How to File a Take It Down Request (Step by Step)

If someone shared an intimate image of you without your consent, federal law now gives you a removal route that platforms have to answer on a clock. This guide walks the process in order, from preserving evidence through the platform request, the FTC complaint, and criminal reporting.

This article describes the federal process under the Take It Down Act (Public Law 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) and the separate federal civil action at 15 U.S.C. § 6851. State criminal and civil laws apply alongside the federal Act and vary considerably; for those, see our revenge porn laws by state comparison. For background on what the statute covers and who it protects, start with our overview of the Take It Down Act.

Information in this article was verified in August 2026. Platform help pages and FTC enforcement posture change; check the linked official pages before you file.

Step 1: Take Care of Your Safety, Then Preserve the Evidence

Before you contact anyone, decide whether the person who posted the content knows where you live, works with you, or has access to your accounts. If contacting a platform or filing a police report could escalate the situation, it is reasonable to talk to a domestic violence advocate or a lawyer first. Nothing in this process expires in a way that requires you to act within hours.

Then preserve what exists, because it can disappear once a platform acts.

For each place the content appears, record:

• The exact URL of the post or profile page, copied from the address bar rather than retyped.
• The username, display name, and profile URL of the account that posted it.
• The date and time you found it, and your time zone.
• A screenshot of the page showing the surrounding context, including the URL bar and the timestamp on the post.
• Any messages, threats, or demands connected to it, saved in full rather than cropped.

A screenshot of the page is what proves the post existed and where. Keep any copy of the image that is already on your device, because the hash tools in Step 2 have to read the file locally. Do not download it, ask anyone to send it to you, or forward it. NCMEC's guidance is explicit: "Please do NOT send, share, or download any image or video in order to submit to Take It Down. Submissions should only be made for images or videos you already have on your device." If you no longer have access to the device the image was taken on, NCMEC directs you to make a CyberTipline report at report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-THE-LOST instead. Possessing and transmitting sexual images of a minor is itself a serious crime, which is why the reporting tools described in the next step are built so that the file never has to be handed to anyone.

If the material shows a minor, report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through the CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org, or contact local law enforcement. That report goes to people trained to handle the material lawfully.

Step 2: Use the Hash Tool That Matches Your Age When the Image Was Taken

Two free services can stop an image from being posted or reposted on participating platforms. They are split strictly by age, and using the wrong one wastes time.

Under 18 at the time the image was taken: takeitdown.ncmec.org. NCMEC describes Take It Down as a free service that can help you "remove or stop the online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos taken of you when you were under 18 years old." The service states plainly how the file is handled: "Your image or video remains on your device and is not uploaded. The hash is added to a secure list maintained by NCMEC." The service directs adults elsewhere: "If there is an explicit image of you from when you were 18 or older, you can get help at stopncii.org."

18 or older when the image was taken: stopncii.org. StopNCII screens on both ends, asking whether the person in the image was "18 or older at the time the image was taken" and is "currently over 18 years old." It is operated by the Revenge Porn Helpline, "which is part of SWGfL, a not-for-profit charity," so it is a charity service rather than a US government program. It works the same way technically: "The tool works by creating hashes (digital fingerprints) of your selected images directly on your device. This hash (fingerprint) is the only file which is shared with StopNCII.org." StopNCII reports "an over 90% removal rate" across the images submitted to it.

Both tools work by matching. Your device computes a fingerprint of the image, only that fingerprint is shared, and participating companies compare it against uploads. That means the tools are primarily preventive. They can block future uploads on companies that participate, and they can catch copies you never find yourself, but a hash match is not a legal takedown demand and neither service can reach a platform that does not participate.

Use the hash tool and file with the platform. They do different jobs, and neither one replaces the other.

Step 3: File a Take It Down Request With the Platform

Section 3 of the Take It Down Act requires covered platforms, meaning services that primarily provide a forum for user-generated content, plus any service that in the regular course of business publishes or hosts nonconsensual intimate imagery, to run a notice-and-removal process and to post "a clear and conspicuous notice" describing it that is "easy to read and in plain language." Platforms had until May 19, 2026 to comply.

Your request has to be in writing and, under the statute, must include four elements:

1. A signature. "A physical or electronic signature of the identifiable individual (or an authorized person acting on behalf of such individual)."
2. Identification of the content. "An identification of, and information reasonably sufficient for the covered platform to locate, the intimate visual depiction." This is where the URLs you saved in Step 1 go. List every URL you found, one per line.
3. A good-faith statement of non-consent. "A brief statement that the identifiable individual has a good faith belief that any intimate visual depiction identified under clause (ii) is not consensual, including any relevant information for the covered platform to determine the intimate visual depiction was published without the consent of the identifiable individual." In practice this means saying briefly why the platform should conclude you did not consent, not just that you did not.
4. Contact information. "Information sufficient to enable the covered platform to contact the identifiable individual (or an authorized person acting on behalf of such individual)."

