305,000 is the number the Revenge Porn Helpline gives for intimate images it has removed since 2015, and the service reports roughly a 90% takedown rate, yet parliamentary research estimates about 10% of non-consensual intimate images remain online, often on uncooperative overseas sites. This guide sets out who to contact and the precise actions to take now, drawing on the Sexual Offences Act, the Online Safety Act 2023, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and operational tools such as StopNCII.org. I will tell you straight, the single most effective immediate step is to create a StopNCII.org case and involve a trusted flagger like the Revenge Porn Helpline while preserving evidence for police or legal action. Below are seven practical steps you can follow today and the options if content persists on overseas hosts.

1. Confirm what counts and preserve evidence

Start by checking whether the material meets the legal definition of an intimate image. Under UK law an intimate image includes depictions of a person engaged in a sexual act, partial or full nudity, or exposure of genitals, buttocks or breasts. Cultural context can broaden what platform teams treat as intimate in practice, so err on the side of protection if you are unsure.

Preserving evidence is the foundation of every next step. Save the URL, timestamp, username, post ID and any accompanying messages. Don't delete the original from your device because metadata can be evidential. Instead take date-stamped screenshots and note the web address and the time you found it.

Worked example. You find an image on a social profile. Take a screenshot that shows the username and timestamp. Copy the URL and a post ID if there's one. Make a short written log of when and how you discovered the image. These items are what platforms, police and solicitors will ask for.

2. Report to the service and use its NCII form

Under the Online Safety Act 2023 regulated platforms must provide routes for reporting intimate-image abuse and must assess the risk of intimate-image harm, reduce the likelihood of it appearing to users and act quickly to remove it once aware. Use the platform’s formal reporting process, and choose the options that reference non-consensual intimate images or revenge porn.

If there's an expedited route for exploitation or self-harm, select it when applicable.

Many platforms operate an abuse team and may accept escalation from third parties known as trusted flaggers. The Online Safety Act requires platforms to have systems in place, but operational response times differ. Report promptly and attach the evidence you preserved in step 1.

Worked example. When you complete the report form, paste the URL, upload the screenshot and explain that the image was posted without your consent. Note any account names you suspect. Keep a copy of the acknowledgement the platform sends you.

3. Create a StopNCII.org hash

Create a case on StopNCII.org, the free service developed by SWGfL in partnership with the Revenge Porn Helpline. StopNCII.org generates a digital fingerprint or Hash of an image. Participating companies receive that fingerprint and can detect duplicates and re-uploads, even when filenames or captions change.

The process doesn't require you to publicly re-upload the image. It's designed so survivors can share an image privately to create the fingerprint and then have platforms automatically find and remove copies. This is the practical, networked method widely used by charities and platform abuse teams.

Worked example. Upload the image securely to StopNCII.org, or ask a specialist to do it for you. The system generates the hash and shares it with participating platforms. From that point many of the major services will begin matching and removing copies.

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4. Escalate through specialist intermediaries and trusted flaggers

If the platform response is slow or you don't want direct contact with an uploader, contact the Revenge Porn Helpline or comparable specialist organisations. The Helpline acts as a trusted flagger on many large sites and reports a high takedown success rate. These intermediaries can lodge StopNCII.org cases on your behalf and submit escalations to platform abuse teams.

Specialist intermediaries offer two distinct services. They provide technical takedown assistance, including StopNCII.org hashing and repeated reporting, and they provide survivor support such as safety planning. If you need help building a legal narrative for police or a solicitor, a trusted intermediary can frame the report in legal terms.

Worked example. You prefer not to contact the platform. Give the Helpline your preserved evidence and ask them to act as a trusted flagger. They will create or attach a StopNCII.org hash and escalate the case to platform abuse teams that recognise trusted flaggers.

If the image meets the statutory test for non-consensual intimate imagery or is a deepfake created to harass or exploit you, report it to local police. The principal criminal levers are the Sexual Offences Act, the Online Safety Act and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. The Data (Use and Access) Act created further offences for producing and requesting purported intimate images without consent and came into force on 6 February 2026.

