Online Harassment: What to Do, Step by Step

If you’re being harassed online, put your safety first: if you are threatened with violence, contact your local police, and call 911 if you are in immediate danger. Then save evidence of everything before it disappears, don’t respond to the harasser, and use each platform’s block, mute and report tools. Lock down your privacy settings and remove your personal information from search results and people-search sites, especially if your address has been shared.

None of this is your fault, and you don’t have to handle it alone. The steps below are in the order that usually helps most. Take them one at a time. If the person being targeted is a child or teenager, our guide on how to stop cyberbullying also covers schools and parents.

Step 1: Make sure you’re safe

Most online harassment stays online, but some doesn’t. Treat these as signs to contact police now rather than later:

• Threats of violence against you, your family or your workplace.
• Your home address, workplace or daily routine being posted alongside threats or calls for others to find you.
• Someone showing up at your home or work, or signs that you are being followed or tracked.
• Threats to share intimate images unless you pay or do something (often called sextortion).

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For threats that aren’t immediate, contact your local police department’s non-emergency line and ask to make a report. Bring your evidence (see step 2). If the harasser is a current or former partner, a local domestic violence organization can help with safety planning, including digital safety.

Step 2: Document everything

Evidence matters for platform reports, police reports and any legal action later. Harassers often delete posts or accounts, so capture things as soon as you see them, even if you’d rather not look.

• Take screenshots that show context: the content, the username or profile, the date and time, and the URL where possible.
• Copy the URLs of posts, profiles and comments into a document.
• Save messages, emails and voicemails in their original form. Don’t delete them, even if they are upsetting.
• Keep a simple log: date, platform, what happened, and any reports you made and their reference numbers.
• Store copies somewhere safe, such as a cloud folder the harasser can’t access, and consider sharing access with someone you trust.

If looking at the content is overwhelming, ask a trusted friend to help with screenshots and the log. You don’t need to read everything yourself.

Step 3: Don’t engage

It’s natural to want to reply, correct the record or tell the person to stop. In most cases, replying gives a harasser what they want: attention, a reaction and new material. It can also escalate things or draw in others.

If you do want to send one message, keep it to a single, clear line, such as “Do not contact me again,” and then stop. In some situations, a documented request to stop can be useful if the matter goes to police or court. After that, don’t respond.

Step 4: Block, mute and report on each platform

Every major platform prohibits harassment, threats and the sharing of someone’s private information, and each has its own reporting tools. Report each piece of content separately and choose the category that fits most closely: threats, harassment, private information, impersonation, or non-consensual intimate images.

Where	What to use
Social media (Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and others)	Report the post, comment or profile, then block or mute. Most platforms also let you restrict who can comment on or tag you.
Forums and communities (Reddit, Discord)	Report to the community moderators and to the platform itself; they enforce different rules.
Email and messaging	Block the sender, and use filters to move messages to a folder instead of deleting them.
Phone and text	Block the number and keep screenshots. Your carrier may be able to help with persistent calls.

If someone has set up an account pretending to be you, report it as impersonation. Our guide on what to do if someone is impersonating you online covers that process platform by platform.

Step 5: Lock down your privacy

• Change passwords on your email and social accounts, starting with email, and turn on two-factor authentication.
• Check which devices are logged in to your accounts and sign out any you don’t recognize.
• Set personal accounts to private and limit who can message, tag or mention you.
• Review old public posts and photos for details that reveal where you live, work or spend time.
• Turn off location sharing in apps and check photos for location data before posting.
• Tell close friends and family what’s happening, so they don’t accidentally share information or accept friend requests from new accounts.

Step 6: If you’ve been doxxed, remove your information

Doxxing is when someone publishes your personal information, like your home address or phone number, to encourage others to harass you. Two routes help here.

Google Search. Google accepts requests to remove search results that contain your personal contact information, and specifically covers doxxing content shared with an intent to harm. Removal from Google doesn’t delete the page itself, but it makes it much harder to find. Our guide to removing personal information from Google explains the request forms step by step.

People-search sites. Much doxxing starts with data broker sites that list addresses, phone numbers and relatives. Most offer an opt-out process, and removing your listings reduces what a harasser can find next time. Our guide on removing yourself from people-search sites covers the major ones.

