Guide Remove pictures, videos, or other sensitive information

A guide if you have had private pictures spread against your will, how you can stop them from spreading further, and how to find out where the pictures have been published.

Get help. Having to sit with this is mentally draining.

  1. Gather digital evidence
    1. Here is the guide for that.
  2. If the material has been spread on social media, report to the administrator. They have the responsibility for the material being removed if it is violating your integrity. 
  3. You have to contact the webmaster to remove the material from a website. Even if Google will help you to remove the picture or the website from the search results, the picture will still be on the website. It is therefore possible to find the material via the URL, shared posts in social media, or via other search engines. 
    1. Contact the webmaster like this: Look for the “contact Google” or webmaster’s email address. The information is often available on the website’s homepage. If the information is not posted, you can find the contact information via Whois on Google. Search for “whois” and the URL on Google’s normal search engine. For example, "whois näthatshjälpen.se". Often, the webmaster’s email will be under "Registrant Email" or "Administrative Contact". The last resort is to contact the website’s hosting company, if you cannot reach the webmaster. The search results from whois normally include information about who the host is.
  4. If you find out that your pictures have been spread on the internet, use "Google Image Search". Go to Google Images and click on the camera icon in the search bar. Search for the picture’s URL or upload the pictures that you think have been spread. If you search with an uploaded picture, it has to be on your camera roll or your computer. If you find the picture in the search results, you should document this by taking a screenshot of the whole website where the picture is posted and of your image search. You need this in order to report the picture to Google. When you are asked what sort of content you want to remove, choose “a picture of myself.”
    1. Go to Google Image Search
    2. Google’s web form to report the picture so that they can remove it from the search results
  5. You are not alone, find support. Being subjected to people spreading private or intimate pictures of you is a crime. It is not your fault and nothing you said, did, or shared justifies someone else subjecting you to this. Ask someone to help you get rid of the material online so that you can avoid reliving the violation again. If someone uses the material to pressure you or threaten you, it can be seen as a sex crime or a threat.

What does the law say about spreading private pictures?

Sex crimes 

Threats