Intimate images shared without consent: what to do

Few things feel as frightening as learning that a private photo or video of you is being circulated, or that someone is threatening to post it. Many people freeze, feel ashamed, or pay the blackmailer. None of that is necessary. The law is on your side, and acting quickly makes a real difference.

This guide covers real images taken or shared without consent, and fake or "morphed" images, including AI-made deepfakes. The shame belongs to the person who misuses the image, never to you.

First steps in the first hours

1. Stay safe. If you are in danger or being threatened in person, call 112.
2. Do not pay or negotiate. Paying a blackmailer rarely ends the demands.
3. Save evidence. Take screenshots showing the image, the account name, the profile link, date and time, and any messages or threats. Note the web addresses. Do not delete the chat, even if it is painful to keep.
4. Report to cyber police. Call the cyber crime helpline 1930 or file a complaint on the national cyber crime reporting portal, which has a category for women and children where you may report.
5. Ask the platform to remove it. Use the "report" option and the platform's grievance officer.

Getting the image taken down

Social media platforms, messaging services and websites are called intermediaries. Under Rule 3(2)(b) IT Rules, 2021, when you, or someone on your behalf, complain that content shows you in nudity or a sexual act, or is an impersonation such as a morphed image, the platform must remove it or disable access to it. Amendments in force from 20 February 2026 have shortened this deadline sharply, to a matter of hours (two hours under the amended rule, as of October 2026). A platform that ignores such a complaint risks losing its legal protection for user content.

Some tools can also help stop re-uploads:

• StopNCII.org lets adults create a digital fingerprint (a "hash") of an image on their own device. Partner platforms use the hash to block uploads, and the image itself is not sent anywhere.
• Take It Down, run by the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, does the same for images taken when the person was under 18.
• Search engines have forms to request removal of non-consensual intimate images from search results.

If content keeps reappearing, courts can order platforms and search engines to remove it and similar copies. An advocate or legal aid lawyer can help you seek such an order from the High Court.

What the law punishes

• Voyeurism: watching, capturing or sharing the image of a woman engaged in a private act without her consent Sec 77 BNS (formerly Sec 354C IPC).
• Stalking: following a woman or monitoring her use of the internet or electronic communication Sec 78 BNS.
• Extortion: threatening to publish images to get money or anything else Sec 308 BNS.
• Violation of privacy: capturing, publishing or transmitting an image of any person's private area without consent, which applies whatever the victim's gender Sec 66E IT Act.
• Obscene and sexually explicit material: publishing or transmitting it electronically Sec 67 and 67A IT Act.
• Children: any sexual image of a child is a serious offence under Sec 67B IT Act and the POCSO Act, 2012.

Publishing the name or identity of a victim of certain sexual offences is itself a crime Sec 72 BNS. You have a right to have your identity protected.

Filing a police complaint

You can go to any police station. The police must register an FIR (first information report) for a cognizable (serious) offence even if it happened outside their area. This is called a "zero FIR", and it is then transferred to the right station Sec 173 BNSS. A woman's statement on such offences should be recorded by a woman officer. If the police refuse, you can send your complaint in writing to the Superintendent of Police, or approach a Magistrate.

Who to contact:

• 1930 cyber crime helpline, or the national cyber crime reporting portal
• 181 women's helpline, for support and counselling
• 1098 if the person in the image is a child
• 15100 NALSA for free legal aid and a lawyer

Looking after yourself

This is a form of abuse, and it is normal to feel anger, fear or numbness. Tell one trusted person so that you are not handling it alone. If you are a student or employee, your institution's internal committee on sexual harassment can also act when the offender is a colleague or fellow student. Mental health support is available through the government's Tele-MANAS helpline at 14416.

Why it matters

Consent to take a photo, or to share it with one person, is never consent to show it to the world. When intimate images are spread without permission, the harm is to a person's dignity, safety and freedom to live without fear. The law recognises this as a violation of privacy, which the Supreme Court has held to be part of the right to life under Art 21.

For too long, victims were blamed and silenced. Reporting is not shameful. It is a claim to the dignity that the Constitution promises every person, and it helps make platforms and police answerable to the next person who needs them.