What To Do If Someone Uses Your Photos Online
Discovering your photos on a profile that isn't yours, in a place you never posted them, or edited into something explicit is one of the most violating experiences online. The response is the same regardless of platform: capture, contain, report. KNOMI Cyber walks Australians through it every week.
Capture before you click
Before you report or message the account, take full-page screenshots that include the URL, date and time. Save the original image file and write down where you found it. This is the evidence that platforms, eSafety and police need — without it, takedowns often stall.
Use the right takedown path
Each platform has a different reporting flow. For intimate or sexual content posted without consent, eSafety's image-based abuse scheme has the fastest legal teeth in Australia and can issue removal notices. For stolen photos used on fake profiles, the platform's impersonation form is usually the right starting point.
Reporting paths
- Intimate images: eSafety image-based abuse scheme
- Fake profiles: platform impersonation report
- Trademark or commercial misuse: IP report on platform
- Children under 18: eSafety + police (state)
When to bring KNOMI in
If the misuse is part of harassment, extortion, or a wider identity issue, the takedown is only half the work. KNOMI Cyber helps Australians build the full evidence pack, coordinate eSafety and police, and contain spread across platforms before it grows.
Frequently asked questions
Can KNOMI remove the photos for me?
KNOMI prepares and supports the takedown requests; the platforms and eSafety control the removal itself. Properly prepared requests succeed far more often.
What if the photos are edited (deepfake)?
Treat them like the original. eSafety and federal law cover non-consensual intimate deepfakes.
Should I confront the person who posted them?
No. Engagement gives them more content and excuses. Capture, report, contain.