Intimate images posted on X: the removal report and the US Take It Down Act

If intimate images of you have been posted on X without your consent, X prohibits it, and in the United States the law now sets a deadline. X’s Take It Down Act page says it will remove violating intimate photos or videos as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after receiving a valid report, and the report is available from the post menu and from a Help Center form, with no X account needed. The rule covers real images and AI-generated ones.

This guide covers what to do first, how to file the report, what the law requires a valid request to contain, and what to do about copies outside X.

The short answer

• If the person shown is under 18, contact the police first. Do not copy, save or forward the images.
• Report on X: post menu, then Private or Non-Consensual Content, then the US Take It Down Act report. Or use X’s Help Center form.
• The 48-hour clock starts when X receives a valid request.
• AI fakes count. X’s prohibition includes synthetic images that show an identifiable person.
• Outside X: StopNCII.org can help with participating platforms, and Google Search has its own removal request for explicit images.

Before you report

Keep a record without spreading the images. Copy the URL of each post and note the account handle and the date. A screenshot of the account and post text is useful; you do not need to keep copies of the images themselves to report them. If you are being threatened, keep the messages: X’s private information policy prohibits threatening to expose someone’s intimate media and demanding money for not posting it, and the police will want to see those messages.

If anyone is threatening you or demanding money, contact the police as well as X. Do not pay and do not negotiate.

What X’s rule covers

X’s non-consensual nudity policy prohibits posting intimate photos or videos that were taken, appear to have been taken, or were shared without the consent of the people involved. Its examples include:

• hidden camera content;
• creepshots and upskirts;
• images that digitally place someone’s face onto another person’s nude body;
• images taken in an intimate setting and not intended for public distribution;
• offering a reward in exchange for intimate images.

X allows consensual adult content when it is marked as sensitive, which is why it sometimes needs context to tell the two apart. That is the reason for the rules on who can report.

Who can report

To reduce the burden on people affected, X says anyone can report:

• creepshots or upskirts;
• content where a bounty or financial reward is offered for intimate media;
• intimate images posted with text that wishes harm on the person or refers to revenge;
• intimate images posted with information that could be used to contact the person shown.

For other content, X may need to hear from the person shown, or from an authorised representative such as a lawyer. In practice, the strongest report comes from you or your representative, because it answers the consent question directly.

How to file the Take It Down Act report

X’s Take It Down Act page gives two routes:

1. From the post. Tap the three-dot menu on the post, select “Private or Non-Consensual Content”, then “Report content under the US Take It Down Act”, and complete the form.
2. From the Help Center. X links a dedicated form for the same report. You do not need an X account, and X says users in the US without an account can report through the form.

After a valid report, X says it will remove the violating images within the 48-hour limit and notify you of the outcome.

What the Take It Down Act requires

The TAKE IT DOWN Act became law on May 19, 2025, and gave covered platforms one year to set up a notice and removal process. Section 3 says a valid request must be in writing and include:

• a physical or electronic signature of the person shown, or of someone authorised to act for them;
• an identification of the image and information reasonably sufficient for the platform to find it;
• a brief statement that the person has a good faith belief the image is not consensual, with any relevant information;
• contact information for the person or their authorised representative.

Once a platform receives a valid request, it must remove the image as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after receiving it, and make reasonable efforts to identify and remove known identical copies. The Federal Trade Commission enforces these duties. Separately, the Act made it a federal offence to knowingly publish intimate images, including AI-made “digital forgeries”, in the circumstances it defines; that part is a matter for the police and a lawyer.

Two practical points follow. First, a request missing the URL or the consent statement may not count as valid, and the clock may not start. Second, list every post you know about in your report; the duty to look for identical copies is a “reasonable efforts” duty, not a guarantee.

What happens to the poster

X’s non-consensual nudity policy says it will immediately and permanently suspend any account it identifies as the original poster of intimate media created or shared without consent, as well as accounts dedicated to that kind of content. People who reposted it without being the source may instead be required to remove it and be temporarily locked out, with permanent suspension for a repeat violation.

Beyond X

Images posted on X are often posted elsewhere too.

• StopNCII.org creates a digital fingerprint, called a hash, of your image on your own device; the image itself is not uploaded. Participating platforms look for matches. StopNCII says it can only help on the platforms listed on its partners page, so check that list for the sites you need.
• Google Search accepts removal requests for personal content, including help with explicit images shared without consent.
• Instagram and Facebook have their own priority process; our guide to intimate images on Instagram and Facebook covers it.

If the same account also posted ordinary photos or videos of you, our guide to a photo of you posted on X without consent explains the private media report.

When to get help

Most people can file the Take It Down Act report themselves in a few minutes, and they should do it now rather than wait for anyone else. Help is worth considering when the images keep reappearing from new accounts, when they have spread to several platforms, or when you want someone to keep the evidence log and follow up so you do not have to look at the material again. Our X content removal service starts with a free, confidential case review. We work only through X’s official reports and the legal processes that exist, we do not guarantee outcomes, and we never ask for your passwords or for copies of the images.