Removing Non-Consensual Intimate Images: StopNCII, Take It Down and Platform Reports
If an intimate image of you was shared without your consent, you have more tools now than at any point before. Report it directly on each platform where it appears. Covered platforms must remove it within 48 hours of a valid request under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act. Then create a hash through StopNCII.org (if you were 18 or older in the image) or Take It Down (if you were under 18) so participating platforms can block re-uploads. Separately, ask Google to remove it from search results.
None of these tools erase an image from the whole internet. Used together, they cover most of the places people are likely to find it.
Pick the right tool for your situation
- You were 18 or older in the image: use StopNCII.org, run by the Revenge Porn Helpline.
- You were under 18 in the image, even if you're an adult now: use Take It Down, run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Also report to NCMEC's CyberTipline.
- The image is already posted on a specific site: report it on that site as well. Hashing tools help block matches, but a direct report is what triggers the 48-hour removal duty.
- It's showing up in Google results: use Google's separate removal request (covered below).
- It's a deepfake or edited image: the same tools apply. StopNCII, Google and the TAKE IT DOWN Act all cover AI-generated and digitally altered intimate images.
How StopNCII works
StopNCII never receives your image. You select the photo or video on your own device, and the tool generates a hash, a digital fingerprint, locally. Only the hash is sent. Participating platforms compare uploads against the hash list and remove matches that break their intimate-image policies.
According to StopNCII's FAQ, you must be the person in the content; no one can submit on your behalf. Qualifying images show you nude, in underwear, showing genitals, or in sexual activity or poses, including manipulated and deepfake content. Once the hash is created, you can delete the image from your device and the hash stays.
When you finish, you get a case number and PIN. Write both down. StopNCII says they can't be recovered if lost.
Current industry partners include Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Reddit, Snap, X, Bluesky, Microsoft, OnlyFans and Pornhub, among others. If a site isn't on that list, StopNCII can't reach it. Google Search isn't on the list; use Google's own form instead.
How Take It Down works
Take It Down uses the same hashing approach for images taken when you were under 18. Your file stays on your device; only the hash goes to a list that participating platforms check. Adults can use it for images from their childhood or teen years.
NCMEC notes some limits: platforms can only scan public or unencrypted services, and removal of content already posted may be limited. It also advises against resharing the content after you submit, since that can trigger a platform's flags. Check the participating platforms list on the Take It Down site before relying on it for a specific app.
The 48-hour rule under the TAKE IT DOWN Act
The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act gave covered platforms until May 19, 2026 to set up a process for removal requests. They must now remove non-consensual intimate images, and known identical copies, within 48 hours of a valid request. According to the FTC, covered platforms include social media, messaging, image and video sharing, and gaming services, and the rule applies to real, digitally altered and AI-generated images.
To use it, report the content through the platform's own process. If you have an account, log in, find the image and use the report option on or near it. Save your confirmation or report number and note the time you submitted.
If the platform doesn't remove the content within 48 hours, or has no working way to request removal, report it to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. The FTC's consumer guidance also says to contact local police and the FBI (tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI) if a minor is involved or a crime has occurred. This is general information, not legal advice; an attorney can tell you whether you also have civil or criminal options in your state.
Getting it out of Google Search
Even after a site removes an image, copies elsewhere can still surface in search. Google's policy on non-consensual explicit imagery covers images showing you nude, in a sexual act or in an intimate state, fake or AI-generated sexual imagery, and cases where your name is falsely tied to adult sites.
You have to be identifiable in the content, and it must have been shared without your consent. You'll submit the URLs and screenshots through Google's removal form. Google says it looks for and removes duplicate copies as standard procedure for sexual imagery, unless you opt out of that.
Understand the limit: this removes results from Google Search only. The page itself stays online unless the site takes it down. For a broader look at image takedowns, see our image removal page.
A practical order of operations
- Save evidence first: URL, screenshot showing the account and date, and a note of when you found it. Don't forward the image to anyone.
- Report on each platform where it appears and record every report number and timestamp.
- Create a StopNCII or Take It Down case and store the case number and PIN safely.
- Submit Google removal requests for any URLs showing up in search.
- After 48 hours, check each report. Escalate non-compliant platforms to the FTC.
- If you're being threatened or extorted, don't pay and don't negotiate. Contact police, and consider calling the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative helpline at 844-878-2274 for free, 24/7 support.
What's still hard
Small, offshore or deliberately non-compliant sites may ignore reports, and they aren't reached by hashing tools. Private chats and encrypted services can't be scanned. In those cases the realistic goals are getting search engines to drop the URLs and getting hosts or registrars to act, which can take repeated effort.
When outside help makes sense
If the image has spread to many sites, or keeps reappearing faster than you can report it, having someone else handle the monitoring and filing can take real weight off you. Our video and image removal teams work these cases discreetly. Start with the free tools above either way; they're effective and they cost nothing.
Want this handled for you? See our image removal service.
