How to remove nude photos or videos from the internet

First, two things to know

This is not your fault. Whether you shared it with someone you trusted, it was taken without you knowing, or your account was hacked, the person who posted it is the one who did something wrong.

Never pay a "removal fee" to the site or the person who posted it. Some sites, and some people posing as helpers, ask for money or a photo of your ID to take content down. Paying them usually leads to more demands, not less content.

Step 1: Save proof before you report

It's tempting to report everything right away. Take 15 minutes to save proof first, because once a page comes down you can't go back and capture it.

For every page, save:

• The full web address (URL). Copy it from the address bar, not a shortened link.
• A screenshot that shows the URL, the date and enough of the page to identify it. You can crop or blur the explicit parts. Your face and the page details are what matter.
• The username or account that posted it, if there is one.
• Any messages from the person who shared it, especially threats or demands.

Keep everything in one private folder or a simple spreadsheet. You'll reuse this list in every step below.

Step 2: Find every copy

Content like this rarely stays in one place. Sites copy from each other, sometimes automatically. If you only remove the one copy you found, the others keep circulating.

Start with the original source. Look for the earliest upload, often a forum, a social account or a file-sharing link. Getting the source down slows the spread to new sites.

Then search wider:

• Reverse image search using a cropped, non-explicit part of the image, like a background or a tattoo. See how reverse image search works.
• Search your name and usernames on search engines and image results.
• Check video sites if it's a video. Clips often get cut down and renamed.

You don't have to find everything in one sitting. Add to your list as you go. If searching is too much to handle yourself, our team can do it for you as part of a takedown case.

Step 3: Get it taken down

There are three places to send a removal request. Use as many as you need.

1. The website or platform itself

Most major social, video and adult platforms have a report option for intimate images shared without consent. Look for "report," "privacy violation" or "non-consensual intimate imagery." These reports usually go to a dedicated team and are often faster than a general support email.

2. A DMCA takedown notice

If you took the photo or video yourself (a selfie, for example), you own the copyright to it. That means you can send a DMCA takedown notice asking the site, and its hosting company, to remove it. Sites and hosts that ignore valid notices can lose their legal protection, so most act on them.

A notice has to include specific parts and statements to be valid. See how to file a DMCA takedown notice.

What if someone else took it? You can still get it removed. Copyright is just one route. Platform rules on intimate images, search engine removal (Step 4) and laws on non-consensual images all apply no matter who held the camera. DMCA.com still takes these cases.

3. The hosting company

Every website is stored on a server run by a hosting company. When a site ignores you, the host often won't, because it doesn't want legal trouble for a customer's content. Finding the host, and the right contact there, can take some digging, especially when the site hides it. This is where most people get stuck, and it's part of what our team handles in a takedown case.

Step 4: Get it out of Google

Removing content from a website and removing it from Google are two separate things. You want both.

Google has a dedicated request form for removing intimate images shared without consent from search results. It also covers AI-made fake nudes of you.

Google only reviews the links you list, so the more copies you've found, the more it can remove. It also tries to find and remove duplicates of the same images.

Two things to know:

• Google only removes the search result, not the page. The content still exists on the website, so do Step 3 as well.
• It's especially useful when a site won't respond. If a page stays up, keeping it out of search results means far fewer people will ever find it.

Step 5: Stop it coming back

Once content is down, the goal is keeping it down.

StopNCII.org (for adults) creates a digital fingerprint, called a hash, of your image on your own device. Only the fingerprint is shared, never the image itself. Participating platforms use it to spot and block matching uploads. It only works on platforms that have signed up, but that list includes many large ones.

Set reminders to re-check. Search your name and run a reverse image search every couple of weeks for the first few months. Re-uploads are most common soon after removal.

Keep your proof folder. If the content reappears, you already have everything you need to report it again quickly.

If an ex posted them

When the person who shared the content is someone you know, a few extra steps matter:

• Don't confront them about it publicly or in anger. It can push them to share more, and you want your messages to stay calm in case they become evidence.
• Report it to the police. Sharing intimate images without consent is a crime in most US states and many countries. Bring your proof folder.
• Talk to a lawyer if you want to take action against the person directly. A lawyer can tell you what applies where you live. DMCA.com isn't a law firm and can't give legal advice, but we can remove the content while you decide.
• Lock down your accounts. Change passwords and log out of devices the person may still have access to.

Under 18 or being threatened?

If you were under 18 in the images, this is treated differently from a standard takedown, and it should go straight to specialist services:

• Take It Down is a free service from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. It works like StopNCII for images taken when you were under 18. You can stay anonymous and the images never leave your device. This applies even if you're an adult now.
• Report it to the NCMEC CyberTipline or local police.
• Never take or share screenshots of explicit images of anyone under 18, including yourself, even to report them.

If someone is threatening to share images unless you pay or send more (often called sextortion): stop replying, don't pay, save the messages and report it to the police. In the US you can also report it to the FBI. Threats like these often come from scammers who target many people at once.

How long does removal take?

It depends on the website, its hosting company, the country it operates in and how complex the case is. Most cases come down within 24 to 48 hours, and the average is 5 to 10 business days. Rare cases can take a month or longer, especially with sites that are based overseas or built to dodge requests. No one can honestly guarantee a time frame.

Look after yourself

Dealing with this can be exhausting, and it's normal to feel angry, embarrassed or anxious. You don't have to handle the searching yourself, and you don't have to look at the content over and over.

The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative runs a free, 24/7 Image Abuse Helpline at 1-844-878-2274 for people in the US.

Talking to someone you trust, or a counselor, can make a real difference while the removal work happens.

Common questions