Incident Response — Image-Based Abuse (Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery)

You’re not at fault — and you’re not alone

The crime is sharing, not existing. Most US states criminalize non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), and federal civil law gives you a direct cause of action. You have specific, free, 24/7 resources designed exactly for this category — staffed by people who do nothing else. If you are reading this for someone else: do not leave them alone right now. Sit with them. Make the first call together.

Crisis support — call or text any of these now if you need it

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988 — 24/7
• Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741 — 24/7
• Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) Crisis Helpline — 1-844-878-2274 (1-844-878-CCRI) — 24/7, free, trained NCII advocates
• RAINN (sexual assault) — 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) — 24/7

This category carries real mental-health risk. Reaching out is not weakness — it is the same reflex as calling 911 after a car wreck. If you are with the survivor, you can dial for them.

STOP — first 4 actions in the next 30 minutes

a. Call CCRI Helpline: 1-844-878-2274. Free, 24/7, trained advocates who specialize in exactly this category. They will walk you through every step and stay on the line as long as you need. This is the single highest-leverage action in the first hour — one call replaces the next ten things on this page.

b. If you have copies of the original images (you took them, or someone sent them to you): use StopNCII.org. It creates a hash (a one-way fingerprint) of the image on YOUR device — the image itself never uploads anywhere — and shares only the hash with participating platforms (Meta/Facebook/Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Bumble, Pornhub, OnlyFans, X, Snap, and more). Those platforms then block re-uploads of any image matching that hash. Free. Anonymous. No account needed.

c. If you were UNDER 18 in any of the images: this is federal CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) territory, and the response track is different and faster. Call NCMEC CyberTipline 1-800-843-5678 or report at cybertipline.org. Use takeitdown.ncmec.org instead of (or in addition to) StopNCII.org — same hash concept, designed for minors, with the legal weight of CSAM behind it.

d. Do NOT engage with the person sharing the images. Do not respond to threats. Do not respond to “deals” or apologies. Do not deny, explain, or negotiate. Document everything but do not communicate. Engagement is what they want; silence + reports is what works.

Evidence vs retraumatization

You will want evidence later — for platform takedowns, police, a civil suit, or a Title IX complaint. You do not have to be the person who collects it.

• For a future police report or civil suit you need timestamped screenshots showing: the full URL, the username posting, the date/time visible on screen, and the platform’s branding.
• Ask a trusted friend or a CCRI advocate to capture the screenshots so you do not have to look at the images yourself. This is a normal request — advocates do it routinely.
• Save evidence to encrypted storage. Options: Cryptomator (free, cross-platform), an encrypted ZIP file with a strong unique password, a password-manager-protected note, or a dedicated email folder accessible only to you with a fresh strong password.
• You do NOT need to keep the original images. The screenshots of where they were posted — the URLs, the posting accounts, the timestamps — are what matters for the case.
• Note down any usernames, screen names, server names, channel names, and approximate timestamps in a plain text file. Memory fades; logs help advocates and lawyers.
• CCRI’s helpline will guide evidence preservation specifically and can tell you which jurisdictions need which format.

Platform takedown — direct links

Submit through the platform’s NCII-specific path, not generic “report this post.” NCII paths route to trained reviewers and move faster.

Platform	Takedown path	Notes
Discord	discord.com/safety → submit request → “Non-consensual intimate imagery”	Typically removes within 24 hours; will also ban the server if hosting NCII is its purpose
Meta (Facebook + Instagram)	facebook.com/help — search “intimate images”	Pair with StopNCII.org hashing for cross-Meta blocking
X (Twitter)	help.twitter.com/forms/non-consensual-nudity	Dedicated form, separate from generic abuse report
Reddit	reddit.com/report → “Involuntary pornography”	Reddit’s term for NCII; routes to safety team, not subreddit mods
TikTok	tiktok.com/legal/report → intimate-imagery option
Snapchat	support.snapchat.com → report → NCII	Snaps may already be gone but accounts and saved Memories can still be actioned
Pornhub	pornhub.com/content-removal	Direct form; Aylo (parent) honors most NCII removals
OnlyFans	onlyfans.com/help → content removal
Google Search (de-index)	support.google.com/websearch/answer/9116649	Removes from Google results only — does NOT delete from the host site
Bing Search (de-index)	support.microsoft.com → “Remove involuntary fake or real explicit imagery”	Same caveat as Google
YouTube	support.google.com/youtube/answer/2802027 → “Privacy complaint”
Generic web host / forum	DMCA takedown OR state-NCII-law takedown to the host’s abuse@<domain> address	CCRI can help draft both; lookup host via whois <domain> or domaintools.com

