Content removal guide
How to remove content from the internet.
A practical guide: which free official option can actually help, what each removal result really means, when to stop reading and ask a person, and how to choose a service without getting scammed. The guide explains the options; the work for your case happens in a private case file.
Someone under 18 involved? Go to the free help box
Unsafe? Call or text 988 Report a threat: tips.fbi.gov (opens in a new tab) Under 18: Take It Down (opens in a new tab)
On this page
What a result means
Four labels. Only three are results.
Every link we work on gets one of these labels, and they are never merged into one “success” word. A request being sent is activity, not a result.
Activity, not a result
Request submitted
A host, platform, or search engine has received a request. Nothing has changed yet, and the page may still be online. We never count this as a removal.
Result
Source removed
The page or copy is no longer available where it was posted. Other copies elsewhere are separate items.
Result
Search delisted
A search engine no longer shows the result. The page itself may still be online, and people with the direct link may still reach it.
Result
Unresolved
The content is still available, or the change can't be checked yet. It stays on your report — it is not hidden or quietly dropped.
We don’t make the final decision. The host, platform, or search engine does. That is why no honest service can promise a result in advance.
Plain-language guide
Free options first. Honest limits.
Start with the free official tools. Where a paid service may help, this guide says what the free options can and cannot do, without pretending any method is certain.
Read this section: Free options first. Honest limits.
Education · Free options first · No guarantees
Try the free options.
Official tools, platform reports, and saving evidence safely come first, before any paid review.
Know the limits.
Every tool has limits: which sites take part, who controls the page, which laws apply, or whether only search can change.
Source and search are different.
Taking content down where it was posted is not the same as hiding it from search results.
Get paid help only when it fits.
A service should add coordination, persistence, and checking, not promises no one can keep.
What this guide shows: Free options and their limits, in the open.
A useful guide should show the free options, where each one runs out, and when a service can add coordination.
- Where the content lives
- Limits in plain words
- Source and search kept separate
- Paid help named only when useful
Free options first.
Official reports, platform tools, safe evidence-saving, and support lines are listed before any paid help.
Know the limits.
Which laws apply, which sites take part, who controls the page, public-record rules, and search-only limits are stated plainly.
Paid help needs a reason.
A service should add coordination, persistence, and checking, not confidence no one can honestly sell.
Check us before you pay.
Before any money moves, you should be able to check the scope, the price, and any referral.
Before any work
What gets decided before work begins.
Read this section: What gets decided before work begins.
A useful first answer is not a sales pitch. It should tell you which free options fit, what can come down at the source, what can only be hidden from search, what is excluded, and what belongs with the police, a lawyer, or another kind of help.
Free options first
If an official tool, a platform report, or a support line fits your situation, we say so before any paid work.
What fits, what doesn't
Before any work begins, each item is sorted in writing: what we can work on, what is excluded, and what needs a different kind of help.
Your details stay private
Your case details go into your private case file, not onto a public page or form.
No work before review
Fixed-price items are charged at checkout, then reviewed within 48 hours; anything we cannot accept is refunded before work begins. Sensitive matters never start with an upload or a payment.
Before you ask us
From free options to a private case file.
Check the free options first, save evidence safely, then check who we are and the written terms before any work starts.
Read this section: From free options to a private case file.
Don’t pay anyone until the free options are clear and the scope, price, and limits for your case are written down.
- Check the free options.Official tools and platform reports often come first, before any paid work.Free options
- Save evidence safely.Never send intimate images to anyone. Your private case file holds what a public page should not.Official options list
- Know what a result means.Source removed, search delisted, and unresolved are labeled separately. A request sent is not a result.Result labels
Check us before you pay.
Our company details, how payment works, refund terms, and how results are labeled should all be clear before you pay anything.
Pick the right way in.
Before any quote
Find your situation first.
The costly mistake is treating every situation as the same “content removal.” First work out where the content is, which free option fits, and what is realistically possible.
