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Your Nude Photos are on the Internet: Now What?

by Suzanne Kantra on June 16, 2011

woman looking at cell phone with shockRegardless of your feelings about Anthony Weiner and his evolving sexting story, the reality is that he’s hardly alone out there. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, six percent of adults 18 and older have sent a sexually suggestive, nude or nearly nude image to someone else by text.

Weiner’s celebrity as a congressman leant a virality to his sexts because his high profile made him easy to recognize. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen to you. A jealous ex-boyfriend could post pictures of you out of revenge, or someone working in your home or on your computer could find that video you made with your spouse that was supposed to remain private, and next thing you know, you’re the new Internet star.

What makes these scenarios scarier are the advances being made in face recognition technology. Facebook has already demonstrated this capability on a mass consumer basis, and it would only be a small step to put a name with any face in a photo that’s been leaked.

So what can you do if you find yourself in a Weiner-like position?

Michael Fertik, Founder of Reputation.com, is in the business of helping people clean up Weiner-like messes. Once a photo is released, he says, it’s rare for photos to pop up on more than two or three sites. On this scale, you can always request that a photo be taken down from a site.

In rare cases, Fertik has had clients with a photo that has been posted to more than 2,000 sites, but he classifies that as exceptional. And usually that’s because someone with malicious intent is actively spreading the photo. If your photo has reached these whack-a-mole proportions, with it popping up everywhere, a service like MyReputation ($129 per year) can help eradicate them.

Fertik also points out that the most likely scenarios are people inadvertently sharing photo themselves, a friend sharing a photo or someone being in an image just because they happen to be on the scene. Of course the last doesn’t apply to naughty photos, but could for other compromising situations.

So if you’re insistent on sharing photos with your friends, is there anything you do to prevent your photos from leaking? Fertik says, “Nothing. Any photo you take and post will be leaked and archived somewhere.” You can minimize your risks by using software that lets you track and delete your photos. For Facebook there’s the UProtectIt plug-in for Firefox or Chrome web browsers. It enables you to authorize people to view photos you upload and revoke authorization at any time. If your thing is naughty texts (Weiner, take notice), there’s TigerText, which lets you time out a text or delete it.

Finally, don’t think his advice doesn’t apply to you. “Just because you’re a decent person and living a decent life, that doesn’t mean the Internet reflects that,” warns Fertik.


Topics

Cameras and Photography, Photo / Video Sharing, Phones and Mobile, Tips & How-Tos


Discussion loading

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From Kris Plotner on June 17, 2011 :: 9:02 am


I can tell you a for sure way to make sure that you naughty pictures do not appear anywhere. Don’t take them in the first place. People are SICK and when they do things like this (behind closed doors or not) are just asking for trouble - sorry, you take/record/store it anywhere, it’s bound to get out whether by your say so or not, it’s out there. Gross.

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From Joe on June 21, 2011 :: 8:51 am


Since when did adult activities in private become sick? And recording them? How is this sick?

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From Mike sic means cool on August 01, 2019 :: 2:27 am


Sic means cool the new slang

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From nancy humphrys on June 21, 2011 :: 1:45 pm


Don’t think you’re protected from video survelliance freaks just cause you have some years on you. I was subjected to video survelliance and then facebook pictures…it takes a good internet rep service to get this stuff off… how sick this survelliance culture
is and how quickly it can ruin your reputation when people think you put the content up yourself.

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From Say Wha on June 21, 2011 :: 3:27 pm


@Kris Plotner: Unless you happen to live in a convent or monastery, you might consider reexamining your attitudes about sex. You sound comically uptight.

(@Joe: +1)

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From SK on June 21, 2011 :: 12:13 pm


Well when my hubby left me for no apparent reason the sharing of pictures and videos on several internet fetish/gay/swinging forums soon gave his game away. Its amazing what you can sometimes find if you bother to look. He wont be my husband much longer.

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From K on June 21, 2011 :: 5:22 pm


If you’re happy for that to be out there, fine. If you’re not, there’s a really easy way to make sure it isn’t:

Never let anyone take a photo of you that you wouldn’t want on the internet.

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From Person on July 20, 2011 :: 1:59 pm


People Arn’t Sick.. You’re Gay

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From nameless victim on August 01, 2012 :: 3:31 pm


What happened to the people taking these private photos that don’t belong to them and posting them all over the internet? They’re not sick? I had provocative pictures stored in a private file on my personal phone that I sent to my boyfriend when he was away on a family trip and I had to stay home in order to take care of other matters. Someone somehow hacked my phone even though I have security programs on it, and then made an entire website that included private pictures hacked from thousands of other men and women around the united states. what’s worse is there is no way to get them down unless you pay the company 500 dollars to do so. I didn’t have my face in these pictures but they solved that by using the information on my phone to get my Facebook information and not only putting a direct link on the page they made of me to my Facebook, but including my profile picture of me and my boyfriend as the face shot next to the nudes and including my personal phone number as well. I had to change my number, delete my Facebook, and am still trying got get those pictures down but can not. I’m not “sick” for missing my boyfriend and sending him a text message of two harmless body shots and a long message telling him how much I love him and cherish him and um oh yeah! telling him as a caption to the photos, “Hey sexy love! This is the last time in 9 months you will see this skinny little body. Thankyou for making me a mommy can’t wait to meet our little peanut. We miss you!” BUT YES. I’m the sick one. Not the people who did this to me. Bitch. -_-.