De-indexing from Google and Bing matters even though it does not delete the source: most people who search for you will never go past the first page of search results.

Tracking the spread (carefully)

Only do this with a trusted friend, or ask CCRI to do it for you. Looking through search results yourself can be retraumatizing and is not necessary.

• Google reverse-image search: images.google.com → camera icon → upload screenshot
• TinEye: tineye.com (often finds older copies that Google has dropped)
• Yandex: yandex.com/images — best face-match results of any free tool, but it is a Russian service and you are uploading a face image to it. Privacy tradeoff. CCRI can advise.
• PimEyes (face search, paid): use with caution. Effective at finding spread, but it is also a tool abusers use — search results may not include adult-content sites by default.
• Google Alerts (google.com/alerts): set alerts for your name, common nicknames, and any relevant keywords to catch new posts as they appear. Route them to a dedicated email folder so they do not ambush your inbox.

Legal options

This is overview, not legal advice. CCRI’s referral network or your state bar pro-bono program can match you to a lawyer who actually does this work.

• State criminal law: most US states criminalize non-consensual sharing of intimate images. Statute names vary widely — “revenge porn law,” “intimate-image abuse,” “unlawful dissemination of an intimate image,” etc. CCRI maintains a current state-by-state map.
• Federal civil action — 15 U.S.C. § 6851 (Civil Action Relating to Disclosure of Intimate Images, enacted as part of the 2022 VAWA reauthorization): allows you to sue for actual damages plus statutory damages, and to proceed pseudonymously (as Jane Doe). This is the strongest federal civil lever and does not require police involvement.
• VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) reauthorization includes NCII provisions and grant funding for survivor services.
• Sextortion — threats to release intimate imagery unless you pay, send more, or do something — is a federal felony. Report to FBI 1-800-CALL-FBI or ic3.gov. See the dedicated section below.
• Statutes of limitation vary widely by state and by criminal vs civil track. Start the legal conversation soon if you intend to pursue — even if you are not sure yet, a free initial consult preserves your options.
• Free or low-cost legal help:
  • CCRI Safety Center referral list (ccrisafetycenter.org)
  • Without My Consent (withoutmyconsent.org) — survivor-focused legal resources
  • Your state bar’s pro-bono / lawyer-referral program
  • University law-school clinics (many run NCII / cyber-harassment clinics)
  • If you are a student, your university’s Title IX office (see Mental Health section)

If you were under 18 at the time

This is a different and faster track. Federal CSAM laws are powerful, platforms have dedicated CSAM removal teams, and SLAs are often measured in hours rather than days.

• Call NCMEC CyberTipline immediately: 1-800-843-5678. They coordinate with platforms, federal law enforcement, and international counterparts.
• Use takeitdown.ncmec.org — hash-block service for minors, same on-device hashing concept as StopNCII.org, designed for under-18 cases.
• You may also report directly to the FBI (1-800-CALL-FBI). Both NCMEC and FBI is fine; they coordinate.
• Internet Watch Foundation (IWF, UK) and the UK Revenge Porn Helpline also accept reports from US victims when offenders or hosting infrastructure is international. They have removal relationships with hosts that ignore US-only reports.
• Even if the images are currently being shared by an adult who has them now, if you were a minor when they were taken, the CSAM framework applies.
• Age at time of image creation is what determines this track — not age now.