It may be a page on a site, a search result, a social account, a people-search listing, or something that needs a safety referral. Those are different jobs.
Possible paths
Remove at the source
The strongest result: the site, publisher, or account owner that controls the page takes it down.
Delist from search
A limited result: an eligible search result is hidden, but the page itself may stay online.
Watch for repeats
Re-uploads and new copies are tracked in one private case file.
Refer out
Anyone under 18, immediate danger, court orders, and legal questions belong with official help or a lawyer.
Adult images
A leaked, AI-generated, or threatened intimate image of an adult.
- First check
- Check whether StopNCII, the platform's own reporting option, or a private review is the safe first step. The case-by-case handling stays private.
- Where AboutUs may help
- A private review once you are safe: what we can take on, what stays with official channels, and what stays private.
- Keep in mind
- Never send the images. Never pay threats.
Under 18
Any sexual image, exploitative content, or threat involving someone under 18.
- First check
- Use NCMEC’s CyberTipline and Take It Down. Keep evidence without sharing the content.
- Where AboutUs may help
- No paid AboutUs work. This goes to child-protection reporting.
- Keep in mind
- See the free help box below.
Source page
An article, profile, review, forum post, fake page, mugshot page, or account page.
- First check
- Note the site or publisher, and whether a policy, correction, abuse, or privacy reason may apply, before any review.
- Where AboutUs may help
- What can come down at the source, what only search can change, where we stop, and any referrals are written down separately.
- Keep in mind
- True news reporting or official records may need a lawyer.
More situations: a search result, personal information, re-uploads (3)
Search result
The page stays online, but the search result is how people find it.
- First check
- Check whether Google’s free explicit-image or personal-information removal option applies.
- Where AboutUs may help
- Delisting is search-only work. It is never called deletion.
- Keep in mind
- The page itself may still exist.
Personal info
Your address, phone number, family details, people-search profile, or information used to target you.
- First check
- Note where the information appears and which official or privacy option may cover it. Don't share more ID than needed.
- Where AboutUs may help
- Repeat appearances and replies can be tracked under one written scope.
- Keep in mind
- Only share the ID an official option actually requires.
Re-uploads
The same content comes back on new links, copies, accounts, or captions.
- First check
- Track repeats in one private case file instead of spreading them across many separate reports.
- Where AboutUs may help
- Follow-up checks keep repeat work organized.
- Keep in mind
- No one can promise the whole internet stays clean.
For intimate images, AI nudes, or sextortion, never send the images themselves. A person can start from a short private description.
Free options first
Check the free options before any quote.
Read this section: Check the free options before any quote.
In many cases, a free official option is the right first step. Find out what it can do before AboutUs or anyone else prices the work. If it stalls, the content spreads, or it keeps coming back, that is when paid help may fit.
Check the platform’s own reporting option.
Many platforms have reporting forms for intimate images shared without consent, harassment, and impersonation. Check whether the platform’s own option covers your problem.
Intimate images: different help for adults and for anyone under 18.
Adults can create a private digital fingerprint of an intimate image so participating services block it — StopNCII.org (opens in a new tab). If anyone in the image is under 18, use NCMEC’s Take It Down (opens in a new tab) and report to the CyberTipline (opens in a new tab) — that is never commercial work.
Check search eligibility.
Google has its own free removal options for explicit images and for personal information — explicit image removal (opens in a new tab) and personal information removal (opens in a new tab). Delisting hides a result from search; it doesn’t delete the page where it was posted.
Find your situation
Free and official options.
A trustworthy guide shouldn’t blur safety, reporting, search, and removal into one vague sale. This list shows the free options and their limits. The plan for your specific case belongs in a private case file, not on a public page.
This list is general information, not legal advice. The official options are linked so you can check them yourself; decisions about your specific case stay private until there is a written scope.
Crisis
Panic, thoughts of self-harm, or an emotional crisis right now.
- Free option
- Call, text, or chat with 988 before thinking about removal.
