What happens in a case

You answer a short wizard, then choose files on this device. Photos are fingerprinted with PDQ. Videos are fingerprinted with MD5. Only that string, plus the answers you give, is stored. You receive a case number and you choose a password. Neither can be recovered later.

AntiNCII can file reports where your rights are violated and give you instructions for each platform. Fingerprints may be shared with participating platforms so they can detect a matching upload. The original file is never uploaded to us. See How it works for statuses and limits.

Meta, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads

PDQ is Meta’s open perceptual-hash algorithm. That is the photo fingerprint AntiNCII uses. It is not the same as a contract that every Facebook, Instagram, or Threads post will be taken down. Participating platforms that ingest those hashes can try to stop matching photo uploads and, on some products, matching public posts or stories. You should still use each app’s own intimate-image report tools.

Removal is never automatic or guaranteed. A reviewer cannot reach into a private account and delete a file for you.

What hashing can catch — and what it cannot

PDQ can still match many resized or recompressed photos. MD5 for video matches the exact file. If the video is edited, recoded, or clipped, that fingerprint usually will not match. Hashing is strongest against later copies of the same file, not against every possible edit.

Encrypted chats are a different problem. Messenger and some Instagram threads can use end-to-end encryption. Content inside an encrypted message is not something a public hash list can reliably scan. A regular feed post or story is more likely to be in scope for platform matching than a locked DM. Either way, keep records of usernames, URLs, dates, and threats — not copies of the intimate file itself.

Search engines are another layer. AntiNCII does not insert your name into Google or Bing. Hashes on platforms can reduce new copies going up, which may later mean fewer results for crawlers to find. That is not a promise that your name will vanish from image search, especially if the name is common. Use each search engine’s own removal tools as well; Google’s path is listed on Resources.

If this is sextortion

Paying does not reliably stop the contact. Many people in the same situation report that they refused, and that the other person never sent the video or screenshots onward. That is not a guarantee in your case. It is a reason not to treat a payment demand as the only way out.

Document what you can for later reports: profiles, payment requests, timestamps. Report the account in-app. In the United States you can also report to ic3.gov. Open an AntiNCII case if you are an adult and still have the file, so a fingerprint can help against later uploads of that same media.

Specialist helplines

Charities that work with image-based abuse can give reassurance and practical steps. AntiNCII is independent of them. You can use both.

A longer directory is on Global Network. Platform safety pages are under Providers.

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