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From Bob on December 20, 2012 :: 1:10 pm


People should not take nude photos.  The Bible teaches that the body is filthy and should be covered at all times.

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From Jesus on March 12, 2018 :: 9:43 pm


Stfu you stupid ####. Bible was written by a bunch of assholes. I’ll send nudes if I want.

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From Mike on August 01, 2019 :: 2:32 am


Reread ur bible I have I’ve never seen that written down anywhere in the bible at all

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From mike on June 23, 2013 :: 6:51 am


HI people, I can bleave that, they made my fake nude video. I was talking to my brother in skype, they stole my video during me talking with my brother. and another guy with same t-shirt making himslefe nude.and its so funny they guy with same t-shirt showing his body, but not showing the face. and they made the video so good, that people think me its me. and they are telling me, they want money, otherwise they will send it to media. smile i told them they can take my shit. really they are just small dirty idiots.

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From neelam yadav on November 12, 2014 :: 8:18 am


N if u find it useful share

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From michael beaver on December 24, 2013 :: 2:27 am


I had sex with my wife and my brother set up a spy camera in my room and he post the video of us having sex 2 videos 1 video is dark can’t hardly see the face the other 1 you can see the face its blurry and they are post on imagefap.com I asked them 2 times nicely to delete them and they didn’t now I just mailed them again tellin them I will report them to the FBI if they don’t take them what should I do if they don’t take them down and I don’t wanna get my brother in trouble either they were upload from my PC on to the internet…..

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From Josh Kirschner on December 24, 2013 :: 5:53 pm


Your best option may be to claim copyright infringement. You may have to lie a little bit, but if you say you shot them and attest to that fact in a DMCA claim (which you should be able to find in the Imagefap abuse section), the service will most likely take them down. Lying in a DMCA request exposes you to counterpenalties from the actual copyright owner. However, since it seems highly unlikely your brother would contest your copyright, this doesn’t seem like a concern.

However, I’m not a attorney and, as always, I recommend you consult an attorney for proper legal advice.

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From michael beaver on December 25, 2013 :: 10:54 pm


thanks for the avice i’ll try it and see what happens from there.

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From drama on January 28, 2014 :: 6:32 pm


I think some pics might have been uploaded…is there anyway to find out who did it??

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From Josh Kirschner on January 28, 2014 :: 6:43 pm


You may be able to get a site to take the pictures down, but they probably won’t reveal information about who posted them without a court order. And if the site is based outside the US, as many porn sites are, a US court order may be difficult to serve or enforce.

Is there more than one person who has access to those photos that you’re unsure who posted them?

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From Erin Russell on January 28, 2014 :: 9:11 pm


How about if someone put some cameras in my massage business, home, car, and tapped the phone too. 
It has been going on for years and I have no idea how to get help about these issues.

I have gotten alot of lies and told there is nothing I can do about it.

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From drama on January 28, 2014 :: 9:39 pm


thank you for responding…you mean to tell me..there is nothing outside of a court order..that i can do to find out??..there is only one person that i know of that would have posted them!??

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From Josh Kirschner on January 28, 2014 :: 11:28 pm


The only way to find out who posted the images is to contact the website and ask them for the IP address of the poster or the email address associated with the poosting account. But they have no obligation to provide that to you, nor should they provide information to anyone who asks (I realize that you’re not just “anyone”, but from their perspective there are also serious privacy consideations to revealing user information).

You can talk to an attorney to find out if there are other options but I suspect not. Again, if the website is not based in the US (and I;m assuiming you are), this makes things extra difficult. If you were underage at the time the photos were taken, that may help your cause as it could fall under child pornography distribution laws.

Since you seem to to know who posted them, I would also ask what you’re hoping to accomplish by asking the website for more info? If you’re looking to pursue civil danages or criminal action (which may vary state by state), I definitely recommend that you speak with an attorney to determine what options are available.

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From Erin Russell on January 28, 2014 :: 9:23 pm


I am looking for someones happy ending because I need some privacy at work and at home.
What is the point of having a smartphone if it is basically hacked right out of the box? 
I hear changing the phone number will not matter.
Moving locations will not matter.
Its illegal and legal at the same time.
I just do not understand.