- Its limit
- If someone is in physical danger right now, call 911 first.
- What to keep
- You don't need to explain the content to ask for crisis support.
- Where AboutUs fits
- Come back to removal only when you are safe enough to decide.
Adult images
An adult's intimate image is posted, threatened, or likely to be re-uploaded.
- Free option
- Check StopNCII where it fits, plus the platform's own reporting option.
- Its limit
- StopNCII blocks matching uploads on participating platforms; it does not delete pages that are already online everywhere.
- What to keep
- Keep the image itself out of company forms; your private case file can hold the details.
- Where AboutUs fits
- Ask us only after the free option is clear and copies are still online or keep coming back.
Under 18
Anyone involved may have been under 18 when sexual content was made.
- Free option
- Use NCMEC's CyberTipline and Take It Down instead of a paid service.
- Its limit
- This is never a paid AboutUs case.
- What to keep
- Keep messages and links without copying, forwarding, or sending the content to anyone.
- Where AboutUs fits
- Stop here and use child-protection reporting.
More situations: threats, search, a platform that fails, support (4)
Threats
Someone is threatening to expose you, demanding money, or using accounts to pressure you.
- Free option
- Report online extortion to the FBI's IC3 and keep every threat message.
- Its limit
- Don't pay, negotiate, or send anything new to the person threatening you.
- What to keep
- Keep the threats saved privately. Don't post them anywhere.
- Where AboutUs fits
- If content appears, the police report and removal work are handled as separate things.
Search
The main harm is a Google result, a snippet, or personal information showing in search.
- Free option
- Check Google's free removal options before paying anyone to push results down.
- Its limit
- Search delisting can hide a result without deleting the page.
- What to keep
- Keep the search result and the page it points to as two separate questions.
- Where AboutUs fits
- Search delisting stays separate from removal at the source and from follow-up checks.
FTC
A covered platform has no process, or doesn't reasonably act on a valid TAKE IT DOWN request.
- Free option
- Tell the FTC through its official reporting page.
- Its limit
- An FTC report is not a paid removal service.
- What to keep
- Keep the platform's reply (or lack of one) for your own records.
- Where AboutUs fits
- AboutUs may help with site, policy, or search follow-up, but your FTC report stays separate.
Support
You need confidential support, information about your rights, or a referral before deciding anything.
- Free option
- Contact VictimConnect, RAINN, CCRI, or another support line listed in our resources.
- Its limit
- Support and referrals are not the same as removing content.
- What to keep
- Support lines can start from what happened and what kind of help you need.
- Where AboutUs fits
- Get support first when safety, trauma, or your rights are the real first need.
- Official options listSee each official option, what it is for, its limits, and what to keep out of it.Open
- Free checklistIf your situation is mixed, sort the facts into a short summary before any work is accepted.Open
- Check us before you payDon't pay until your safety, the written scope, refund terms, and the limits of the result are all written down.Open
When paid help fits
When paid help may make sense.
Read this section: When paid help may make sense.
Free official options work best for simple cases on participating platforms or clearly eligible search results. Paid help may fit when you already know the free options, but something is still unresolved:
- The content is spread across many sites, mirrors, or tube networks.
- It sits on sites that ignore reports, or have no real removal process.
- It keeps reappearing after you take it down.
- It’s an AI deepfake that hash-matching tools don’t catch.
- It’s a mugshot, doxxing post, or defamatory page where the right reason for a request has to be worked out in writing.
What a service adds comes after the free options: sorting each item, keeping records, written updates, follow-up checks, and honest labels for limited results (such as search-only). The handling for your case stays in your private case file.
This guide
Enough to understand.
Shows the free options, who controls the content, and what each result label means — without publishing the case-by-case judgment you would hire someone for.
Written scope
Enough to quote.
Turns your facts into a list of accepted items, exclusions, limited results (such as search-only), refund terms, and a price before any work is accepted.
Your case file
Enough to check.
