploads, and ask Google to remove the images from search results. Under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, covered platforms must remove non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated fakes, within 48 hours of a valid request.

If this is happening to you, it is not your fault, and you don’t have to handle it alone. The steps below are in the order that usually works best, and you can ask someone you trust to help with any of them.

First, make sure you’re safe

Before you think about removal, think about your safety. If someone is threatening you, demanding money or more images, or you believe you’re in physical danger, contact local police. Call 911 in an emergency.

If someone is demanding payment or more images in exchange for not sharing content (often called sextortion), stop responding, don’t pay, and keep a record of the messages. Paying rarely ends the demands. The FBI accepts reports of sextortion, and the platforms involved can act on the accounts making the threats.

You can also talk to someone. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative runs a free, confidential Image Abuse Helpline for people in the US, available 24 hours a day at 844-878-2274. Its advocates offer information, emotional support and referrals, though not legal advice. Our help resources page lists other organizations that can help.

Step 1: Record where the images are

For adults, a simple record makes every later step easier. You don’t need to look at the images again to do this, and a trusted friend can do it for you.

1. List every link (URL) where the images appear, plus the account name or username that posted them.
2. Note the date you found each one.
3. Save any messages, threats or demands, with the sender’s name and the date.
4. If you choose to take screenshots, store them somewhere private and secure, not in a shared photo library.

This record helps with platform reports, with Google, and with police or a lawyer if you decide to go that route.

Step 2: Report the content to each platform

Every major social network, messaging app and video site bans intimate images shared without consent, and most have a specific report category for it. Look for options such as “nudity or sexual activity,” “sharing private images” or “non-consensual intimate imagery” in the report menu, or search the platform’s help center for its intimate image report form.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed into federal law in May 2025, makes these reports carry more weight. Covered platforms, which include social media, image and video sharing, messaging and gaming services, must provide a way for you to request removal, then remove the content and known identical copies within 48 hours of a valid request. The Federal Trade Commission began enforcing that requirement on May 19, 2026.

A valid request generally needs:

• your physical or electronic signature (or that of someone authorized to act for you);
• enough information to identify and locate the image, such as the link;
• a brief statement that you believe in good faith it was published without your consent;
• a way for the platform to contact you.

The law also makes it a federal crime to knowingly publish intimate images of someone without consent, including realistic AI-generated fakes. If a platform ignores a valid request, you can report it to the FTC through its website.

Step 3: Use a hashing tool to help stop re-uploads

Hashing tools create a digital fingerprint of an image on your own device. Only the fingerprint is shared, not the image, and participating platforms use it to detect and block matching uploads. You don’t need to send the image to anyone.

Tool	Who it’s for	How it helps
StopNCII.org	Adults who were 18 or over when the image was taken	Shares hashes with partner platforms, which include several major social networks, so they can detect and remove matches under their own policies
Take It Down (NCMEC)	Anyone whose image was taken when they were under 18, including adults today	Shares hashes with participating platforms; you don’t have to give your name

Both tools only work on participating platforms, and each lists its partners on its website. They can’t remove images from the whole internet, and they don’t cover sites that refuse to take part. That’s why platform reports and Google requests still matter.

Step 4: Ask Google to remove the images from search

Google bans non-consensual intimate imagery and has a dedicated request process for removing it from Search, including AI-generated or synthetic images that falsely depict you. You can start from the image itself in Google Images using the three-dot menu and the option to remove the result, or from Google’s Search Help pages for explicit or intimate personal images. Google now lets you include several images in one request.

Google removes the result from its search, not from the website hosting it. So combine this step with platform and site reports. Our guide on removing images from Google covers reverse image searches for finding copies, and how to clear old thumbnails once a page is taken down.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client.

A woman in her thirties learns from a friend that an ex-partner has posted private photos of her to a social media account and a small image-sharing site, with her first name in the caption.

1. Safety and support: she tells a close friend, who handles the searching so she doesn’t have to see the images again. She calls the CCRI helpline to understand her options.
2. Record: the friend lists the links, the account name and the dates.
3. Platform reports: she files intimate image reports on the social network and a written takedown request to the image site, stating she didn’t consent, with her signature and contact details.
4. Hashing: she creates hashes through StopNCII.org so participating platforms can block re-uploads.
5. Google: she submits a removal request for the image results that appear when her name is searched.
6. Legal: she reports the ex-partner to local police and speaks to a lawyer about a civil claim.

The social network removes the post and account within days. The image site is slower, but removes the images after a follow-up. Google removes the search results. The outcome in any real case depends on the sites involved and the evidence, but this sequence covers the routes that exist.

Your legal options

According to the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, all 50 states and Washington, D.C. now have laws against the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. They differ in what they cover, whether they include AI-generated images, and whether they allow you to sue as well as bring criminal charges. A federal civil remedy also lets people sue someone who shares their intimate images without consent.

That is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a lawyer about your situation, particularly if you know who shared the images. A lawyer can advise on criminal complaints, civil claims, protective orders and preserving evidence, and some organizations can refer you to attorneys who handle these cases at low or no cost.

Reporting to police is your choice. Some people find it important; others decide to focus on removal. Either decision is valid.

When images spread to other sites

Some sites don’t respond to reports. In those cases:

• send a takedown request to the site’s contact or abuse address, citing the TAKE IT DOWN Act if the site is a covered platform;
• if you took the photo yourself, you may own the copyright and can send a DMCA notice to the site or its host;
• contact the web host or domain registrar, which often have acceptable use policies that ban this content;
• keep submitting Google requests so copies are removed from search even if the site stays up.

If the person sharing the images also posted your address, phone number or workplace, follow our guide on what to do if you have been doxxed as well. And if this is part of a wider campaign against you, our guide on what to do about online harassment covers the broader steps.

What not to do

• Don’t pay anyone who is threatening you. It rarely stops the demands.
• Don’t confront the person publicly. It can escalate the situation and create more content.
• Don’t trust anyone who promises to “erase everything.” No person or company can remove images from the entire internet, and some sites that promise this are scams.
• Don’t delete your own evidence of messages and threats, even though you may want to.

When to ask for help

Many people handle this themselves with the free tools above, and support organizations can help at no cost. Professional help can make sense if images are spread across many sites, if you need someone to handle the searching and reporting so you don’t have to see the content, or if you need to monitor for re-uploads over time. Our content removal team can do that work discreetly, and we’ll tell you honestly what’s realistic for your situation.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get intimate images of me removed if I originally sent them to the person?

Yes. Consenting to share an image privately with one person is not consent to have it published. Platforms, Google and the TAKE IT DOWN Act all focus on whether the image was published without your consent.

Does this apply to AI-generated or deepfake images?

Yes. Google’s removal process covers fake or synthetic explicit images that depict you, and the TAKE IT DOWN Act covers realistic computer-generated intimate images as well as real ones. Many state laws also now address them.

Do I have to upload my images to StopNCII or Take It Down?

No. Both tools create a hash, a digital fingerprint, on your own device. The image itself stays with you, and only the hash is shared with participating platforms.

How fast do platforms have to remove the images?

Under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, covered platforms must remove the content and known identical copies within 48 hours of receiving a valid removal request. The FTC enforces this requirement.

Will the person who shared the images find out I reported them?

Platforms don’t generally tell posters who reported their content, but a person may guess if the images are of you. If you are worried about retaliation, talk to police or a support organization about safety planning before or alongside reporting.