Take It Down Act: How to Remove Nonconsensual Intimate Images and Deepfakes

• In the United States, covered platforms must provide a removal process and remove qualifying nonconsensual intimate images and known identical copies within 48 hours of a valid request.
• Report the post directly, save useful evidence without resharing the image, and use StopNCII for eligible adult content or NCMEC’s Take It Down for images made when someone was under 18.
• If a U.S. platform has no working removal process or fails to act, report the platform to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. Canadian readers should use the platform’s reporting tools, NeedHelpNow.ca, Cybertip.ca for youth-related cases, and local police when appropriate.

What to do first

If someone posted an intimate image or deepfake of you without your consent, start with the platform hosting it. Report the specific post, account, message, or page and clearly state that you are the person depicted and that you did not consent to the content being posted or shared.

Before the post disappears, save the information you may need later: the page or profile address, username, date and time, platform name, report confirmation, and threatening messages. Take screenshots of the surrounding page or messages when it is safe to do so, but avoid downloading, forwarding, or reposting the intimate image itself. If a child is involved, do not copy or circulate the material.

The Take It Down Act is a U.S. law. Since May 19, 2026, covered platforms must provide a clear way to request removal of qualifying nonconsensual intimate photos and videos, including realistic digitally altered or AI-generated intimate images. After receiving a valid request, the platform must remove the reported content and known identical copies within 48 hours.

Step 1: Report the content to the platform

Use the reporting option attached to the post whenever possible. It may appear under a three-dot menu, a flag icon, a safety menu, or a privacy-abuse category. Choose the closest option for nonconsensual intimate imagery, sexual exploitation, privacy violation, or intimate image abuse.

If you do not have an account, look for the platform’s help-center reporting form. A covered U.S. platform should not make account ownership the only way to request removal. Keep the confirmation number or email, because it helps establish when the 48-hour period began.

Keep your report factual and brief. Include the direct page address, explain that you are the person depicted, say whether the image is real or digitally altered, and state that you did not consent to its publication. Do not send additional intimate images to prove your identity unless the platform’s verified process specifically requires a secure step.

Step 2: Limit further sharing with a hash-based tool

Adults: StopNCII

StopNCII is a free service for adults who are depicted in an eligible nude, partially nude, or sexual image or video. It can also accept certain synthetic or generated intimate images. The tool creates a digital fingerprint, called a hash, on your device. The image itself is not uploaded to StopNCII; participating platforms use the hash to look for matching content within their services.

StopNCII is not a universal internet removal service. It works only with participating platforms, and it may not remove the original post you already found. Report the known post directly as well.

To use it, make sure you are the person in the image, were over 18 when it was created, are currently over 18, and still have the image or video. Save the case number and password. StopNCII says lost case details cannot be recovered through another method.

Images made when someone was under 18: NCMEC’s Take It Down

If the image or video was created before the person turned 18, use the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s Take It Down service instead of StopNCII. It creates a hash from the file on the device and can help participating platforms detect and remove matching content.

For suspected child sexual exploitation, threats, or sextortion in the United States, a CyberTipline report may also be appropriate. Do not send the image to friends, relatives, journalists, or the person threatening you.

Step 3: Escalate in the United States if the platform fails

Wait 48 hours after submitting a valid removal request to a covered U.S. platform. If the platform has not removed the image or known identical copies, report the platform to the Federal Trade Commission through TakeItDown.ftc.gov. You can also report the platform if it has no working process for requesting removal or requires an account when you do not have one.

The FTC complaint is about the platform’s failure to follow the removal requirements. It is not a replacement for reporting the post to the platform, and the FTC cannot instantly delete the image from every website. Include the platform, the location of the content, the date you asked for removal, and what happened afterward. The FTC’s reporting tool allows information about multiple images on the same platform, while duplicates of the same image do not need to be reported separately.

What to do about threats, blackmail, or sextortion

If someone is threatening to release an intimate image unless you pay, send more images, or follow instructions, do not pay and do not send additional material. Stop communicating, block the account when you have preserved the necessary evidence, and tell someone you trust.