Keeps every message, next step, and result check in your private case file.
Source vs. search
Removed at the source, or hidden from search.
These are two different results, and an honest service never mixes them up. Source removed means the content is off the site where it was posted — the strongest result. Search delisted means a search engine stopped showing it, while the page may still be online — a limited result, never a substitute for removal. See all four result labels.
Which rules apply depends on the case. Under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, a covered platform must remove qualifying intimate images (including AI deepfakes) within 48 hours after a valid request from the person shown or someone authorized to act for them. That is the platform’s legal duty, not an AboutUs timeline. Copyright, platform policy, privacy and safety rules, official records, and state laws can matter too. The answer for your case belongs in your private case file.
Before anyone quotes a price
Demand a label for the outcome.
A serious review should end with a clear label, not a vague promise. This page explains the labels; your private case file holds the actual reason, the work agreed, and the final result.
Read this section: Demand a label for the outcome.
The site may act
- What you see
- The site, publisher, or account owner seems able to take the item down.
- Your case file
- The item, the reason, each reply, and the final label stay in your private case file.
- Safe next step
- Get the scope in writing before any paid work starts.
Search-only help
- What you see
- The page may stay online, but an eligible search result can sometimes be hidden.
- Your case file
- What changed in search, what is still on the page, and the limits stay in your private case file.
- Safe next step
- Call it search-only help, not removal.
It keeps coming back
- What you see
- The same content keeps appearing on new pages, copies, accounts, or captions.
- Your case file
- The pattern and follow-up checks stay in your private case file.
- Safe next step
- Track repeats as follow-up work in your case file.
Decline or refer
- What you see
- The item belongs with an official channel, a lawyer, emergency help, or no paid removal at all.
- Your case file
- Why we stopped, and where we referred you, stay in your private case file.
- Safe next step
- Don't dress up a weak fit as something to pay for.
Intimate images or threats
- What you see
- Adult intimate images, AI nudes, or sextortion should start with a private conversation with a person.
- Your case file
- Sensitive details stay out of public forms and payment pages.
- Safe next step
- Ask privately before filling in any form.
Four details that keep a quote honest
Item
What is being worked on, and the private details, stay in one private case file.
Who can act
The site, a search engine, a regulator, an official program, a lawyer, or a service like us.
Result
Source removed, search delisted, unresolved, declined, referred, or live help for sensitive matters.
Limits
What cannot be promised, what stays out of forms, and what must be written down before you pay.
Choosing a service
How to choose one — and red flags.
This field has predatory operators. Walk away from any service that:
- Promises certainty before looking at your case. No service controls every site owner, search engine, private share, or repost.
- Tells you to pay the person threatening you. Never do this; it usually leads to more demands.
- Blurs delisting and deletion, or sells you “pushing results down” as removal.
- Hides its refund and acceptance terms.
- Claims to be a law firm when it isn’t (or gives legal advice it isn’t allowed to give).
Look for the opposite: clear prices and refund terms in writing before you pay, plain honesty about what can and can’t be removed, and a willingness to turn down cases it can’t help.
Where AboutUs fits
This guide explains the options. The work happens in your case file.
We’re a removal agency, not a law firm. AboutUs may fit when the free options haven’t fully solved the problem — the page is still up, it has spread, it keeps coming back, or it shows in search — and the next step needs a written scope, not more general advice.
Read this section: This guide explains the options. The work happens in your case file.
Public pages can show how we work and how to check us. The work for your case is written into your private case file: the items, exclusions, intended result, any limited result (such as search-only), the acceptance review, and refund terms.
This guide stops at the general rules.
It can name who controls the content, the free options, the result labels, and the red flags. It can't give the answer for your specific case.
Your written scope sets the work.
The items, the exclusions, the intended result, any limited result (such as search-only), and the refund terms are written down before you pay.
Someone keeps track of it.
Paid help is useful when replies, repeats, and search-only follow-up need one person tracking them.
You get the full report.
