What to do if someone makes a deepfake of you

Platforms, search engines and police all ask for the same thing: exactly where the content is. Collect it before you report, because posts are sometimes deleted and reposted.

1. 1.Copy the full web address (URL) of every page, post or profile where the content appears.
2. 2.Note the account that posted it, the date and time you saw it, and any messages sent to you about it.
3. 3.Take screenshots that show the content with the URL and account name. Google asks for screenshots when you request removal of fake explicit content.
4. 4.Store this somewhere private, and share it only with the platform, a support service or the police.

In the United States, the TAKE IT DOWN Act requires covered platforms, such as social media, messaging, image or video sharing and gaming services, to give people a way to request removal of intimate images shared without consent. The FTC's guidance says the law covers real photos and videos and also digital forgeries: images created or altered using software, an app or artificial intelligence. A platform that receives a valid request must remove the content and known identical copies within 48 hours. These duties took effect on 19 May 2026.

The FTC advises using the report option on or near the content, or searching the platform's help centre if you have no account there. If the platform does not remove the content within 48 hours, or has no working process, report the platform at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.

Two free services help limit re-uploads. StopNCII.org is for adults. It creates a hash, a digital fingerprint, of the image on your own device and shares only the hash with participating companies so they can detect and remove matches. Its FAQ says a deepfake or synthetic image can be hashed if it shows you, you have access to it and it is nude or semi-nude. NCMEC's Take It Down works in a similar way for nude or sexually explicit images taken of you when you were under 18.

Google accepts requests to remove fake explicit content from Search when you are identifiable in it, it falsely depicts you nude or in a sexually explicit situation, and it was distributed without your consent.

A deepfake that puts words in your mouth or uses your face in an advert is outside the TAKE IT DOWN Act's intimate-image rules, so the route is the platform's own policies on impersonation, privacy or altered media. YouTube is one example with a published process: it accepts complaints about AI-generated content that looks or sounds like you, and says it considers whether you can be uniquely identified, whether the content is realistic, whether it is disclosed as synthetic, and whether it is parody, satire or has other public interest value.

The FTC advises reporting the person responsible for image-based abuse to local law enforcement and to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. If someone threatens to share an image unless you follow their demands, its advice is to report it, not to pay or send anything, and to cut off contact. Laws on deepfakes differ between states and countries. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

• A platform removal takes down the copies on that platform. Copies on other sites need their own reports.
• StopNCII.org states that it can act only on participating platforms, and that a cropped or edited version may not match the original hash.
• Google states that content removed from Search may still exist on the web and be reachable through other links or search engines.