Remove Intimate Images from Search and Platforms

First: preserve evidence and make a list

Before anything comes down, capture a clean record — you may need it for each report.

• Screenshot each instance (content, account, and the page address with a visible date and time), and save the URL for every place it appears.
• Keep a simple log: URL, platform/site, the account that posted it, the date found, what you did, and any confirmation number.
• For the full first-response checklist, see your first 24 hours after NCII.

1. Report to the platform that hosts it

Removing content at the source is the most effective step, because that’s where the file actually lives.

• Use the reportoption on the specific post or profile and choose a category like “non-consensual intimate image,” “intimate image shared without consent,” or “fake/manipulated media.”
• Look for a dedicated NCII or intimate-image removal formin the site’s Help, Safety, or Privacy area — covered US platforms are required to provide one under the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
• Keep each confirmation or reference number in your log so you can follow up.

2. Ask search engines to remove it from results

Removing something from search is separatefrom removing it from the site that hosts it — but it can sharply limit how easily the content is found.

• Major search engines accept requests to remove non-consensual explicit imagery(and, in many cases, fake explicit imagery) from results. Search their help pages for “remove non-consensual explicit images” or “remove personal content from search.”
• Google publishes a removal request flow for non-consensual explicit or intimate personal images via its search help center.
• Provide the URLs from your log, and keep the case or reference numbers you receive.

3. Send a DMCA notice (when you own the photo)

If the image was made from a photo you took, you generally hold the copyright — which gives you a separate removal route.

• A DMCA takedown noticeunder 17 U.S.C. §512 asks the host or platform to remove material that infringes your copyright. Most hosts publish a DMCA / copyright contact or form.
• A valid notice identifies the copyrighted work, the infringing URL(s), your contact information, and includes the statements the law requires (a good-faith belief the use is unauthorized, and that the information is accurate).
• DMCA can be used alongsidea TAKE IT DOWN Act request — they address different things (copyright vs. non-consensual intimate imagery).

Tools like FaceSentry can help you prepare a DMCA or TAKE IT DOWN Act notice and trackthe response — but a notice does not by itself decide whether a platform removes content or how quickly.

4. Block re-uploads with proactive hashing

Hashing tools help stop the same image from being posted again on participating platforms — without you ever uploading the image itself.

• For adults: StopNCII.org(operated by the Revenge Porn Helpline, part of the UK charity SWGfL) creates a digital fingerprint (“hash”) on your own device; only the hash — never the image — is shared with participating companies so they can detect and block matches.
• For anyone under 18 (or images made when someone was under 18): NCMEC’s Take It Down service does the same for minors. You can also report to NCMEC’s CyberTipline.

5. Keep up as content spreads — and get support

• Re-check periodically. Content can reappear or be re-hosted. Searching again and re-reporting is normal.
• Monitoring as one option. Tracking every copy by hand is hard. A monitoring-and-takedown tool like FaceSentry uses automated face-matching to surface possible matches of your own face and helps you prepare and track removal requests. A flagged match is a lead to review, not a legal determination, and no tool can guarantee an outcome.
• Support: the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) runs a free, confidential Image Abuse Helpline at 1-844-878-2274. For emotional support, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is 988.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Removal depends on each platform’s and search engine’s own policies and processes; no guide or tool can guarantee whether content is removed or how quickly.