In the United States, report serious threats or sextortion to local law enforcement and the FBI. If a child is involved, report suspected online child exploitation to NCMEC’s CyberTipline. If you believe you are in immediate danger, call 911.

Canada: use the platform tools and local support

The U.S. Take It Down Act does not create a 48-hour federal removal deadline for Canadian platforms. Canadian readers should still report the content directly to the service, preserve evidence, and ask local police or a victim-service organization about the available legal options. Canada’s federal guidance identifies sharing intimate images without consent as technology-facilitated sexual violence and directs people to platform reporting, support services, and police when appropriate.

For anyone under 18 in Canada, NeedHelpNow.ca can help with reporting, removal requests, and support. It can also connect young people with services that may send notices to platforms. Cybertip.ca is Canada’s national tipline for reporting the sexual exploitation of children.

What the law can and cannot do

The Take It Down Act can give people in the United States a defined route to request removal from covered platforms, but it does not erase every copy across the internet. A platform may not participate in a particular hash-matching program, content may be hosted outside the platform you first contacted, and search-result removal is different from removing the original page.

That is why the most effective sequence is usually: report the original post, save confirmation details, submit the image to the appropriate hash-based service if eligible, monitor for reposts, and escalate a U.S. platform failure to the FTC after the required period. If the material involves a minor, prioritize NCMEC or Canadian child-protection reporting and avoid sharing the file further.

When to get personal support

Image-based abuse can create immediate safety, employment, relationship, and mental-health concerns. You do not have to handle the process alone. Ask a trusted person to help document links, complete forms, and monitor new reports. If the person who posted the image is a current or former partner, consider contacting a domestic-violence or sexual-violence service before confronting them.

If you are in immediate danger in the United States or Canada, call 911. If you are thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 in the United States or Canada for crisis support.

Helpful Links

• FTC image-based abuse guidance – Explains the U.S. removal process, platform reporting, StopNCII, NCMEC, law enforcement, and support options.
• FTC Take It Down Act enforcement guidance – Confirms the May 19, 2026 compliance date and the 48-hour removal requirement for covered platforms.
• StopNCII – Creates a hash from eligible adult intimate images or videos to help participating platforms detect matching content.
• NCMEC Take It Down – Helps remove nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images and videos created when the person was under 18.
• NeedHelpNow.ca – Canadian support and removal guidance for young people dealing with shared intimate images, sextortion, or online sexual violence.
• Canada technology-facilitated sexual violence guidance – Provides Canadian guidance on threats, documentation, platform reporting, support, and contacting police.
• StopNCII Create Your Case – Official page referenced in the article.
• FTC Take It Down reporting portal – Official page referenced in the article.
• Sextortion — FBI – Official page referenced in the article.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Does the Take It Down Act remove an image from the entire internet?

A. No. The U.S. law applies to covered platforms and requires them to remove qualifying content and known identical copies after a valid request. It does not guarantee removal from every website, search engine, encrypted service, or independently hosted page.

Q. Can I use StopNCII for an AI-generated deepfake?

A. StopNCII says it can accept certain synthetic, fake, or generated nude, semi-nude, or sexual images when you meet its eligibility requirements. The original image used to create a synthetic image may not be eligible, so report the deepfake directly to the platform as well.

Q. What if I do not have the original image or video?

A. You can still report the post directly to the platform and preserve the page address, username, messages, and report confirmation. Hash-based services generally require the eligible file to be on your device, so they may not be available without a copy.

Q. What should I do if the image was created when I was under 18?

A. Use NCMEC’s Take It Down in the United States or NeedHelpNow.ca and Cybertip.ca in Canada. Do not download, forward, or ask someone else to send you the image. If there is a threat or sextortion, report it to the relevant child-protection or law-enforcement service.

Q. Should I pay someone who threatens to release my images?

A. No. Payment and additional images usually do not end the threats. Preserve the messages, stop communicating, block the account when safe, tell someone you trust, and report the conduct to law enforcement or the appropriate child-protection service.