How to Use StopNCII to Block Intimate Images

If someone is sharing an intimate image of you, or threatening to, you are likely feeling scared and rushed. Please take a breath. There is a real, free tool built for exactly this moment, and you do not have to send your private photo to a stranger to use it. This is StopNCII.org, and this guide walks you through it in plain steps.

None of this is your fault. Whether the image is a real photo taken of you, or an AI-generated fake, you have the right to get it taken down. Here is how StopNCII works and how to use it alongside platform forms and the law.

What StopNCII actually does

StopNCII.org is a free service run by the Revenge Porn Helpline (part of SWGfL, a UK nonprofit). It helps adults stop intimate images from being shared on participating platforms. The clever part is what it does not do: it never takes your image.

Instead, your device creates a digital fingerprint of the image, called a hash. Think of a hash as a unique string of numbers that represents the picture, but cannot be turned back into the picture. Only that hash is shared with StopNCII and the participating platforms. Your actual photo or video stays on your device the whole time.

Those platforms then compare the hash against images that people try to upload. If a match appears, they can block it before it ever goes public, or take it down if it is already there. You get a case number so you can check progress.

Does it cover deepfakes and AI-generated images?

Yes. StopNCII covers AI-generated and deepfake intimate images too, not just real photos. If someone made a fake nude of you using an app or a generator, you can still create a hash of that fake image and submit it. If you are dealing with fabricated content, our page on what to do about fake nudes of you walks through the specific steps for AI-made images.

One honest limit: hashing blocks that specific file. If someone generates a brand-new variation, that new file has a different hash and may slip through until it is also reported. This is why StopNCII works best as one layer among several, not the only thing you do.

Which platforms honor the hash

StopNCII partners with a growing list of major platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, Bumble, and others. When you submit a hash, it is shared with these participating services so they can detect and block the image.

What this means in practice: if the image is on, or might be uploaded to, a participating platform, StopNCII gives you strong coverage. If the image is on a site that is not a partner, such as many standalone porn sites, StopNCII cannot reach it. For those, you will need to file directly with the site. If your content is on a site like that, see our guide on what to do when your photos are on a porn site.

How to use StopNCII, step by step

1. Confirm you are 18 or over. StopNCII is for adults. If the person in the image is under 18, this is child sexual abuse material, and you should not upload it anywhere. Instead, report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) through its CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org, and contact law enforcement. NCMEC also runs Take It Down, a similar free hashing tool built specifically for minors.
2. Gather the images on the device where they are stored. You will select the files directly. Remember, they are not uploaded, only hashed on your device.
3. Go to StopNCII.org and start a case. Follow the prompts to create your case and select the intimate image or images you are worried about.
4. Let your device create the hash. The hashing happens locally in your browser. Only the hash leaves your device, never the image.
5. Save your case number. You will get a case number and a way to check status. Write it down or screenshot it.
6. Check back on your case. You can log in later to see updates from participating platforms.

The whole process is free. You never pay to protect yourself, and you never hand over the picture.

How it fits with platform forms and the TAKE IT DOWN Act

StopNCII is powerful, but it is one tool. Pair it with two others.

Platform reporting forms. Most major platforms have a dedicated privacy or non-consensual intimate imagery form. Reporting directly, in your own name, tells the platform to remove a specific link. This matters when the image is already posted and you want it gone from a specific spot. Note that this is a privacy matter, not a copyright one, so do not use a DMCA form for non-consensual intimate images.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act. This is a real US federal law signed in May 2025. Covered platforms must remove non-consensual intimate images, including AI and deepfake versions, within 48 hours of a valid request from the person depicted or their authorized representative. That gives your direct reports real legal weight. If you are dealing with a classic revenge-porn situation, our page on how to remove revenge porn explains how to combine these paths.

If you are being threatened or extorted

If someone is threatening to leak images unless you pay or send more, this is sextortion, and it is a crime. Do not pay. Do not keep negotiating, even if it feels like the only way to make it stop. Paying rarely ends it and often invites more demands.

Instead, preserve evidence by saving the links, messages, and usernames, not the images themselves. In the US, report to the FBI at ic3.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI. Then submit your hash to StopNCII to get ahead of any actual leak. Again, this is not your fault, and reaching out for help is the strong move, not a weak one.

Getting the links taken down

StopNCII blocks images from spreading on participating platforms. To also remove content that is already live, you file takedown requests with the specific sites and platforms. LinksGone is a free, do-it-yourself takedown tool that helps you do exactly that. It prepares the right request for the right legal basis, routes it to the correct platform form, and walks you through filing in your own name. To take content down, we only ever need the link, never the image.

Removal is never guaranteed, and timing varies by platform, so we will not promise a magic clean sweep. But you do not have to figure out every form alone. When you are ready, LinksGone is here, it is free, and you stay in control the whole way. Take StopNCII first, then let us help with the links.