Sep 13, 2022

How To Remove Revenge Porn

Before you get started on reading this, we already have a built-in easy process for removing revenge porn (“non-consensual intimate images”); for most customers images are gone within a day. Our basic plan starts at $8/mo where we use advanced AI to find your publicly posted intimate images and videos, even the ones you don’t know about. 

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Step-by-Step Guide to Removing ‘Revenge Porn’

Introduction

This article is meant to guide you through the process of removing unwanted intimate images or videos from the internet.

Before we start, we’d like to establish the meaning of the language used in this article. We replace the term “revenge porn” with “non-consensual pornography.”

Why? Revenge porn has many negative connotations. At Loti, we believe you have the right to share intimate photos with whomever you wish to. We seek to empower you to reclaim what is yours and have control over where your content is posted. We hope to provide a supportive place for you to express yourself, and it is up to us to change the language and narrative around non-consensual pornography.

What We Cover in this Guide

  • What is Non-Consensual Pornography?

  • I Found Explicit Photos of Myself Online. What Do I Do Now?

  • How to Gather Relevant Information

  • Asking Whoever Posted the Content to Remove It

  • How to Send a DMCA Notice

  • Submitting a Google Removal Request

  • How to Remove Images From Bing

  • How to Report Non-Consensual Images to Yahoo

  • Removing Content from Social Media Platforms

    • Instagram

    • Facebook

    • Twitter

    • Tumblr

    • Reddit

  • Contacting the Domain Where the Non-consensual Pornography is Posted

  • Additional Resources

What is Non-Consensual Pornography?

If you’re reading this article, chances are you may already know what non-consensual pornography is. That being said, it’s essential to understand the language to know what next steps you can take. Non-consensual pornography is when compromising photos or videos of someone are posted to the internet, typically explicit or sexual in nature. In many cases, this is done for retribution or blackmail. We hope that by the end of this article, you will have the resources necessary to remove the images or videos posted without your consent. Reclamation comes from knowledge, support, and action. [1]

I Found Explicit Photos of Myself Online. What Do I Do Now?

Luckily, there are many options for you to recover and remove compromising content from the web, but it’s key to remember that the quicker you can take action, the better. Sometimes, the person who uploaded the content may attempt to blackmail the person in the image or video. If you decide to take legal action, it is advisable to contact an attorney as quickly as possible. They can assist with any advice on legal action. The rest of this article will focus on what resources and steps are available to you as an individual. [2]

First, Gather Relevant Information

Before asking web masters to remove your content, it is essential to gather any evidence you can to prove that this content belongs to you. Non-consensual pornography is illegal, so having evidence on your side will help if you decide to take legal action. [3]

Here’s what we recommend you save:

  1. Download the webpage that has the content as PDFs.

    1. If using Google Chrome, click on the three dots on the top right and click “Print.”

When the print preview comes up, change the destination to “Save As PDF.”

Before you click “Save,” make sure the URL and timestamp are visible on the preview. This information could be important later on.

  1. Download any images or videos to a secure location.

To download photos, you can simply right-click on in, click “Save As,” then select a name and file location.

Downloading a video depends on what site the video is on, what device you have, and what browser you are using. Here are six ways to download videos from a webpage. [4]

  1. If there are any relevant communications between you and the person who shared the content, save those.

Without My Consent, an organization that combats online invasions of privacy, created a chart for you to log any evidence, which can be downloaded here. [5] Using this form or something similar will help with later steps to remove non-consensual explicit content.

Ask Whoever Posted the Content To Remove It

After you’ve collected all of the evidence you can, you can get started on removing the unwanted media from the web. While it’s a long shot, you can ask the person who initially uploaded the content to take it down. Not to worry – if you know they won’t, or you simply don’t want to talk with them, there are plenty of other ways to get the photos/videos taken down.

What Is a DMCA Notice, and How Can I Send One

If requesting removal doesn’t work, another method of removing content is filing a DMCA Notice. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a component of the U.S. Copyright Law that involves the removal of content from the internet. Through the DMCA framework, you can request the removal of an image or video from a website if it belongs to you and has been posted without your permission. For a comprehensive guide on DMCA Takedowns, click here.

