Hashing an image — without ever uploading it — lets major platforms block it; StopNCII has stopped over a million from spreading.
The situation, the move, the outcome.
StopNCII, run by the UK's Revenge Porn Helpline, helps people stop the spread of intimate images shared without consent. A user (18+) selects the image on their own device; the tool creates a digital fingerprint, or hash, and shares only that hash with partner platforms, which then detect and block matching images. The picture itself never leaves the device. Over a million hashes have been created, 300,000+ images removed, and the tool reports a removal rate above 90%.
Why it matters beyond one family.
For anyone under 18, NCMEC's Take It Down is the equivalent. Both prove the same point: image-based abuse is not hopeless — there are free, privacy-preserving tools that work at the platform level.
How to apply it.
- Know the tool exists before you need it, so panic doesn't take over.
- For under-18s use Take It Down; for adults, StopNCII.
- Save the evidence and report coercion to law enforcement.
Concrete next steps.
- Start at StopNCII.org (18+) — the image stays on the device, only the hash is shared.
- Use takeitdown.ncmec.org for anyone under 18.
- Combine with reporting to the platform and, where relevant, the FBI.
Read it for yourself.
- StopNCII.org — official tool stopncii.org ↗
- SWGfL — StopNCII overview and results swgfl.org.uk ↗
- StopNCII — how it works stopncii.org ↗
If your teen is being sextorted: do not pay, do not delete anything, and stop all contact with the offender. Save the messages and usernames. Report to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI and to NCMEC's CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org. Use NCMEC's free Take It Down tool (takeitdown.ncmec.org) to stop images from spreading. For emotional crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 24/7).