Sextortion and intimate image abuse: what to do if someone threatens to share your pictures
By the Miragano team. Updated
If someone is threatening to share intimate pictures or videos of you, do not pay and do not negotiate. Stop replying, save evidence of the threats, report and block the account, and get support. In the UK, the Revenge Porn Helpline helps adults with intimate image abuse, including sextortion, and StopNCII.org can help stop images being shared on participating platforms. In Ireland, Hotline.ie and An Garda Síochána can help. This is a crime against you, and it is not your fault.
What are sextortion and intimate image abuse?
Intimate image abuse is when someone shares, threatens to share or takes intimate pictures or videos of a person without their consent. Sextortion is one form of it: blackmail, where someone threatens to send intimate images to your friends, family or employer unless you pay or send more.
On dating apps, sextortion often starts with a flirty match who moves quickly to a private messaging app or a video call, encourages things to get explicit, then suddenly reveals they have recorded you. Some scammers claim to have images they don't have, or use edited or AI generated fakes. The threat is designed to make you panic and pay quickly.
Why shouldn't you pay?
Paying feels like the fastest way to make it stop, but it usually isn't. The Revenge Porn Helpline's advice is clear: don't pay and don't negotiate. Once someone knows you will pay, they have every reason to ask again. When blackmailers realise no money is coming and they can no longer reach you, they often move on.
How can you lower the risk while dating online?
Nobody deserves to be blackmailed, whatever they shared and with whom. These habits simply make it harder for blackmailers to get started:
- Be cautious with anyone who pushes things to get sexual very quickly, especially before you have met.
- Keep chatting on the dating app until you've met, where reporting and blocking are a tap away.
- Treat a sudden move to a private messaging app or an unexpected explicit video call as a warning sign.
- Before sharing anything intimate, think about whether your face, tattoos or surroundings identify you.
- Check that a match is real. Our guide on how to spot a catfish explains the main tests.
Where can you get help in the UK?
- Revenge Porn Helpline: a UK service for adults (18 and over) experiencing intimate image abuse, including sextortion. It is run by SWGfL, a not-for-profit charity, and can help get images removed.
- StopNCII.org: a free tool, run by the Revenge Porn Helpline, that creates a digital fingerprint (a hash) of your intimate images on your own device so participating platforms can detect and block them. Your images are not uploaded.
- The police: call 999 in an emergency, or 101 to report a crime that isn't an emergency.
Where can you get help in Ireland?
- Hotline.ie: the Irish national centre for reporting illegal content online. It accepts reports of intimate images shared without consent and works with platforms to have them removed.
- An Garda Síochána: the Irish police. Hotline.ie and An Garda Síochána have a joint reporting route, so you can report intimate image abuse to Gardaí while asking for the content to be removed.
- Emergencies: call 999 or 112.
For more on our own tools, see the safety page and the FAQ.
What to do if someone is threatening to share your intimate images
Take these steps in order. You don't have to do them alone: a friend or a support service can help.
- 1
Don't pay or negotiate
Don't send money or more images, and don't try to reason with the person. Payment rarely ends the demands.
- 2
Stop all contact
Stop replying. You don't need to announce it. Silence makes it clear you won't engage.
- 3
Save the evidence
Screenshot the threats, the profile and any usernames, payment details or links before you block, and keep them somewhere safe.
- 4
Report and block
Report the account on the platform where the threats arrived, then block it. On Miragano, you can report from any chat and block in the same step.
- 5
Get specialist support
In the UK contact the Revenge Porn Helpline and consider StopNCII.org. In Ireland report to Hotline.ie and An Garda Síochána.
- 6
Tell the police
In the UK call 101, or 999 in an emergency. In Ireland contact An Garda Síochána, or call 999 or 112 in an emergency.
Questions people ask
What is sextortion?
Sextortion is a form of blackmail where someone threatens to share intimate images or videos of you unless you pay money, send more images or do something else they want. On dating apps it often begins with a match who moves the chat elsewhere, encourages explicit messages or a video call, and then reveals they have recorded you. Sometimes the images are fake or the person has nothing at all. Whatever the situation, it is a crime done to you, and specialist services can help you deal with it.
Should I pay someone who is threatening to share my pictures?
No, you should not pay. Specialist services such as the Revenge Porn Helpline advise against paying or negotiating, because payment rarely ends the threats and often leads to bigger demands. Once a blackmailer knows you will pay, they have a reason to keep going. Instead, stop replying, save evidence of the threats, report and block the account, and get support. If you have already paid, stop any further payments, tell your bank, and still report it. Paying does not stop you getting help.
Is it my fault if my images are shared?
No. Sharing intimate images with someone you trusted is not a crime, and it does not make abuse your fault. The person who threatens to share, or shares, images without consent is the one responsible. Blackmailers rely on shame to stop people asking for help, so they try to make you feel foolish. Many people are targeted, and specialist services hear from people in your situation every day. Reaching out to a friend or a helpline is a strong, sensible step, and you deserve support rather than judgement.
What does the Revenge Porn Helpline do?
The Revenge Porn Helpline is a UK service for adults aged 18 and over who are experiencing intimate image abuse. That includes images shared without consent, threats to share them, images taken without consent and sextortion, also known as webcam blackmail. It is run by SWGfL, a not-for-profit charity, and can give advice and help get content removed from platforms. It supports people in the UK only. If you are in Ireland, Hotline.ie and An Garda Síochána are the places to start.
How does StopNCII.org work?
StopNCII.org is a free tool for people worried that their intimate images will be shared, or have been shared, without consent. It creates a hash, a kind of digital fingerprint, of each image or video on your own device. Only the hash is shared with participating companies, which can then detect and block matching content on their platforms. The images themselves are not downloaded from your device. It is run by the Revenge Porn Helpline and can be used alongside reporting to the police and to the platforms.
Where can I report intimate image abuse in Ireland?
In Ireland, you can report intimate images shared without consent to Hotline.ie, the national centre for reporting illegal content online, which works with platforms to have such content removed. Hotline.ie and An Garda Síochána have a joint reporting route, so you can report the abuse to Gardaí at the same time as asking for removal. You can also contact An Garda Síochána directly. If you are in immediate danger, call 999 or 112. Save evidence of the images and any threats before you block.
Should I delete the messages?
Not before you have saved them. Take screenshots of the threats, the profile, usernames, any links and any payment details the person asked you to use, and keep them somewhere safe, ideally backed up. This evidence helps platforms, support services and the police act. Once you have saved it, you can report and block the account and stop all contact. If looking at the messages is upsetting, ask a friend you trust to help you gather them, or ask a support service for guidance.
What if the images are fake or AI generated?
Threats using fake, edited or AI generated intimate images are still abuse, and the same steps apply. Don't pay, stop replying, save the evidence, report and block, and get support from a specialist service. Some blackmailers bluff entirely and have no images at all, hoping fear will make you pay before you think it through. You don't need to prove whether images are real to ask for help. Services such as the Revenge Porn Helpline and Hotline.ie can advise you on what to do next.
How does Miragano help if this happens through the app?
On Miragano, you can report a profile from any chat and block it in the same step. Blocking is instant, ends the match and hides you both from each other, and reports are reviewed by people on our moderation team. Reporting and blocking are free for every member. Every member is photo verified, which makes fake profiles harder to create, though verification does not check intentions. Bios and prompts cannot contain phone numbers, emails, social handles or links, which makes it harder to pull people off the app.
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