AI Deepfake Nudes: How to Get Them Removed

Last checked: Oct 12, 2026.

First, the most important thing: this is not your fault. Someone took an ordinary photo of you and used software to make a fake. You didn't cause that by posting a picture, wearing what you wore, or being visible online. You also have more tools to get it taken down than you would have had even a year ago.

Support you can reach today (US):

• Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) Image Abuse Helpline: 844-878-2274, 24/7.
• Under 18 in the image, or a parent of a child? NCMEC's Take It Down (takeitdown.ncmec.org) and the CyberTipline (1-800-843-5678).
• RAINN: 800-656-4673, or text HOPE to 64673.
• In immediate danger: call 911.

You can work through the steps below at your own pace, or ask a trusted friend or an advocate to do some of them with you. You don't have to look at the images again to do most of this.

#Before you start: protect yourself while you document

You'll want a record of where the images are, but you don't need to keep the images themselves.

• Screenshot the page, not the picture. Capture the URL bar, the account name, the date and any messages or threats. If you can, cover or crop the explicit part of the screen.
• Don't download, forward or re-share the image to "prove" it. NCMEC specifically asks people not to send, share or download images to submit to Take It Down. If a minor is shown, sharing it can be a crime even with good intentions.
• Write a simple log: URL, platform, date found, date reported, outcome. A friend can keep this for you.
• Lock down your accounts. Set profiles to private for now, and review who can download or tag your photos.

#Step 1: Report it to each platform (the 48-hour rule)

Under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, covered platforms such as social networks, image and video sites, messaging and gaming services must remove non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated "digital forgeries," within 48 hours of a valid request, and make reasonable efforts to remove identical copies (FTC). That requirement has been enforced since May 19, 2026.

A valid request needs four things (Congress.gov; FTC):

1. your signature (typing your name works as an electronic signature)
2. the link or enough detail to find the image
3. a short statement that you believe in good faith it was posted without your consent
4. your contact information

You don't have to prove it's fake. Saying it's an intimate image of you shared without consent is enough. Our TAKE IT DOWN Act explainer has a sample request you can copy.

Where to look on a platform: the report menu on the post ("Report" → "Nudity" or "Non-consensual intimate imagery"), or the help center's privacy or safety section. Many large platforms have a dedicated form.

If a platform ignores you for more than 48 hours or has no way to report, file a complaint with the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.

#Step 2: Remove it from Google Search

Even after a page is removed, Google can keep showing it for a while, and some sites won't respond at all. Google accepts removal requests for sexually explicit images that are fake, including AI-made ones, when you're identifiable in them and they were shared without consent (Google Search Help).

1. Search for Google's "Remove personal sexual content" or "involuntary fake pornography" request form in Google Search Help.
2. Add each URL where the image appears, plus the URL of the search results page where you found it.
3. Google can also try to filter similar explicit results from searches for your name once a request is approved (Google Search Help).

Removing a search result doesn't delete the page itself, so do this together with Step 1, not instead of it.

#Step 3: Block it from being uploaded again

Hashing tools create a "digital fingerprint" of an image on your own device. Only that fingerprint is shared, not the image. Partner platforms then use it to detect and remove matching uploads.

Limits to know: hashing finds exact or near-identical copies, so heavily edited versions may need their own report. It only works on participating platforms, and NCMEC notes it doesn't work on encrypted services (NCMEC FAQ; StopNCII FAQ).

If you don't have a copy of the image, skip this step. Don't download one just to hash it if that would be distressing or, for images of minors, unlawful. Platform reports and Google removal still work.

#Step 4: Deal with the people involved, if and when you're ready

Reporting to police. Since May 2025, knowingly publishing intimate deepfakes of someone without consent has been a federal crime, with higher penalties when the person shown is a minor (Congress.gov). Many states have their own laws too. You can report to local police or the FBI at ic3.gov. You don't have to report to use the removal steps above, and an advocate can help you weigh it.

If it's happening at school. If a student made or shared images of another student, tell a parent, counselor or administrator. Images of minors should go to NCMEC's CyberTipline. Schools can act under their own conduct policies.

If someone is threatening or extorting you. Don't pay and don't send more images. Save the messages, stop responding, and report the account. Contact CCRI's helpline or, for minors, NCMEC.

Legal options. A lawyer can tell you whether state law gives you the right to sue. CCRI's helpline can share referrals.

#Step 5: Check whether your personal details went with it

Deepfakes are sometimes posted alongside a name, school, workplace or address so people can find the victim. If that happened:

• Ask Google to remove results with your contact details (our Google removal guide).
• Opt out of people-search sites showing your address, starting with the largest (our Whitepages removal guide).
• The full process is in our pillar guide, how to remove your personal information from the internet.

#Step 6: Keep watching, gently

Set a reminder to check once a week for a few weeks, then less often. Searching your name and using a reverse image search on the original source photo can help you spot new copies (how to find your photos online). If checking is upsetting, ask someone you trust to do it for you and only tell you what needs action.

#A fictional example

Sam, a 24-year-old graduate student, found a fake explicit image of herself on a forum, made from a photo on her public running-club page. Her friend screenshotted the thread URL and the poster's username. Sam filed a report through the forum's non-consensual imagery form that evening, submitted the image's URL to Google's removal form, and created a hash on StopNCII from a copy a classmate had sent her. Two days later the forum post was gone. She filed one FTC complaint about a second site that had no removal form. She also set her running-club profile to private, which is a change she chose, not something she "should have done."

#Sources

1. FTC, "FTC Begins Enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act" (May 19, 2026). https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/05/ftc-begins-enforcing-take-it-down-act
2. FTC, "Complying With the Take It Down Act." https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-take-it-down-act
3. Congress.gov, S.146 TAKE IT DOWN Act text. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/146/text
4. FTC complaint site. https://takeitdown.ftc.gov/
5. Google Search Help, "Remove personal sexual content from Google Search" and "Get help removing explicit or intimate personal images." https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/9116649 · https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/13650142
6. StopNCII.org and FAQ. https://stopncii.org/ · https://stopncii.org/faq/
7. NCMEC, Take It Down and FAQ. https://takeitdown.ncmec.org/ · https://takeitdown.ncmec.org/faq/
8. NCMEC CyberTipline. https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/cybertipline
9. Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Crisis Helpline. https://cybercivilrights.org/ccri-crisis-helpline/
10. RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline. https://rainn.org/help-and-healing/hotline/

"Sam" is a fictional example. This guide is general information, not legal advice.