How to Stop Cyberbullying: Steps for Teens, Parents and Adults

To stop cyberbullying, don’t respond to the bully, save evidence of every message and post, block the account, and report it to the platform. If the bullying involves a student, tell a trusted adult and the school. If it includes threats of violence, sexual images of a minor, or stalking, contact the police. Then tighten your privacy settings so it’s harder for the bully to reach you again.

Cyberbullying is repeated, deliberate harassment through phones, social media, games or messaging apps. It can affect children and adults alike, and it’s not something anyone has to put up with. This guide covers what to do, in order, whether you’re the person being targeted, a parent, or an adult dealing with it at work or online.

What counts as cyberbullying

Cyberbullying takes many forms. Common ones include:

• mean, threatening or humiliating messages, comments or posts,
• spreading rumors or lies about someone online,
• sharing embarrassing photos or videos without permission,
• creating fake accounts to mock or impersonate someone,
• deliberately excluding someone from group chats or games to isolate them,
• encouraging others to pile on, sometimes called a “dogpile”,
• posting someone’s private information, such as their address or phone number.

What separates cyberbullying from a one-off argument is usually repetition, an intent to hurt, and an imbalance of power: one person or group targeting someone who struggles to defend themselves. Because it happens on screens, it can follow the target home and reach a large audience fast.

Step 1: Don’t respond or retaliate

Bullies usually want a reaction. Replying, arguing or posting something back tends to keep it going, and a retaliatory message can be screenshotted and used against you.

Take a break from the app if you can. If you feel you have to say something, one short, calm line such as “Stop contacting me” is enough, and then stop engaging.

Step 2: Save the evidence

Before you block or report anything, capture it. Posts and messages can disappear, and a record is what schools, platforms, employers and police will ask for.

1. Take screenshots that show the message or post, the account name and the date and time.
2. Copy the link to each post or profile into a document.
3. Save voicemails and texts, and note phone numbers.
4. Keep a simple log: date, platform, what happened, and who saw it.

Store everything somewhere safe, such as a folder a parent or trusted friend can also access. Don’t forward sexual images of a minor to anyone, including to “show” an adult, even as evidence. Describe them instead and let the police handle that material.

Step 3: Block, mute and restrict

Every major platform lets you block accounts, and most offer softer tools too, such as muting, restricting who can comment, filtering certain words, or limiting messages to people you follow. Blocking stops most contact; restricting can be useful when blocking might provoke the bully or when you still need to see what’s being said.

Review your privacy settings at the same time: make accounts private where possible, limit who can tag you, and turn off location sharing.

Step 4: Report cyberbullying to the platform

Knowing how to report cyberbullying on each platform makes a real difference, because platforms can remove content and suspend accounts in ways you can’t.

• Social media (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, X): use the report option on the post, comment, message or profile, and choose bullying or harassment.
• Messaging apps and games: most have report tools in chat or the player’s profile.
• Fake accounts impersonating you: report as impersonation. Our guide on online impersonation explains the process.
• Private information such as your address: report under the platform’s privacy or doxxing rules.

Report each piece of content individually where you can, and keep the confirmation. If a report is rejected, reporting a specific rule breach, such as a threat or private information, often gets a different result.

Step 5: Tell someone who can help

Nobody should handle cyberbullying alone. Who to tell depends on who is involved.

Situation	Who to tell
A child or teen is being bullied	A parent or trusted adult, then the school. Many US schools have anti-bullying policies that can cover online behavior between students.
Bullying by a coworker	Your manager or HR, with your evidence. It may break workplace conduct or harassment policies.
Threats of violence, stalking or extortion	The police. Keep your evidence ready.
Sexual images of someone under 18	The police, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline. NCMEC’s Take It Down tool can help remove images of minors.
Adults facing intimate images shared without consent	The platform and, depending on the facts, the police. Our guide on removing intimate images shared without consent covers the removal routes.

The US government’s StopBullying.gov site has further guidance for parents, educators and young people, and our help resources page lists more organizations that support people facing online abuse.

Advice for parents

Children often hide cyberbullying because they’re embarrassed or worried their devices will be taken away. How you react the first time they tell you shapes whether they come back to you.

• Listen first. Thank them for telling you and reassure them it’s not their fault.
• Don’t take the phone away as a punishment. It can feel like they’re being punished for being bullied.
• Help them save evidence and report, rather than doing it all for them.
• Don’t contact the other child or their parents in anger. Going through the school is usually more effective.
• Watch for changes in sleep, mood, appetite or school attendance, and talk to a doctor or counselor if you’re worried.

For longer-term habits around what’s shared about children online, see our guide on protecting your child’s online reputation.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real family.

A 14-year-old is added to a group chat where classmates share edited photos of her and mock her appearance. One sets up a fake account using her name. She tells her mother after a week.

Her mother helps her screenshot the chat, the fake account and the dates, then they report the fake account as impersonation and the posts as bullying. She leaves the group and blocks the main accounts. The next morning her mother emails the school counselor with the screenshots, naming the students involved. The school speaks with the students and their parents under its bullying policy. The fake account is removed within days. The family keeps checking for new copies, and the girl sees the school counselor for a few sessions.

Cyberbullying against adults

Cyberbullying isn’t only a school problem. Adults face it from coworkers, ex-partners, strangers and online communities, and it can damage careers when posts show up in search results.

• Follow the same steps: don’t engage, save evidence, block and report.
• If it’s persistent or includes threats, it may amount to harassment or stalking. Our guides on online harassment and cyberstalking cover the next steps.
• If it includes false factual claims about you, talk to a lawyer about whether it could be defamation.

If bullying posts are appearing when people search your name, our personal reputation management service helps with removal requests and pushing accurate information to the top.

Is cyberbullying illegal?

There’s no single federal cyberbullying law in the US, but every state has anti-bullying laws or policies aimed at schools, and many address electronic bullying. Some cyberbullying behavior also crosses into crimes such as threats, stalking, harassment, extortion or sharing intimate images without consent, and a 2025 federal law, the TAKE IT DOWN Act, addresses the publication of non-consensual intimate images. The details vary by state, so if you’re considering legal action, talk to a lawyer.

What not to do

• Fighting back online. It escalates things and blurs who the victim is.
• Deleting everything before saving it. Evidence first, then block and report.
• Asking friends to mass-report or attack the bully. It can break platform rules and make the situation worse.
• Keeping it secret. Telling a trusted person is the single most useful step.
• Checking the posts constantly. Ask someone you trust to monitor them for you if needed.

Frequently asked questions

How do I report cyberbullying?

Use the report option on the post, message or profile on the platform where it happened, and choose bullying or harassment. For students, also tell the school. For threats, stalking or sexual images of minors, contact the police.

Can you stop cyberbullying completely?

Not always right away, but you can usually reduce it a lot. Blocking, reporting, tightening privacy and involving the school or employer stop most cases, especially when the bully realizes it’s being documented.

Should I tell the school about cyberbullying that happens outside school?

Yes, in most cases. Many schools can act when off-campus online behavior affects students at school, and they can involve counselors and parents. Bring your saved evidence.

When should I call the police about cyberbullying?

Contact the police if there are threats of violence, stalking, extortion, sexual images of anyone under 18, or if you feel unsafe. Keep screenshots and links ready to share.