Most platform forms collect these fields for you, so filling out the platform's own form is usually the cleanest way to make a complete request. A parent or guardian can submit on behalf of a minor, and an authorized representative can submit on behalf of an adult.

Once a platform receives a valid request, the statute gives it a deadline. It must act "as soon as possible, but not later than 48 hours after receiving such request" to remove the depiction, and it must "make reasonable efforts to identify and remove any known identical copies." That second duty matters: you are not required to hunt down every repost yourself, though listing the copies you already found makes the platform's job easier and your record stronger.

The following filing pages were live as of August 2026:

• Google (Search, YouTube, and other Google products): Google's removal request page for non-consensual intimate imagery, which covers both Google's own policies and the Take It Down Act route.
• X: X's US Take It Down Act page, which routes to the in-app report flow. The direct web form is at help.x.com/forms/safety-and-sensitive-content/take-it-down. An X account is not required to submit.
• TikTok: TikTok's sexual exploitation and abuse report form.

For any other service, look for its own notice-and-removal page rather than trusting a link from a third party. The statute requires covered platforms to post that notice conspicuously, so it is usually reachable from the help center or the terms of service, and searching the platform's help center for "Take It Down" or "non-consensual intimate imagery" generally finds it. In May 2026 the FTC sent warning letters about compliance to Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Automattic, Bumble, Discord, Match Group, Meta, Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, SmugMug, Snapchat, TikTok, and X, so those companies are on notice that a process is expected of them.

Keep a copy of what you submitted and the confirmation or ticket number. Note the exact date and time you filed, because the 48-hour clock runs from receipt and you will need that timestamp for Step 4.

The Act reaches manipulated images as well as real ones. A "digital forgery" under the statute is content created through "software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other computer-generated or technological means" that, "when viewed as a whole by a reasonable person, is indistinguishable from an authentic visual depiction." A request about an AI-generated image of you follows the same steps.

Step 4: If the Platform Misses 48 Hours, File With the FTC

The Take It Down Act does not let you sue a platform for blowing the deadline. Instead, Congress made a violation of the removal duty an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)), which puts enforcement in the FTC's hands. Nonprofit organizations are covered too, which is unusual for FTC authority.

So if 48 hours pass with no removal, or the platform has no removal process at all, the next move is a complaint to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. The FTC launched that portal when enforcement began on May 19, 2026, and its consumer guidance directs people to use it when a platform does not act within the statutory window.

When you file, include the URLs, the date and time you submitted your platform request, and the confirmation number. The complaint is free.

Be realistic about what the FTC complaint does. It is a report to a regulator, not an order to the platform, and the FTC does not act as your representative in an individual dispute. In its business guidance the agency has flagged civil penalties of "$53,088 per violation" for companies that fail to comply. As of August 2026 the FTC's public activity is at the warning-letter stage and no completed platform enforcement action has been announced, so complaints are best understood as building the record that drives enforcement rather than as a same-week fix.

Step 5: Report the Crime, If You Want To

Publishing non-consensual intimate imagery is a federal crime under the Take It Down Act, which amended 47 U.S.C. § 223. Publishing authentic imagery of an adult carries up to 2 years; imagery of a minor carries up to 3 years; digital forgeries follow the same two tracks; and threatening to publish is punished the same as publishing when the image is authentic (up to 2 years for an adult, 3 for a minor), or up to 18 months (adult) or 30 months (minor) when the threat involves a digital forgery.

These prosecutions are real, not theoretical. In April 2026 a Columbus, Ohio man pleaded guilty in a case the U.S. Attorney's office described as the first conviction in the United States under the Take It Down Act, involving cyberstalking and AI-generated material.

You have more than one place to report:

• The FBI accepts tips online at tips.fbi.gov. This is the right channel when the conduct crosses state lines, involves a minor, or involves extortion.
• Local or state police. Every state has some form of non-consensual intimate imagery law, and state charges are often the faster practical route. Which conduct is a felony, whether AI-generated images are covered, and whether the state also gives you a civil claim all differ by state; our revenge porn laws by state page sets out the criminal statute for each jurisdiction.
• Campus or workplace channels, if the person is a student or coworker, which can run in parallel with anything else.

Reporting a crime is your choice, not a prerequisite. The platform request and the FTC complaint do not depend on it.

Step 6: Know That Civil Options Exist

Separately from the Take It Down Act, a federal civil cause of action has existed since 2022. Under 15 U.S.C. § 6851, added by the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, a person depicted in an intimate visual depiction disclosed without consent in or affecting interstate commerce may sue the person who disclosed it. The statute allows recovery of actual damages or liquidated damages of $150,000, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees. A parent or guardian may bring the action on behalf of a minor or an incapacitated person.