When you report, provide the preserved evidence, links and any StopNCII.org hashes. This Crown Prosecution Service and police forces pursue charges under the existing criminal law, and convictions can lead to custodial sentences, as shown in recent cases where offenders were jailed for sharing deepfake pornography of acquaintances.

Worked example. Attend your local police station or use the force’s online reporting portal. Give officers the URL, screenshots and the StopNCII.org hash. Ask for a crime reference number and a record of the report for your solicitor and for follow up.

The parliamentary Women and Equalities Committee has recommended a fast, inexpensive statutory civil takedown process and a registry of NCII content for infrastructure operators, modelled on child sexual abuse material systems. Those recommendations aren't yet law. In the current landscape you can instruct a solicitor experienced in NCII to issue a takedown or cease-and-desist letter and to apply for injunctions or court orders in UK jurisdictions.

Here's the thing, civil options can force removal and disclosure of the uploader’s identity in UK courts. Bear in mind that cross-border hosts can frustrate civil remedies and legal costs vary by case. The Data (Use and Access) Act includes a limited defence for an accused person who can establish a reasonable excuse, so legal advice is important before initiating proceedings.

Worked example. A solicitor writes to the hosting provider and registrar demanding removal under UK law and offers a timetable for compliance. If the host is UK-based and refuses, the solicitor may apply for an interim injunction at court. If the host is overseas, the solicitor will advise on jurisdictional options and likely costs.

Parliamentary research estimates about 10% of non-consensual intimate images remain online because many sites are hosted outside the UK and don't respond to removal requests. Ofcom’s enforcement under the Online Safety Act can include fines up to 10% of a platform’s worldwide revenue and, as a last resort, service-restricting court orders, but those powers are typically used against regulated services or when other measures fail.

When content persists, specialists often advise a combination of continued hashing, repeat reporting, legal notices to registrars or hosting providers, and formal court applications in the relevant jurisdiction when doable. Campaigners want a registry modelled on child sexual abuse infrastructure to enable blocking at the infrastructure level, but that registry remains a recommendation rather than an implemented mechanism.

Worked example. A photo remains on a foreign-hosted forum. Your options are to continue StopNCII.org hashing and reporting, ask a specialist to contact the registrar and host, and, where possible, instruct a solicitor to bring proceedings in the host country. If none of these routes succeed, specialist advice will focus on mitigation, such as taking down copies on cooperative platforms and reducing discoverability.

The single decision that determines most strategy is whether the content is hosted on cooperative platforms that will respond to StopNCII.org and trusted flaggers, or on uncooperative overseas hosts that will not. If the platform is cooperative, StopNCII.org plus a trusted flagger and quick police or civil action usually removes the material. Still if the host is overseas and unresponsive, removal becomes a cross-border legal matter and may require repeated operational pressure and formal legal steps.

For you, that one question decides the order of operations. Start with preservation and StopNCII.org, then escalate through trusted flaggers and police. Only when those routes fail does the case move into cross-border legal strategy.

First, Exact URL and post ID. Second, Date-stamped screenshots showing username and timestamp. Third, Any messages, emails or accounts linked to the upload. Fourth, StopNCII.org hash or confirmation that a case has been created. Fifth, Record of platform reports and any acknowledgements. Sixth, Crime reference number if reported to police.

Keep copies of everything in a secure place. These items speed up platform takedowns, police investigations and solicitor action.

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Start with one clear action. Create a StopNCII.org case, involve the Revenge Porn Helpline if you want escalation, and preserve the evidence for police or legal steps. Those operational moves rest on the legal framework that now includes the Online Safety Act 2023 and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which came into force on 6 February 2026 and added new criminal offences for producing and requesting intimate images without consent. If content keeps appearing on overseas hosts, expect a longer process that combines repeated hashing, escalation to registrars and considered legal steps abroad.

This article was created with AI assistance.