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What to do if…
you think an intimate video call or sexual situation was recorded without your consent

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy UK guide

Short answer

Move to a place where you feel safer, end contact for now if needed, and tell one trusted person or a specialist support service. You do not have to confront anyone, prove that a recording exists, or decide whether to report it immediately.

Do not do these things

  • Do not meet or confront the person alone if you feel frightened, pressured, or controlled.
  • Do not pay money or comply with further sexual demands if someone threatens to share a recording.
  • Do not send more intimate material to persuade someone to delete anything.
  • Do not keep engaging with threatening messages if pausing contact would feel safer.
  • Do not forward or widely share any intimate recording while seeking help.
  • Do not blame yourself for trusting someone, joining a call, consenting to sexual activity, or not noticing a recording.
  • Do not let anyone pressure you into reporting before you are ready unless someone is in immediate danger.

What to do now

  1. Reach a safer pause by leaving the call or location if you safely can, stopping contact for now, and calling 999 if you or someone else is in immediate danger.
  2. Tell a trusted person what you suspect and ask them to stay with you, speak with you by phone, or help you contact specialist support.
  3. If you are aged 18 or over and live in the UK, contact the Revenge Porn Helpline for confidential advice about intimate material taken, threatened, or shared without consent.
  4. If you are under 18, you can use Childline’s Report Remove service and consider telling a trusted adult or safeguarding professional. Do not download or forward the intimate material.
  5. If you may later want a record of what happened, keep existing messages, usernames, links, dates, and threats without forwarding intimate material or putting yourself at further risk.
  6. If the person may have access to your accounts, change the passwords for your email, video-call platform, cloud storage, and social accounts, enable two-step verification, and review signed-in devices.
  7. If a recording, threat, or suspicious account appears on a platform, use its reporting or safety tools; a trusted person or specialist service can help you do this.
  8. If the situation also involved sexual assault, injury, possible drugging, pregnancy risk, or sexually transmitted infection risk, contact an appropriate sexual assault or healthcare service.
  9. Reporting to the police is your choice; you can seek specialist support before deciding, and police reporting routes vary across the UK.

What can wait

You do not need to decide now whether to end a relationship, tell family or an employer, make a police report, contact every platform, or take legal action. You also do not need to work out exactly how a recording may have been made before asking for support.

Important reassurance

Your uncertainty is enough to seek help. Consent to a video call, nudity, or sexual activity is not consent to being recorded or to intimate material being shared. Freezing, staying polite, or not confronting the person does not make you responsible for what they may have done.

Scope note

This guide covers immediate safety, support, account protection, and limited preservation of information already available to you. Later decisions about removal requests, police reporting, healthcare, work, housing, or legal options may require specialist help.

Important note

This is general information, not legal, medical, therapeutic, or other professional advice. Laws, services, and reporting routes can differ between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, so check the relevant route or ask a specialist service.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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