Reporting nude images

Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) created Report Remove to help young people report nude or sexual images and videos that have been shared of them online, to see if they can be removed from the internet.

These are the steps you will go through when making a report through Report Remove.

1. Choose your age range – you will need to be under 18 to make a report.
2. Verify your age – you may be asked to verify your age by providing a copy of your passport or another official document. You will use a secure service called ‘Yoti’ to do this.
3. Create a Childline account – this allows Childline to keep you updated after you have made your report. You don’t have to use your real name.
4. Report the content – you will be taken to the IWF website to share the image or video you would like to be removed. You can also share any webpages the content has been posted on.
5. IWF will review your report – IWF will tell Childline if they have been able to remove the content. Childline will then update you through your Childline account.

The IWF can only remove nude images or videos of young people under the age of 18.

To be removed, a nude image must include one of the following:

• Nude or semi-nude sexual posing
• Someone nude or semi-nude touching themselves in a sexual way
• Any sexual activity involving a child
• Someone hurting someone else sexually
• Sexual activity that includes animals

Report Remove can only help with removing images or videos that are public and available to anyone on the internet. They can’t help with removing images or videos that have been shared in private spaces, like WhatsApp conversations, or that have been saved on someone’s phone or computer.

1. After you make a report using Report Remove, it will be passed on to the IWF. The IWF review all reports within one day, from Monday to Friday.
2. The IWF will check that the content you have reported meets the requirements above and can be removed from the internet. To do this they give the image or video a digital fingerprint.
3. The IWF share that digital fingerprint with trusted companies and organisations so they can find the image or video if it appears online and take action to remove it. One of the organisations the IWF share the digital fingerprint with is the police. You will not get in trouble for reporting an image or video of yourself that has been shared online. 
4. Childline will contact you to let you know when the image has been removed or if the IWF need more information. This will take place via your Childline account.

How long it takes for the image to be removed depends on which website or platform it has been shared on. If it is on a UK-based website, it could be removed within 2-3 hours of the IWF reading the report. It often takes longer if the website or platform is based in another country.

Most of the time, no one else will find out that you have made a report and your report won’t be shared with anyone.