us Sexual violence & highly sensitive situations

What to do if…
sexual content or an advert is posted using your photos or contact details without consent

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: 2 August 2026 Last reviewed: 17 August 2026 Editorial policy USA guide

Short answer

Move to a private, safer place, stop engaging with anyone threatening or harassing you, and report the post, advert, profile, or listing to the service hosting it. Call 911 if someone is approaching your location, has made an immediate threat, or you are in physical danger.

Do not do these things

Do not pay, send more photos, share account access, or agree to meet someone who is threatening you.
Do not confront, threaten, or negotiate with the person who posted the content.
Do not repost the content publicly to explain that it is false.
Do not ask other people to circulate the link or visit the advert.
Do not delete your accounts in panic; restrict access and incoming contact instead.
Do not download or forward a nude or sexual image of anyone who may have been under 18 when it was created.
Do not assume you must decide immediately whether to contact law enforcement.

What to do now

Reach a safer pause. If the post includes your current location and someone is nearby, go to a secure place and call 911.
Tell one trusted person what is happening. Ask them to stay with you, screen incoming contact, or help submit reports if viewing the content is distressing.
Report the original post, advert, listing, or account through the website or app hosting it. Choose the closest available reason, such as nonconsensual intimate imagery, impersonation, harassment, privacy violation, sexual exploitation, or exposed personal information.
State clearly that your photo, name, phone number, email address, location, or other details are being used without your consent. Request removal of the content and any linked fake account, duplicate listing, or advert.
If it feels safe, keep the page address, account name, date, report confirmation, and one necessary screenshot before blocking the account or closing the page. Do not screenshot, download, or save sexual imagery depicting anyone who may have been under 18; keep non-image details such as the URL, account name, and report confirmation instead.
If the content is a nude, sexual, digitally altered, or deepfake intimate image, use the platform’s dedicated removal process. If a covered image and known identical copies are not removed within 48 hours after a valid request, you can report the platform through TakeItDown.ftc.gov.
If you were 18 or older in an intimate image and already have the file on your device, StopNCII can create a digital fingerprint for use by participating platforms. If you were under 18 when the image was created, Take It Down can do this instead; do not download the image or ask someone to send it solely to use the service.
If the content appears in Google Search, submit the appropriate request for removal of personal sexual content or exposed contact details. Removing a result from Google Search does not remove the material from the website hosting it, so report both places.
Protect accounts connected to the exposed information. Change reused passwords, turn on two-step verification, review signed-in devices, restrict who can contact you, and hide public phone, email, location, workplace, or family details.
Silence or block unwanted calls and messages after keeping the limited record you need. Contact your phone provider if the volume of contact is making your number difficult to use safely.
Contact the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative or RAINN for confidential support and help sorting the available reporting routes. You can ask about options without first deciding whether to contact law enforcement.

What can wait

You do not need to decide now whether to confront the poster, make a police report, contact an attorney, change your phone number permanently, tell your employer or family, or identify who created the post. You also do not need to answer every message or search continuously for every copy.

Important reassurance

Someone using your photos or contact details in sexual content does not make the claims true and does not mean you consented. This can involve ordinary photographs, intimate images, altered images, deepfakes, fake profiles, or fabricated adverts. Removal may require more than one report, but you do not have to manage every part of it alone.

Scope note

This guide covers immediate safety, removal requests, account protection, and specialist support only. Later decisions about law enforcement, civil remedies, employment concerns, or continuing harassment may require help from a qualified advocate or attorney in your state.

Important note

This is general information, not legal, investigative, therapeutic, technical, or other professional advice. Platform procedures and legal options vary according to the content, service, circumstances, and state involved.

Additional Resources

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.

Support us