Someone shared my intimate photo without consent. How do I get it removed?

You found out from a friend, a message or a search. A photo or a video that you sent to one person, or kept to yourself, is now public. It is on a website, in a group chat or on someone’s profile. It is not your fault, and you can do a lot about it. This page puts the steps in order: proof first, then removal, then the copies, then your own phone. We checked each step against the FTC, StopNCII, NCMEC, Google, WomensLaw and Apple on 2026-10-08.

Has someone only threatened to share an image so far? Then read what to do about a sextortion threat instead.

Save proof before you report

A removal request can make the post disappear, and with it the proof of who posted it. So capture it first. WomensLaw.org gives detailed advice on this:

• Take screenshots of the post, the account that posted it and that account’s profile page.
• With social media posts, include the full web address from the bar at the top of the window.
• For messages, show the sender’s real phone number or handle. The contact name you saved in your phone is not enough.
• Do not change anything in the evidence. Do not crop out the date, and do not add a name to an unsigned message.

Write down where you found each copy and when. Keep a simple list: date, web address, platform, and the date you asked for removal.

Ask each platform to remove it

The FTC notes that the report option is often in the three-dot menu on the post. In the US, that request now has a deadline. The TAKE IT DOWN Act sets the deadline. The FTC says covered platforms must “remove those intimate images, and known identical copies, within 48 hours of a valid request”. The FTC started to enforce the law on May 19, 2026.

Is the image still up after 48 hours? Does the platform give you no way to ask? Then report the platform at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. The FTC says plainly: “Only platforms can take images down.” Your report helps it act against platforms that do not comply.

Stop copies on other platforms

One post often becomes many. Hash tools help here.

Your age in the image	Tool	How it works
18 or older	StopNCII.org	Your phone makes a hash. StopNCII shares only the hash with partner platforms.
Under 18, even if you are an adult now	Take It Down (NCMEC)	The same idea. “Your image or video remains on your device and is not uploaded.”

The Revenge Porn Helpline, which runs StopNCII, reports an “over 90% removal rate” and more than 300,000 images removed. The hash works only on the platforms that take part. Sites outside the program need a direct request, and the helplines above can help you send it.

Remove it from Google Search

Google has a request form for “personal sexual content”. It accepts requests “Whether the content is fake or real”. In Image Search, you can also start a request from the image viewer. You give the web address of each page, and “Only these URLs are reviewed for removal from search results.”

Google is clear about the limit. It “can only remove content from search results pages.” The page itself stays online until the site removes it. So send both requests: one to the site, one to Google.

Report the person who shared it

You can report to the police where you live. In the US, the FTC’s Take It Down site lists the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI. If you were under 18 in the image, also report to NCMEC’s CyberTipline. Bring your list and your screenshots.

Find out how it got out

Sometimes the answer is simple: you sent it to one person. Sometimes it is not. A photo can leave your phone in ways you did not choose:

• A shared Apple Account or Google account. iCloud Photos puts every photo on every device signed in to the same account. Our guide on whether hidden photos go to iCloud explains what syncs.
• Someone who knows your passcode. The phone passcode opens the Hidden album and most locked apps. See what to do if someone knows your passcode.
• Old sharing you forgot about. On iPhone, open Safety Check in Settings, Privacy & Security. Manage Sharing & Access lists the people, apps and devices with access. Emergency Reset stops all sharing at once.

Keep the rest of your photos under your own code

You may still have intimate photos you want to keep. Keep them where your phone passcode, a shared account and a scroll through the camera roll cannot reach them.

York Vault is a separate library with its own code, on iPhone and Android. The sensitive photo scan runs on the phone and groups intimate photos and private screenshots. You can move a whole group in at once. York Vault removes the originals from Photos after it checks each copy. Then empty Recently Deleted, which our Recently Deleted guide walks through, or the last copy stays there for 30 days. Your proof can go in its own album with an album code. Everything goes into the encrypted backup in your own iCloud or Google Drive, and we cannot open it. See what we can and cannot see.

You may choose to share a photo with someone again. A private share link expires, counts its opens, and you can stop it at any time. It cannot stop a photo of the screen taken with another camera, and the link page says so.