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If someone makes a deepfake of you, act in this order: preserve the identifying details without redistributing the material, report the exact post to its hosting platform, request separate removal from search engines, and escalate threats, blackmail, or suspected crimes to law enforcement. For qualifying nonconsensual intimate imagery in the United States, covered platforms must remove the material within 48 hours of a valid request and make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies. That rule does not cover every deepfake, every website, or ordinary nonsexual impersonation.
The safest response depends on what the fake depicts, where it is hosted, your age when the media was created, and whether you still possess a qualifying file. The steps below separate those situations so you can choose the right reporting route without amplifying the abuse.
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Capture the information needed to identify and report the material, then secure it. Do not repost an intimate deepfake to prove that it exists.
Record identifying details
- Copy the precise post, profile, channel, or account URL.
- Write down the account handle, display name, date and time, and the platform or website.
- Save messages, emails, threats, payment demands, and any replies connected with the upload.
- Record when you submitted each report and keep the confirmation number or email.
IC3 treats electronic web pages, emails, and chat transcripts as potential evidence. Keep original correspondence and lawful electronic copies in a secure location, rather than editing or annotating the originals. The IC3 complaint form does not accept evidence attachments, so preserve the records in case investigators later request them.
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Do not amplify the image
Do not download, forward, quote-post, or send an intimate deepfake simply to document it. For imagery depicting someone who was under 18 when it was created, do not download, send, share, or make a screenshot of the imagery for evidence. Preserve the URL and surrounding identifying information and use the designated reporting channels instead.
How do I report a deepfake to the website or app hosting it?
Start with the host: only the service displaying the material can remove that copy. Use the exact post’s reporting control or the platform’s help center, and choose the closest category rather than a general spam option.
- Open the report menu for the specific post, image, video, profile, or message.
- Select nonconsensual intimate imagery, synthetic sexual content, impersonation, harassment, or the equivalent category that matches the material.
- Explain that the content depicts you without consent and identify the exact URL and account.
- Submit the report and retain its confirmation, timestamp, and any case number.
- If the platform’s form fails, use its published legal or safety contact and keep a record of the failed attempt.
An account is not necessarily required. Federal Trade Commission guidance tells people without accounts to check a platform’s help center. If a covered platform insists that you create an account before accepting an intimate-image removal request, that access barrier can itself be reported to the FTC.
What does the U.S. TAKE IT DOWN Act cover?
The Act covers qualifying nonconsensual intimate imagery on covered platforms, including real, altered, and AI-created intimate images and videos. After a valid request, the covered platform has a 48-hour legal deadline to remove the qualifying material and must make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies. Forty-eight hours is a statutory deadline, not an average or guaranteed processing time for every website.
Congress enacted Public Law 119-12 on May 19, 2025. The FTC-enforced notice-and-removal provisions took effect May 19, 2026. Coverage is limited: the law is not a universal remedy for nonsexual satire, ordinary identity impersonation, every forum, or every kind of synthetic media. Whether a particular file meets the statutory definition can depend on facts that require legal advice.
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What if the platform does not respond?
If a covered platform has no workable notice process, requires an account contrary to the applicable rules, or leaves qualifying material up after the 48-hour period, report the platform’s failure to the FTC. An FTC complaint addresses the platform’s compliance; it does not itself delete the image and is not a criminal complaint against the person who created it.
How can I remove a deepfake from Google Search?
Search removal and source removal are separate tasks. Google has a content-policy route for fake portrayals of a person nude or in a sexual situation, and it describes a separate U.S. legal route under the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Submit the route that matches your situation and provide the exact result URLs requested by the form.
A policy report does not substitute for a legal notice, so separate submissions may be necessary. Google’s forms include country-specific directions; do not present the U.S. legal route as a worldwide procedure. Even if Google delists a result, the original website can continue hosting the file. Report the source website directly and ask it to remove the material.
Which hashing service fits my situation?
Hashing services create a digital fingerprint that participating services can use to detect matching uploads. They limit spread; they do not erase every copy on the internet and do not replace a direct platform report.
| Service | Use it when | What you need | Important limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| StopNCII | You are currently an adult, were at least 18 when the nude, semi-nude, or sexual image or video was created, and still have that media. | The qualifying file on your device; the service creates the hash on the device and shares the hash, not the media. | Only participating companies can match the hash. It supplements direct reports and should not be treated as a whole-internet removal. |
| NCMEC Take It Down | The intimate image or video was created when the depicted person was under 18. | Qualifying media already on the person’s device; NCMEC instructs users not to send, share, or download imagery to submit it. | It covers participating public or unencrypted services. Platforms may have limited ability to remove material that was posted previously. |
Your current age does not change which service fits media created when you were a minor. If you do not meet StopNCII’s age-at-creation and possession conditions, do not assume it will accept the file.
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If the image was created when you were under 18
Report the post to the platform and report suspected exploitation through NCMEC’s CyberTipline. The FTC also directs families to local police and the FBI. Do not create a new screenshot or download a copy merely for reporting.
What if the deepfake is nonsexual impersonation?