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From Josh Kirschner on January 28, 2014 :: 11:44 pm


Smartphones aren’t hacked right out of the box. Someone needs physical access to your phone to install spyware on it. And there’s nothing legal about it - federal wiretapping laws in the U.S. make it pretty clearly illegal to spy on someone’s phone without their permission.

Removing spyware on your phone usually involves downloading an antimalwre app (see our recommendations here: https://www.techlicious.com/review/mobile-security-apps-perform-dismally-against-spyware/) or factory resetting your phone.

If you’re also concerned about spycams, as you indicate above, we have souggestions for that,too: https://www.techlicious.com/tip/the-secrets-to-finding-hidden-cameras/.

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From Erin Russell on January 29, 2014 :: 11:48 am


I guess I am under some sort of massive surveillance game.
I am not sure how to fix it because I do not understand how they are doing it.  Each new phone I get from Verizon has problems quickly.  I have explained the problem in detail to verizon wireless.  The last suggestion was to get a new social security number.  It seems I get tracked even when I don’t have a phone on me.  Its very strange.  Compare the problem to the movie - Truman Show.  Well whoever is doing this has intruded on a lot of peoples privacy.  Unfortunately, my life is not a movie that ends in a couple hours.  This is harassment.
Its a cybercrime - so proof is very hard to come by.

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From Sophia L on December 22, 2016 :: 4:33 am


Hi Erin,

You’re on point about the whole thing. I have encountered the same exact issue, magnified even, except that it’s really difficult to collect evidences. All my electronic gadgets were hacked into, and I’ve seen them running by themselves. I was filmed inside my private places like bedroom etc.. and guess what, they shared my photos all over online, nude or no nude. I can’t trace them online and I really don’t know what to do.
And I know this sounds crazy but somehow they knew what I was thinking all the time and spread those online too! My life is exactly like the Truman Show - in real life, offline and online.
This is very dehumanising in every single way and it has been going on for many years. The most frustrating part is that I don’t even know who is/are behind all this or where to seek help. Everyone that I’ve approached including my family has denied any knowledge to this. They knew but just wouldn’t talk.
The most unfortunate thing is, I have no one to turn to or any place to go because wherever I go, they will surely follow. Whatever I say and think, they will spread them online and turn it into all kinds of nasty things.
Do you know where I can get help?

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From NeilFumicelli on August 27, 2017 :: 8:06 am


Maybe keep the phone or cam that the photos originated from to use in case they want to backtrack online activity. I feel for you, I hope you get it figured out.I kept all my old phones and sd cards just in case I would have to use them to prove my case, for a similar situation. I would never send nude pics of my wife or girlfriend to anyone. So if they are out there and they came from my phone or email, it’s because someone hacked my phone and my email and are most likely going to face some problems for that. I hope for the best for my wife, we are going through divorce and I know things aren’t easy, but we can try to be cool about everything now. We should be able to agree on some things because who cares, we are moving along in life and we are gonna be fine after all this is over. Don’t worry, be Happy

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From drama on January 28, 2014 :: 9:45 pm


What could happen at work and home?

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From Kid wicked on February 07, 2014 :: 6:27 am


My wife’s ex had posted videos of her doing naughty thing, he uploaded them from his cell phone, I have a few ideas of what site they are on, since they were his favorite sites. But I can’t figure out how to track them down. Does anybody know how I can do this? I have his cell number, and his URL. Can I find it with that?

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From michaela branagan on April 07, 2015 :: 4:52 pm


these ppl are vicious. i never allowed anyone to put nude photos of me on the web.

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From bobbie69 on April 10, 2016 :: 9:27 pm


for me i don’t care i get bigger groups of men i love it

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From Julie on September 15, 2016 :: 4:04 pm


My nude photos are on the net and i don’t mind who see’s them at all, i think I have a nice body and not ashamed of showing it. I actually enjoy reading the comments I receive from guy’s and girls from all over the world.

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From Randall on December 22, 2016 :: 3:10 pm


Ladies if you want to see my nude pictures. Just text me at (702) 806-0975   Randy

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From :? on September 28, 2017 :: 3:27 pm


Pictures and even videos of me are still on the internet…even though its been 7 years…:(

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From Pari on July 27, 2020 :: 1:48 pm


Hi,i downloaded agif maker to convet my live photo from app store,that this app opened my gallery in app,can it steal my nudes?how i can understand they shared my nudes online?

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From Josh Kirschner on July 28, 2020 :: 8:00 am


If you download random photo conversion or similar programs online, it possible that the program could be sending those images somewhere else. However, it’s probably very unlikely.

That said, your concern is valid and I would avoid using any programs from unknown providers, especially if you’re going to be editing sensitive photos or documents.

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From Jj on December 26, 2021 :: 1:57 am


I got you April n brian

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