Someone made a fake nude or sexual image of me (or my child): what do I do in the first 48 hours?

Get help now. If you are in crisis or thinking of harming yourself, contact a person now. In the US, call or text 988 (988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). In the UK and Ireland, call Samaritans free on 116 123 (Samaritans). Elsewhere, find a free, confidential helpline at findahelpline.com. Or call your local emergency number.

Short answer

This is not your fault, and you can act on it today. First, do not reply to the person who posted it and do not pay anyone. Save evidence, then report the image on every platform where it appears, choosing the option for intimate or sexual images. Then use a free tool that stops copies spreading: StopNCII if you are an adult, or NCMEC's Take It Down if the image shows you or your child under 18. If a child is in the image, or someone is threatening or blackmailing you, go to the police as well.

The first hour: a checklist

Do not engage. Do not reply, argue, or pay. Block the account only after you have saved what you need.
Save the evidence. For each place it appears, write down the full web address (URL), the account name, and the date and time you saw it. Take a screenshot that shows the account name. Keep these in a folder off the platform, such as on your computer or in a notes app.
Do not share the image to "prove" it. Do not forward it to friends or family. If the image shows someone under 18, do not save, send or download the image itself, even as evidence. Save the link and account name only, and tell the police. NCMEC's Take It Down page also says not to send, share or download such files.
Tell one person you trust. You do not need to do this alone.
Start reporting (next section).

Use a simple log, one line per post. This is the illustrative layout we suggest:

Evidence log · v1.0

Platform | Link (URL) | Account name | Date seen | Date and time reported | Removal deadline | Outcome

Fill in the "Removal deadline" as 48 hours after you sent a valid request (see below), if the platform is covered by US law.

Report it on each platform

Use the platform's own report button and pick the option for nudity, sexual content, or intimate images shared without consent. Do not pick "spam" or "harassment" if a sexual or intimate option exists, because the right option sends it to the right team. Note the time you reported in your log.

The US 48-hour rule. Since 19 May 2026, US platforms covered by the Take It Down Act must offer a way to ask for removal, and must remove the image, and known identical copies, within 48 hours of a valid request (FTC, 19 May 2026, regulator press release). The law covers AI-made images too: it defines a "digital forgery" as an intimate image of an identifiable person made with "software, machine learning, artificial intelligence," or by altering a real photo (Take It Down Act, enrolled text, law text).

The clock runs from a valid request made through the platform's removal process, not from any report. Under the Act, a valid request is in writing and includes:

your physical or electronic signature;
enough information for the platform to find the image, such as the link;
a short statement that you believe in good faith the image was shared without your consent;
a way for the platform to contact you.

If a platform misses the deadline. In the US, complain to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. It takes complaints about platforms that fail to act on a valid request or have no removal process at all (FTC). The FTC wrote to 15 companies about their duties, including Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok and X. Ask the platform first; the FTC site is the fallback.

This matters because these tools have been misused at scale. In January 2026 the Washington Post found that X users were asking the Grok chatbot to put real women in bikinis or lingerie, and that some of the images appeared to show children (Washington Post, republished by Boston.com, 6 January 2026, news).

Stop copies spreading: which tool fits

These tools make a "hash" (a digital fingerprint of the picture) on your own device, so the image itself is not uploaded. Participating platforms use the hash to find and block matching copies. As of October 2026, each organisation's own page describes them like this:

Your case	Tool	What its own page says
Adult, image taken when you were 18 or over, you have a copy	StopNCII	For people who are in the image and still have it. The hash is made on your device. Its FAQ says this includes "manipulated images/deepfakes" of you. An edited version may need hashing separately. Keep your case number and PIN: it cannot recover them.
Image taken when you (or your child) were under 18, and you have it on a device	NCMEC Take It Down	For nude, partially nude or sexually explicit images or videos taken before 18. You can still use it as an adult. The image "remains on your device and is not uploaded." It works on public or unencrypted platforms that have agreed to take part. Its FAQ does not say whether AI-made images are covered.
A child is at risk, being threatened, or you do not have the image	NCMEC CyberTipline	Takes reports of child sexual abuse material and online enticement of children. 24-hour line: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
UK, adult	Revenge Porn Helpline	Supports adults 18 and over in the UK with intimate image abuse, and has advice on synthetic sexual images. Phone 0345 6000 459, 10:00 to 16:00, Monday to Friday.
UK, under 18	Childline Report Remove	Run with the Internet Watch Foundation. Childline says images faked with AI can be reported, and are assessed as though they were real.

Hashing does not remove an image from sites that are not taking part, and it cannot reach encrypted chats such as WhatsApp. Keep reporting directly on each site as well.

If it is your child

Tell your child, clearly and more than once, that it is not their fault and they are not in trouble. That is ours, not a source's, and it matters most. Then:

Do not save or send the image. Save links and account names only.
Report to the police and to the CyberTipline (US) or Report Remove (UK).
Use Take It Down if the image is on a device you or your child have. Do not download it from the web to get a copy.
If it came from a classmate, tell the school as well.

If someone is demanding money or more images, stop replying, do not pay, keep the messages, and report it to the police that day.

The weeks after

Search for your name and the account names once a week for a month (our suggestion). Add new posts to your log and report each one.
Run a reverse image search on a screenshot to find copies; Was this image made or changed by AI? shows how.
If someone is using your face for a fake ad or profile that is not sexual, use the platform's impersonation report instead.
If you are struggling afterwards, talking to a person helps. Talking to AI when you're struggling covers where a chat assistant stops.

Limits

Sources

FTC. FTC begins enforcing the Take It Down Act, 19 May 2026. Regulator press release. Link
US Congress. Take It Down Act (S. 146), enrolled text, 2025. Law text. Link
StopNCII. Home page and FAQ, read October 2026. Charity help page. Link
NCMEC. Take It Down and its FAQ, read October 2026. Nonprofit help page. Link
NCMEC. CyberTipline, read October 2026. Nonprofit reporting page. Link
Revenge Porn Helpline. Home page, read October 2026. Charity help page. Link
Childline. Report Remove, read October 2026. Charity help page. Link
The Washington Post (republished by Boston.com). X users tell Grok to undress women and girls in photos, 6 January 2026. News. Link

Changes

v1.019 Oct 2026first version

Short answer

The first hour: a checklist

Report it on each platform

Stop copies spreading: which tool fits

If it is your child

The weeks after

Limits

Sources

Changes

Related