How to Remove Leaked, Revenge or Deepfake Intimate Images of You From the Internet

Quick answer: If an intimate or sexual image or video of you, real, leaked, or an AI “deepfake,” has been shared without your consent, you can get it taken down, and you have not done anything wrong. Act fast and in this order: save the evidence (screenshots plus the exact links), use a free hash-matching tool to block the image across major platforms (StopNCII.org if you were 18 or older, Take It Down if you were under 18), report it to each platform and to Google, and report it to the authorities. Do not pay a blackmailer.

What this covers

This guide is for non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII): any sexual or intimate photo or video of you shared without your permission. That includes so-called “revenge porn” posted by an ex, images leaked or hacked from your device or cloud, secretly recorded content, sextortion material a scammer is threatening to post, and AI-generated “deepfake” nudes that put your face on someone else's body. All of it is covered by removal tools and, in a growing number of countries, by the law. Whether the image is real or fake does not change your right to have it removed.

Step 1: Save evidence, then stop engaging

Before anything disappears or changes, capture proof: take screenshots that show the image, the account that posted it, and the full web address (URL) of every page it appears on. Save the URLs as text you can copy. This evidence is what platforms and police will act on, and deleting your own accounts or messages in a panic can destroy it. If the content is tied to sextortion (someone demanding money or more images to stop them posting), do not pay and do not send more, paying almost never stops it and marks you as a target. Stop replying, keep the messages, and move to the steps below.

Step 2: Use a hash-matching tool to block the image everywhere

The single most powerful step is a free hashing tool. It creates a unique digital fingerprint (a “hash”) of your image on your own device, the image itself never leaves your phone or computer, and shares only that fingerprint with participating platforms so they can detect and block any copy that matches.

• If you were 18 or older in the image: use StopNCII.org, run by the Revenge Porn Helpline. Major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, X and adult sites such as OnlyFans and Pornhub participate, so a single case can block the image across all of them.
• If you were under 18 in the image: use Take It Down, operated by the US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). This NCMEC tool is separate from the US “Take It Down Act” described below, despite the similar name. Content of a minor is child sexual abuse material and is treated with the highest priority; you do not need to involve a parent to start.

Step 3: Report to each platform and to Google

Hashing blocks matches, but also report the specific posts directly, which is faster for that copy:

• The platform hosting it. Every major site, social apps and the large adult-content platforms alike, has a non-consensual-content or “this is me and I didn't consent” reporting form. Use it for each URL. Since 2020 the biggest adult platforms only allow verified uploaders and have dedicated content-removal teams, which makes takedown requests more effective than people expect.
• Google Search. Even after a page is removed, it can linger in search results. Use Google's dedicated request to remove non-consensual or fake explicit imagery from Search: the help page explains eligibility and the removal form lets you submit the URLs (you can add several at once and opt in to ongoing filtering). This delists the results so people cannot find them, though it does not remove the content from the site hosting it, so still report to the platform too.

Step 4: Use your legal rights and report to authorities

Reporting does more than punish, it triggers legal removal duties and helps trace the person responsible.

United States. The Take It Down Act, signed in May 2025, requires online platforms to remove non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI deepfakes, within 48 hours of a valid request, a duty the FTC began enforcing in May 2026. If a platform fails to remove your content, report it to the FTC at takeitdown.ftc.gov, and report sextortion or any case involving a minor to the FBI at ic3.gov.

India. Sharing such content is a crime under the IT Act, Section 66E (violation of privacy), 67 (obscene material) and 67A (sexually explicit material), and under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Under the IT Rules, following a February 2026 amendment, platforms must act on a complaint about non-consensual or morphed sexual (including deepfake) content within 2 hours, tightened from the earlier 24-hour window. Takedown notices are routed through the government's Sahyog portal, and a platform that ignores a valid notice loses its legal safe harbour. File at cybercrime.gov.in (which has a dedicated “Women/Child related crime” option, including anonymous reporting) or call 1930.

United Kingdom. Contact the Revenge Porn Helpline, which supports adult victims and runs StopNCII; sharing intimate images without consent is a criminal offence.

If it is an AI deepfake

A fake image is still your image in the eyes of these tools and, increasingly, the law, the Take It Down Act and India's rules both cover morphed and AI-generated content. Use exactly the same steps: hash it with StopNCII (or Take It Down if you were a minor), report it to the platform and Google, and file with the authorities. See our separate guide on the 48-hour deepfake takedown playbook for the detailed version.

You are not alone

This happens to people of every age and gender, and the shame belongs to the person who shared the content, not to you. Removal is rarely instant and copies can resurface, so treat it as a process: keep hashing and reporting new copies as they appear, lean on the helplines, and consider telling one trusted person so you are not handling it alone. If you are struggling, reach out to a mental-health helpline in your country.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to upload the image to get it removed? No. StopNCII and Take It Down create a fingerprint on your own device; the image never leaves it.

It's a fake / deepfake, does that still count? Yes. Non-consensual fake sexual imagery is covered by the same tools and, in the US and India, by the law. Whether it is real or fake does not matter for removal.

Someone is threatening to post my images unless I pay. What do I do? Do not pay and do not send more. Save the messages, stop replying, and report the sextortion to the police (in the US, ic3.gov; in India, 1930 and cybercrime.gov.in).

The image is of me when I was under 18. That is child sexual abuse material. Use NCMEC's Take It Down and report it to the authorities immediately; it is handled as the highest priority.

How fast will it come down? US platforms have a 48-hour duty under the Take It Down Act; India's IT Rules set a 2-hour window for non-consensual content (tightened in 2026). Hash-matching can block new copies automatically going forward.

Sources

1. StopNCII.org (Revenge Porn Helpline / SWGfL) — free NCII hash-matching for adults.
2. Take It Down (US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) — for imagery of people under 18.
3. US TAKE IT DOWN Act, 2025, and FTC enforcement of the 48-hour removal duty.
4. Google Search Help — removing non-consensual or fake explicit imagery.
5. India: IT Act Sections 66E, 67, 67A; IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2021; National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) and helpline 1930.
6. Revenge Porn Helpline (UK).

If intimate content of you has been shared without consent, you are not alone. See our cybercrime help hub for step-by-step reporting and recovery guides.