The TAKE IT DOWN Act and the hashing services focus on intimate imagery. A fake voice, face, video, or identity used for fraud, harassment, or another crime needs the platform’s impersonation process and may warrant a criminal report even when no nudity is involved.
For suspected cyber-enabled crime involving a nonsexual voice, video, or identity impersonation, IC3 is an additional reporting route. Use local police or the FBI when the conduct appears criminal, and keep the URLs, messages, and account information you preserved. Laws on defamation, privacy, election material, and impersonation differ by jurisdiction, so avoid assuming that a particular parody or edited clip is unlawful without advice applicable to your location.
What should I do if the creator is blackmailing me?
Treat a demand for money, more images, account access, or silence as an escalation. The FTC advises you to ignore the demands, send neither money nor additional material, deny the person access to your accounts or devices, and stop communicating. Tell a trusted person so you are not handling the threat alone, then report it to local police or the FBI.
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- Change passwords or passphrases for affected and reused accounts.
- Turn on multifactor authentication, beginning with email and cloud accounts.
- Review active sessions and recovery addresses, and revoke access you do not recognize.
- Keep the threat messages and payment instructions in your secure evidence record.
A deepfake by itself does not prove that your phone or computer contains malware. Do not install repair software or give remote access as a takedown response. If anyone faces immediate physical danger, contact emergency services or local police.
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How should I organize evidence without creating more copies?
Create a private incident record with a timeline: when you discovered the material, where it appeared, which reports you filed, and every response. Store original emails and lawful web records in access-controlled storage. An encrypted USB drive can be an optional way for an adult to keep those records offline, but buying storage is not a requirement and never justifies downloading sexual imagery involving minors.
Keep separate notes for each URL. A platform may remove one post while an identical copy remains under another account, and a search engine result may point to a different host. Recording the exact locations prevents a vague report from being mistaken for a complete removal request.
Which route should I use?
Match the action to the place hosting or indexing the content and to the nature of the threat.
| Problem | Primary route | Additional route |
|---|---|---|
| Intimate deepfake on a social platform or website | Report the exact post to the host as nonconsensual intimate or synthetic sexual content. | Use StopNCII or Take It Down when the age and file conditions fit; request search delisting separately. |
| Search result exposes a fake sexual portrayal | Submit Google’s applicable content-policy or U.S. legal request with exact URLs. | Ask the source host to delete the underlying copy. |
| Image was created when the person was under 18 | Platform report and NCMEC’s Take It Down or CyberTipline as applicable. | Contact local police or the FBI for suspected exploitation. |
| Nonsexual voice, video, or identity impersonation | Use the host’s impersonation process. | Report suspected cybercrime to IC3, local police, or the FBI. |
| Blackmail or threats | Stop communicating, do not pay, and preserve the demands. | Report the conduct to local police or the FBI; use emergency services for immediate danger. |
| Covered U.S. platform fails its intimate-image process | Report the platform’s failure to the FTC. | Continue preserving confirmations and pursue the host and search-engine routes separately. |
What cannot be promised?
No lawful process guarantees a complete internet wipe. Search delisting reduces discoverability but does not delete a source file. Hashing services depend on participating platforms and their ability to match the fingerprint, and private or encrypted services may fall outside their reach.
Do not pay a perpetrator on the promise that payment will suppress the material. Be cautious with paid sextortion-assistance businesses that promise a quick, complete fix. The FTC has warned about deceptive promises in this area and described one company’s conduct as allegations, not adjudicated findings. Free platform, government, and law-enforcement channels should come first.
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How we chose these steps
The sequence follows the controlling practical distinctions: host versus search index, intimate versus nonsexual material, age when the media was created, possession of a qualifying file, participating-platform coverage, U.S. jurisdiction, and whether the immediate need is removal, limiting spread, or criminal reporting. Those distinctions prevent a search complaint from being mistaken for source deletion and prevent a platform-compliance complaint from being mistaken for a police report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I report an intimate deepfake if I do not have an account on the platform?
Often, yes. Check the platform’s help center for a no-account reporting or legal-request path; if a covered service requires account creation before accepting an intimate-image request, the FTC says that access problem can be reported to it.
Will deleting my own social-media post remove copies of the deepfake?
No. Deleting a post you control does not remove uploads made by another account, copies on another website, or search results that already point elsewhere. Record each location and report it separately.
What if the fake uses my voice but contains no sexual imagery?
Use the host’s impersonation or fraud process and preserve the messages, account details, and URLs. If the conduct appears cyber-enabled or criminal, IC3, local police, or the FBI may be appropriate; the intimate-image hashing tools are not designed for every voice-only case.
Can Take It Down remove a file from a private encrypted chat?
Its coverage is aimed at participating public or unencrypted services, so a private encrypted service may not be able to receive or match the hash. Report the account or message through that service’s safety channel and use law-enforcement reporting when exploitation is suspected.
Should I hire a company that promises to erase the deepfake everywhere?
Be skeptical of guaranteed or instant-erasure claims. The FTC has warned that some sextortion-assistance businesses make promises they do not deliver; no intermediary can control every host, private channel, or search index.
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