us Sexual violence & highly sensitive situations

What to do if…
you realise someone is collecting your photos and making sexual comments about you online

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: 19 June 2026 Last reviewed: 17 July 2026 Editorial policy USA guide

Short answer

Get to a safer pause, stop engaging, tighten privacy, report the accounts or posts on each platform, and contact specialist support if intimate images, threats, or under-18 content are involved. If there is immediate danger, a crime in progress, or urgent threats to your safety, call 911.

Do not do these things

Do not reply, argue, bargain, or try to shame them into stopping.
Do not send more photos, videos, personal details, or “proof” of who you are.
Do not pay, comply with demands, or negotiate if this becomes blackmail or sextortion.
Do not post a public call-out with their handle or screenshots; it can spread the material further.
Do not force yourself to keep looking through upsetting posts; get help from a trusted person and step away when you need to.
Do not assume you caused this by having photos online.

What to do now

Get another safe person involved.
Tell one trusted person what is happening and ask them to sit with you, stay on the phone, or help with reporting while you take breaks.
Stop direct contact with the person or accounts.
Do not respond to messages, comments, threats, or bait. If messages are coming in fast, mute notifications while you work through the next steps.
Do a quick privacy lockdown across the affected platforms.
Set accounts to private where possible, restrict who can comment, message, tag, mention, or duet you, and turn on filters for sexual terms, your name, and other targeted phrases where the platform allows it.
Remove obvious location and routine clues.
Archive or hide posts that show your school, workplace, home area, regular routes, check-ins, name badges, license plates, or repeated hangout spots.
If it feels safe, save only the basics before blocking.
Take a few screenshots or save links showing the account name, platform, sexual comments, photo use, threats, dates, and URLs, then keep them in a private folder that you do not share publicly.
Report the specific content on each platform.
Report the comments, posts, profiles, fake accounts, impersonation, non-consensual image use, harassment, or sexual harassment using the closest platform category available, then block the account after reporting.
Use specialist help if intimate images, threats, or sexualized altered images are involved.
Contact the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Safety Center or Image Abuse Helpline for support with image-based sexual abuse, non-consensual intimate imagery, sexual deepfakes, and sextortion.
Use the child exploitation route if anyone involved is under 18.
If any sexual content involves a minor, or if you are under 18 and someone is sexualizing, coercing, or threatening you online, report to NCMEC’s CyberTipline. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Consider official reporting if there are threats, stalking, extortion, or offline identification attempts.
For immediate danger or a crime in progress, call 911. For broader online crime patterns, especially extortion, hacking, threats, or repeated cross-platform targeting, you can file with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at the official IC3 site.
Get confidential support without deciding everything now.
RAINN can offer confidential support and options if you feel panicky, ashamed, frozen, or unsure what to call what happened. You do not have to decide about police, school, work, legal steps, or public statements right now.

What can wait

You do not need to decide today whether to make a formal report, contact a lawyer, tell your workplace or school, or make a public statement.
You do not need to prove intent, label the behaviour perfectly, or investigate every account.
You do not need to fix every privacy setting at once; focus first on comments, messages, tags, visibility, and location clues.
You do not need to keep monitoring their pages nonstop after you have reported and blocked; ask someone else to help if continued checking is necessary.

Important reassurance

This can feel violating, frightening, and unreal, even if the person has not contacted you offline. Your shock, anger, fear, numbness, or shame are understandable, and the responsibility sits with the person choosing to collect, sexualize, threaten, or misuse your images.

Scope note

These are first steps only, meant to reduce harm and stabilize the moment. Later decisions about ongoing safety planning, platform escalation, school or workplace support, legal options, or counselling can be made with specialist help when you are less overwhelmed.

Important note

This is general information, not legal, medical, therapeutic, financial, or other professional advice. If you feel unsafe, there are urgent threats, or someone may come to your location, prioritize immediate safety and contact emergency services.

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