What was sent, who replied, what is still online, what became search-only work, and what we stopped stays in your private case file.
What you pay for: careful, tracked work — not certainty about the internet
A fee only makes sense once what is left to do is specific enough to take on, track, and report back on.
What we offer
Written scope, careful tracking, and a private report for you.
What we don't sell
Erasing everything, legal advice, guaranteed internet-wide results, paying threats, or pay-first rescue offers.
What we keep private
The answer for your case, how we respond, and our notes.
Find the guide that matches your situation.
- Deepfake & AI-nudeWhen fake or altered intimate images need careful, safety-first review.Read the guide
- Leaked photosWhen live links, repeats, and search results need to be tracked in one place.Read the guide
- Revenge pornWhen adult intimate images need free safety tools and removal work kept apart.Read the guide
- Mugshot recordsWhen site policy, case outcome, and search-only options differ.Read the guide
- DoxxingWhen personal details spread across people-search sites and harassment pages.Read the guide
- Sextortion safetyWhen threats need safety steps before any removal work.Read the guide
Free help · under 18 · never paid work
If this involves someone under 18
We work with adults (18+) only. If intimate images of someone under 18 are involved, report it immediately to the NCMEC CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org, use NCMEC's Take It Down at takeitdown.ncmec.org, and contact local law enforcement. Do not send the content to anyone — including us.
Common questions
Straight answers.
How do I remove content about me from the internet?
Start by working out who can act on it: the site where it is posted, StopNCII.org for adults' intimate images on participating platforms, NCMEC's Take It Down and CyberTipline if anyone was under 18, or Google's removal tools for eligible search results. A removal service may help when content spreads, keeps coming back, sits on sites that ignore reports, or is an AI deepfake. This guide explains the options; the paid work is the judgment, the order of requests, tracking each one, and following up — all kept in your private case file.
Can you really remove something from the internet permanently?
No honest service can promise to erase something from the whole internet in advance — anyone who sells that certainty is a red flag. What can work: removal at the source where there is a valid reason, search delisting where the source won't act, and follow-up checks in case it comes back. Results depend on each case, and what counts as done should be written down before you pay.
How do I choose a content-removal service safely?
Avoid anyone who promises certainty before looking at your case, tells you to pay the person threatening you, blurs the difference between removing a page and hiding it from search, hides refund terms, or claims to be a law firm when they aren’t. Look for clear prices and refund terms in writing before you pay, and a service that tells you honestly what can and can’t be removed — and turns down cases it can’t help.
Is removing content the same as hiring a lawyer?
No. A removal agency prepares and tracks removal and search requests; a law firm gives legal advice and can go to court or seek expungement. AboutUs is a removal agency, not a law firm — if your situation needs a lawyer, we’ll say so.
Next move
Choose the safest next move.
Read this section: Choose the safest next move.
Free options
Check the free options.
Use the official tool when it clearly fits. If it stalls, the content spreads, or it keeps coming back, ask a person.
Sensitive matter
Intimate image or threat?
Don't use a written form for leaked, nude, AI-generated, or threatened intimate images. Talk to a person privately first.
Other content
Something that isn't intimate.
Articles, reviews, mugshots, doxxing, impersonation, people-search pages, or search results: ask for a written quote to see what can come down at the source and what only search can change.
Prices
Know the prices before paying.
See what each price covers, the limits of search-only work, and the 48-hour acceptance review before you decide.
You should see the details first.
- Facts before a quote.A serious service tells you which free options fit, then writes down what is still left to do.Is AboutUs a fit?
- Label every result.Source removed, search delisted, follow-up checks, where the work stops, and referrals should each be labeled separately.Check us before you pay
- Not sure where to start?Use the free checklist to sort out which safety options fit and where AboutUs may help.Use the free checklist
This page is education, not legal advice. We are a removal agency, not a law firm; for advice on your specific situation, consult an attorney — or ask us privately and we'll tell you honestly what your case needs and what it costs.