Intimate image response checklist: safety, evidence, platform reports and support

What to take away

• The list is a menu. Nobody has to finish it in one sitting.
• Never forward the image to prove it exists.
• Write down direct URLs, account handles, dates, demands and report numbers.
• Removing a page from a host and removing it from search are two separate jobs.
• The person depicted decides who else is told, unless safety forces the issue.
• If anyone in the image was under 18 at capture, use child-protection routes only.

This checklist is for an adult facing a threat or an unauthorized post. Laws and services differ by state and country. If someone is in physical danger now, call local emergency services before reading further.

Immediate safety

• List the physical risks: stalking, doxxing, shared devices, anyone with account access.
• Move somewhere safer if that is possible tonight.
• Ask one trusted person to stay close without asking for the story.
• Do not confront the suspected uploader alone.
• Decide which phone or laptop is safe to keep using.
• Turn off location sharing only if doing so will not tip off someone who poses a danger.

Evidence without passing it on

• Save the page URL and the direct media URL where you can reach them safely.
• Save profile URLs, usernames, display names and account numbers.
• Note the date, time, time zone, visible sequence and the exact demand made.
• Keep payment requests, email headers and any phone numbers shown.
• Keep report receipts and rejection notices.
• Lock the evidence folder to as few people as possible.
• Do not download or screenshot suspected child sexual abuse material.

The NCMEC CyberTipline report page takes reports of child sexual exploitation, offers a quick exit, lists a 24-hour contact number, and separates emergency danger from its reporting process. Outside the United States, use the child-protection channel for that country.

Account and device access

• Change the password on the controlling email from a device you trust.
• Replace reused passwords with unique ones.
• Turn on multifactor authentication.
• Check recovery emails, recovery phone numbers, active sessions and forwarding rules.
• Check shared albums, cloud drives, app permissions and connected devices.
• Save any useful access alerts before you sign sessions out.
• Bring in a security specialist if spyware or a monitored device is possible.

Platform and host reports

• Pick the category that fits: intimate image, sexual privacy, impersonation or harassment.
• Report each distinct URL and each account separately.
• Give the service only the evidence it asks for.
• Record the policy you cited, the submission date, the case number and the stated response time.
• If a report is rejected, appeal and name the specific fact the reviewer missed.
• Do not threaten staff, and do not send conflicting accounts from several profiles.

Search results

1. Note which search product is showing the result.
2. File the host report first where that is safe and practical.
3. Use the product's personal-content removal route for search.
4. Ask for a refresh once the source page is gone.
5. Remember that search removal leaves the host page live.

Google's guidance on removing personal sexual images from Search covers an image-viewer request for an adult's real nonconsensual image or a fake sexual image, status tracking, and optional duplicate and future-search protections. Eligibility and product behavior change, so work from the live form.

Trusted support and legal help

• Ask what kind of help the person wants: listening, documentation, security, reporting or a legal referral.
• Share the minimum facts with each helper.
• Find an advocate who has worked on technology-facilitated abuse before.
• Ask a licensed lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction about deadlines, emergency orders and realistic remedies.
• Involve law enforcement where there are threats, stalking, extortion or child exploitation.
• Promise no arrest, no liability finding and no complete removal.

Follow-up log

Field	Entry
URL or account
Service and report category
Date submitted
Case number
Current status
Next review date
Assigned helper
Access restrictions

Set short, bounded review windows. Searching every day wears a person down. A trusted helper can watch agreed terms and keep what they find out of casual messages.

Common questions

Do we have to complete every box?

No. Age, location, safety and what the person wants decide the order and the scope. Skip anything that raises risk, and come back to it later if it still matters.

Can I email the image to a lawyer without asking?

Ask first. Use the firm's secure intake method and send only what they request. An unrequested copy in an inbox is one more place the image can leak from.

What if a report form demands a screenshot?

Confirm the form is genuine and read the service's own instructions. Never send child sexual abuse material through a general reporting form; use the designated child-protection channel.

When should follow-up stop?

Agree a review plan with the person affected. Reassess when monitoring costs more in distress, money or safety than the information is worth.