Also report the original post to the site hosting it, since sharing private information breaks most platforms’ rules.

When harassment becomes a legal matter

Some online harassment is a crime. Every state has laws against stalking or harassment, and many specifically cover conduct online, but the definitions and thresholds vary by state. Defamation on its own is usually a civil matter, and our guide to whether defamation is a crime explains the exceptions.

At the federal level, the stalking statute (18 U.S.C. 2261A) covers using the internet, email or other electronic communication to engage in a course of conduct intended to harass or intimidate someone, where it causes them reasonable fear of death or serious injury or substantial emotional distress. Whether federal or state law applies to your situation is something police, a prosecutor or a lawyer can advise on.

• Police. Start with your local police department for threats, stalking or any fear for your safety.
• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The FBI’s IC3 takes reports of internet-enabled crime, including online extortion and sextortion. If the harassment involves extortion, fraud or hacking, filing a report there is worth doing alongside a local police report.
• A lawyer. A lawyer can advise on protective or restraining orders, which in many states can cover online contact, and on civil claims such as defamation where false statements of fact are involved.

Where to get support

Online harassment can be exhausting and frightening, and it’s common to feel anxious, angry or unable to stop checking your phone. Those reactions are normal.

• Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI). A US nonprofit that runs a free, 24/7 helpline for people experiencing image-based sexual abuse, such as intimate images shared without consent, sextortion or sexually explicit deepfakes. Its website also has a safety center with first steps and removal guidance.
• Domestic violence organizations. If the harasser is a partner or ex-partner, local and national domestic violence services can help with safety planning, including technology safety.
• Mental health support. Talking to a counselor or therapist can help, especially if the harassment has gone on for a while. If you’re in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
• People you trust. Let a friend handle checking reports or monitoring accounts for a while. Taking breaks from the platforms is part of looking after yourself, not giving in.

Our help resources page gathers more places to report online abuse and find support.

Worked example: a teacher targeted after a local controversy

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real case.

A high school teacher is mentioned in a heated community Facebook group after a school board meeting. Within a day, strangers are messaging her, and one post includes her home address with a comment saying people should “pay her a visit”.

She calls her local police non-emergency line about the post with her address and files a report, bringing screenshots. She tells her school’s administration so they can make staff aware. She reports the post to Facebook as sharing private information, reports the worst messages as harassment, and sets her accounts to private. She doesn’t reply to anyone.

Over the next week, she submits a Google removal request for search results showing her address, and opts out of the people-search sites that listed it. A friend keeps the evidence log so she doesn’t have to read each new message. The attention fades after a few weeks, and she has a complete record if anything happens again.

When to get help with the search results

Sometimes harassment leaves a lasting trail: posts, forum threads or copied content that ranks when people search your name long after the harassment has stopped. Some of it can be removed through platform or Google policies. Our content removal service can check which items have a genuine removal route. For content that stays, our personal reputation management service helps make sure accurate, current pages are what people see first.

Frequently asked questions

Should I respond to someone harassing me online?

Generally, no. Responding usually escalates things and gives the harasser attention. If you choose to send one message, make it a single clear request to stop contacting you, then block or mute them and keep your evidence.

Is online harassment illegal?

Some of it is. Threats, stalking, extortion and certain kinds of harassment can be crimes under state law, and federal law also covers cyberstalking in some cases. Laws vary by state, so report threats to police and talk to a lawyer about your specific situation.

Can I find out who is harassing me anonymously?

Platforms generally won’t reveal account details on request. Law enforcement or a lawyer may be able to obtain that information through legal process in some cases. Don’t try to identify or confront the person yourself, as it can put you at risk.

How do I get my address removed from Google?

Google accepts requests to remove search results that show personal contact information like your home address, including doxxing content. Removing the result from Google doesn’t delete the original page, so also report it to the site and opt out of people-search sites that list you.

Should I delete my social media accounts?

Not necessarily. Setting accounts to private, limiting who can contact you and taking a break are often enough. Deleting accounts can also remove evidence, so save everything first if you decide to close an account.