It’s important to note that if you create a DMCA Takedown request, you may need to purchase the copyright of the content with a copyright assignment agreement. These are only necessary when you did not capture or record the content yourself. By gaining ownership of the content, you’ll be able to claim copyright infringement and get it taken down. To create one of these agreements, you must find a copyright attorney to help negotiate your content ownership. [6]

Submitting Requests to Social Media Sites and Search Engines

If you choose to take down images and videos on your own, there are ways to report them to various search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Content can also be reported on social media; many social media sites don’t allow nudity, such as Facebook and Instagram, but those that do have an option for reporting non-consensual pornographic content. We’ve outlined the top platforms and how to remove your content from them below.

Request Google to Take Down Non-Consensual Images

Google has created a form that will help remove the content from the search engine indexing, or how site data is stored and retrieved. While this doesn’t remove the content from the website, it will be harder to find using a simple search. [7] To get started submitting a Google Take Down Form, click here. [8] There is also a list of frequently asked questions so you can better navigate the process. Below are images of the report to guide you through the process.

With the Google report form, they may be able to take down the content from Google and the site itself, though you should submit reports to other search engines as well (which we will get into later). For “Have you contacted the site’s website owner?” make whichever selection is relevant to you.

Select the choices in this form section, and answer the last question in whatever way is relevant to your situation. If you did consent to the distribution of content on a different site, you would be encouraged to follow a different link to a legal copyright takedown form. For this article, we selected “No.”

For the final step before submitting the form, provide links to the content and the search page on which the content appeared. This will help Google understand how the site was found using their search engine. When you are done, add any more information you think is relevant and click submit.

Remove Images From Bing

Like Google and Yahoo, Bing has a form to remove websites containing photos or videos from showing up on search results pages.

After entering in personal information, the first section will allow you to choose which Microsoft service you found the content on. Select whichever option is relevant to you from the drop-down menu.

When supplying links, it is best to provide the link to the web page containing your content and a direct link to the image. This can be done by right-clicking the photo, followed by “Copy Image Link.” Separate any URLs with a semicolon ( ; ).

The final section of the report allows you to include other documentation you may have regarding the content, including a police report or court order for the site to remove content. Include those here, then submit your request.

Report Non-Consensual Images to Yahoo

To take down non-consensual images or videos on Yahoo, you must open a request handled by a specialist. Here is a link to the relevant Yahoo help page, or you can jump straight to opening a case. [9] [10] Opening a case will take you to the form seen below.

Supply all of the relevant information in the first section so a Yahoo specialist can contact you later. They may need to verify your information with a picture of your ID, but they will contact you directly if that’s the case.

In the second half of the case request form, supply all information you have about the non-consensual pornographic images on the site. You can also include the screenshots and PDFs you have. Submit the report, and the specialist will get back to you with any updates.

Take Down Social Media Posts With Non-Consensual Content

  • Instagram

Though Instagram uses artificial intelligence to flag photos and videos that contain nudity, some content can and does still slip through the cracks.

Find the Instagram post containing the photo/video, and click the three black dots at the top right.

These options will appear, and you’ll want to click the report button.

Select “Nudity or sexual activity.”

Select the most relevant option and submit the report.

  • Facebook

Facebook has similar content guidelines regarding nudity and sexual activity. Still, some content slips through their filters.

Find the offending post and click on the three black dots on the top right.

Select “Report post.”

Select “Nudity.”

Click on the most relevant option; for this example, we selected “Sharing private images.”

Finish by submitting and reporting the content. It will be reviewed and taken down.

  • Twitter

    Like other platforms, reporting content begins by finding the post and clicking the three black dots on the top right. From there, click “Report Tweet.”

Select if the Tweet is about you or if you are reporting it on behalf of others.

Click “Shown sensitive or disturbing content,” as non-consensual nudity is included in the description. Later in the reporting process, you will be able to specify that it was not consensual.

Select this option so Instagram can file the report correctly and specify which community guidelines are being broken.

Select the relevant option.

This page clarifies what you are reporting and has access to the exact rule that posting non-consensual pornography breaks.

In this final step, you can add any other tweets or context that would be helpful for the investigation. After this step, you can confirm that you’d like to complete the request.

  • Tumblr

Click the block dots at the upper right corner of the Tumblr post, then click “Report.”

To report non-consensual porn, you’ll have to click “Report something else.”

Reporting this type of content is under their privacy guidelines, so click “Privacy violation.”

Whether it is your content or you’re filing on someone’s behalf, click the relevant option.

Provide the URL and enter in your email address. If you’re having trouble getting the link for the post, information is provided on how to get a permalink. This is the last step, so click “Submit” whenever you’re done.