Many states also provide their own civil claim, sometimes alongside the criminal statute and sometimes instead of one. California's Civil Code § 1708.85, for example, creates a private action; South Carolina, the last state to criminalize the conduct, added a separate civil remedy in 2026 (Act No. 131, the Uniform Civil Remedies for Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act), so the criminal and civil pieces there sit in different statutes. The by-state page notes which states include one.

This is information about what the law provides, not a recommendation to sue. Civil litigation is slow, public unless a court permits pseudonymity, and requires identifying the person who posted the content, which is often the hardest part. Some people want it and some emphatically do not. If you are weighing it, a lawyer licensed in your state can tell you how that specific claim works there, and none of the removal steps above require you to decide.

What This Process Can and Cannot Do

It is worth being straight about the limits, because the honest version is more useful than the reassuring one.

The statute imposes a duty on platforms; it does not guarantee a result in your case. Platforms are required to remove valid requests within 48 hours, and if they do not, your remedy is a regulator complaint rather than a direct claim against them. Hash tools prevent matching uploads on participating services, but they cannot reach sites that do not participate, and offshore sites built around this content frequently do not. StopNCII states its own limits plainly: it works only on public-facing content on participating platforms, not on encrypted services, and an edited version of an image counts as a different image, so each edited copy needs its own submission.

What the process does do is give you a documented, free, repeatable path with a legal deadline attached, plus a federal agency that has already told the largest platforms it is watching. That is a substantially stronger position than victims had before May 2025.

Recording Law does not accept, forward, or file removal requests, and does not collect any information about your situation. Every link on this page goes directly to the platform, agency, or nonprofit that handles the request.

Disclaimer

This article provides general legal information about federal law in the United States, verified in August 2026, and is not legal advice. Recording Law is not a law firm and does not accept, forward, or file removal requests on anyone's behalf. State laws differ, and how any of this applies to a specific situation depends on facts this article cannot know. For advice about your circumstances, consult a lawyer licensed in your state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does filing a Take It Down request cost anything?

No. Filing with a platform is free, filing a complaint at TakeItDown.ftc.gov is free, and both takeitdown.ncmec.org and stopncii.org are free services. You do not need a lawyer for any of these steps. If a site asks you to pay a fee to submit a removal request or promises guaranteed removal for a price, it is not the official route.

What if I do not know who posted the image?

You do not need to identify the person to use the removal process. A platform request under the Take It Down Act identifies the content by URL and states that it is not consensual; it does not require you to name who uploaded it. Identifying the person matters mainly for a criminal referral or a civil lawsuit, and law enforcement has investigative tools you do not.

Are AI-generated or [deepfake](/us-laws/deepfake-laws) images covered?

Yes. The Act defines a digital forgery as content created through software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or other computer-generated means that a reasonable person would find indistinguishable from an authentic depiction, and it applies the same removal duty and comparable criminal penalties. A request about an AI-generated image follows the same steps as one about a real photograph.

The image was taken when I was under 18. What should I do differently?

Use takeitdown.ncmec.org rather than StopNCII, and report the material to the NCMEC CyberTipline or law enforcement. Do not download the image, forward it, or ask anyone to send it to you. The tool works on a copy already on your device and hashes it there, so the file never leaves the device. If you no longer have access to that device, do not go looking for a copy: make a CyberTipline report at report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-THE-LOST.

What happens if the platform ignores my request?

After 48 hours pass without removal, file a complaint at TakeItDown.ftc.gov with your URLs, the time you filed, and your confirmation number. A violation of the removal duty is treated as an unfair or deceptive practice under the FTC Act, so the FTC is the enforcement authority. As of August 2026 the agency has issued warning letters to major platforms but has not announced a completed enforcement action.

Can I sue the platform that hosted the image?

The Take It Down Act does not create a private right of action against platforms; enforcement of the 48-hour duty runs through the FTC. You may have a claim against the person who disclosed the image, under the federal civil provision at 15 U.S.C. § 6851 or under a state civil statute where one exists.

How long does removal usually take?

The statutory deadline is not later than 48 hours after a covered platform receives a valid request, and platforms must also make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies. Actual timing varies by platform and by how complete the request is. Sites built around this content are covered platforms under the statute, but many are run offshore, so a request there may go unanswered and the practical remedy is an FTC complaint rather than the 48-hour clock.

Will reporting it make the situation worse?

That is a real consideration, particularly where the person who posted the content is a current or former partner who may retaliate. There is no deadline in the removal process forcing you to act immediately, though civil claims do have filing deadlines that vary by state. If safety is a concern, it is reasonable to speak with a domestic violence advocate or a lawyer before filing, and to preserve the evidence in the meantime.