Private Video Leaks and Online Blackmail: What to Do First

A video meant to stay private is suddenly not private anymore, shared without permission, and now someone is using it as leverage: send money, send more images, do what they ask, or they'll share it further.

If this is happening to you right now, the single most important thing to know is this: paying, or complying with what's being demanded, does not reliably make it stop. The FBI's own guidance on this is direct, compliance does not guarantee the material won't still be shared. What follows is what actually helps, without requiring you to negotiate with whoever is doing this.

You are not the one who did something wrong

Whoever leaked the video or is using it to threaten you is responsible for that, not you. That's true regardless of how the video originally came to exist, who it was originally shared with, or any circumstances around it. This matters because shame is exactly what keeps people from reporting and getting help quickly, which is often what the person doing this is counting on.

Stop engaging with the person threatening you

If someone is actively threatening you, the instinct to negotiate, plead, or try to reason with them is completely understandable, and it's usually not effective. People running this kind of extortion are frequently running the same script against many people at once; engaging tends to confirm that you're reachable and responsive, which can invite more demands rather than fewer. This doesn't mean deleting the conversation , it's evidence, it means not continuing to respond while you take the steps below.

Preserve the evidence

Use the tools built for this specifically

If the content involves intimate or sexually explicit imagery, real or AI-generated , there are free tools designed exactly for this, and neither requires uploading the actual file anywhere. If you were under 18 when the image or video was created, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's Take It Down tool generates a digital fingerprint on your own device, the file itself never leaves your device , which participating platforms use to find and remove matches. If you're 18 or older, StopNCII.org works the same way. Both have a real limitation worth knowing: they only cover participating platforms and can't guarantee removal everywhere, which is why they're one part of the response, not the whole of it.

Report it, to the platform, and to the right authority

Report the content to the platform it's on, using the specific category for non-consensual imagery or extortion rather than a generic report. Separately, report the situation to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov) if extortion or threats are involved, or to local law enforcement. If you're a student, your school's Title IX office can also act, independent of any law enforcement process. None of these reports require you to have already resolved the situation yourself, that's the point of reporting.

Tell someone you trust

This doesn't have to be handled entirely alone, and it's genuinely harder to think clearly and act quickly while also carrying it by yourself. A parent, a trusted friend, a school counselor, or a crisis line can help you think through next steps and won't require you to relive every detail to be useful to you.

What people commonly get wrong

What outside help looks like

Beyond the platform tools and law enforcement, specialized support exists specifically for this situation, crisis lines, victim advocates, and services that help preserve and document evidence in a way that supports a platform report or a legal process. This kind of help becomes especially relevant when content is spreading across multiple platforms, when a threat is escalating, or when you need help navigating a school or legal process on top of everything else.