Sextortion variant — if they’re threatening to release

A distinct and dangerous pattern: someone is threatening to release intimate imagery unless you pay them, send more images, or perform some other act. This is extortion, a federal felony, and the FBI takes it seriously.

• Do NOT pay. Paying virtually always results in continued and escalating demands. The FBI’s own guidance is do not pay.
• Stop communicating. Do not respond, do not deny, do not negotiate, do not “buy time.” Engagement is what the perpetrator needs to keep the threat alive.
• Block their accounts — but only AFTER you have screenshots of every message you have already received. Do not delete the conversation history on your side.
• Report to the FBI immediately: ic3.gov (online complaint) AND 1-800-CALL-FBI. The FBI runs specific Sextortion and Financial Sextortion programs, has international coordination capacity, and treats minor sextortion as a top priority.
• If under 18 at the time: report to both NCMEC and FBI.
• If the perpetrator is a current/former partner using coercion as part of a broader pattern: call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233. DV-trained advocates can help with safety planning and protective orders.
• Financial sextortion (especially targeting young men) has been linked to suicides. If the survivor is in acute distress, call 988 and stay with them.

Mental health and support

This category — image-based abuse — carries elevated risk of acute crisis. Take that seriously for yourself or for whoever you are reading this with.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988.
• CCRI Helpline 1-844-878-2274 — many advocates have lived experience with NCII. You will be talking to someone who genuinely understands.
• RAINN 1-800-656-HOPE — for sexual-assault-related trauma support; image-based abuse is sexual assault under most modern survivor frameworks.
• University Title IX office — if you are a student, the Title IX office can pursue student-conduct action against a current/former student perpetrator AND connect you to free campus counseling. Title IX action is separate from criminal and civil tracks; you can pursue some, all, or none.
• Campus counseling is typically free for enrolled students and often offers same-day urgent appointments for crisis cases. Identify yourself as in crisis when you call.
• Tell at least one trusted person in your life — a friend, RA, family member, mentor, faith leader. You should not carry this alone. Choose someone you already trust; this is not the moment to test a relationship.

What you do NOT have to do

You have agency here. A good advocate respects every one of these.

• You do NOT have to confront the person who shared the images.
• You do NOT have to explain or justify yourself to family if you do not want to.
• You do NOT have to file a police report if you do not want to. Civil law, federal civil action under 15 U.S.C. § 6851, Title IX, platform takedowns, and hash-blocking all work without police involvement.
• You do NOT have to look at the images yourself. A trusted friend or a CCRI advocate can handle every screenshot and every search.
• You do NOT have to decide everything tonight. Hash-block, takedowns, and the CCRI call are the high-leverage now-actions. Legal strategy can wait until you have slept and eaten.

Your choices. CCRI advocates respect this. Pushy “advisors” — including well-meaning family members — do not always. It is okay to say “I am not deciding that tonight.”

Reporting

Scenario	First call	Secondary	Legal/regulatory
Adult NCII	CCRI Helpline 1-844-878-2274	StopNCII.org + platform takedowns	Civil suit under state law or 15 U.S.C. § 6851; FBI if interstate threats
Was a minor in image	NCMEC CyberTipline 1-800-843-5678	takeitdown.ncmec.org + platform takedowns	Federal CSAM laws; FBI; local police
Sextortion (threats)	FBI tipline 1-800-CALL-FBI + ic3.gov	NCMEC if under 18; CCRI for support	Federal extortion statute
Active suicidal thoughts	988 (call or text)	Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741	—
Domestic-violence context	National DV Hotline 1-800-799-7233	RAINN 1-800-656-HOPE	State protective-order paths; civil restraining orders

Related

• Incident Response overview — for incidents that are not NCII, start here
• Social engineering — context if the imagery was obtained via grooming, catfishing, or coerced trust
• Clearance holder incident response — if you or a family member holds a US security clearance, sextortion attempts are also a counterintelligence (CI) reporting obligation; the parallel CI track does not replace the survivor-care track on this page, it runs alongside it