If someone is threatening to post your photos on Snapchat, stop responding, save the messages, and report the threat to Snapchat, local police, and the FBI. Under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act signed in 2025, the threat itself is a crime, punishable by up to two years in prison when the target is an adult and up to three years when the target is a minor.1U.S. Congress. Text – S.146 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): TAKE IT DOWN Act The person does not have to actually post anything to be breaking the law.
Stop Responding and Lock Down Your Accounts
Do not reply, do not negotiate, and do not send money or more photos. The Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice is blunt about this: paying only leads to more demands.2United States Department of Justice. Sextortion Victim Resources Every reply tells the person their pressure is working.
Before you block them, save the evidence (next section). Then block the person on Snapchat and on every other platform where they can reach you. Change your Snapchat password and the password on any account that shared it, especially your email. Turn on two-factor authentication so a stolen password is not enough to get in. Set your profiles to friends-only and turn off location sharing.
Save the Evidence First
Everything you do next — platform reports, police complaints, court filings — depends on what you can show. Capture it before you block, delete, or report.
- Screenshot every threatening message with timestamps visible. Scroll through the entire chat and capture each screen.
- Screenshot the person’s Snapchat profile, username, and Snapcode. Do the same for any other accounts you know they use.
- Keep original files of any images, videos, or voice messages they sent you. Originals carry metadata that screenshots lose.
- Write a separate timeline in your own words: what was said, when, on which platforms, and anything you know about the person’s real identity, phone number, or other handles.
Store copies in more than one place, such as a cloud folder and an external drive, so a lost phone does not erase the case.
Report the Threat Inside Snapchat
Press and hold on the threatening message to bring up the report option. When you report a chat message, Snapchat automatically includes some of the preceding messages so its safety team has context.3Snap Inc. How To Report A Snap You can also report the whole account from the three-dot menu on the person’s profile. Choose the category that fits, such as harassment or threats. Snapchat can remove content, suspend the account, or ban the user, but a platform report alone is not a criminal case. You still need law enforcement.
Report to Police and the FBI
Local Police
File a report in person. Bring printed screenshots, your timeline, and your phone so an officer can see the original thread. You do not need to know the person’s real name to file. If police need the account holder’s identity, they can seek a warrant compelling Snap Inc. to turn it over. Ask for your report number before you leave; you will need it if you later apply for a protective order or file with federal agencies.
The FBI and IC3
If the person is in another state or country, or if local police are not moving, go federal. The FBI treats sextortion as a priority. Call 1-800-CALL-FBI, submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov, or file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at complaint.ic3.gov.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sextortion5Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Complaint Form Reporting to both local and federal authorities is not duplicative. Local police run the immediate investigation; the FBI tracks larger patterns, and many sextortion operations are organized groups hitting dozens of victims at once.
The Federal Law That Makes the Threat Itself a Crime
The TAKE IT DOWN Act
The TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed into law in 2025, makes it a federal crime to publish intimate images of someone without consent, including AI-generated deepfakes.6The White House. ICYMI: President Trump Signs TAKE IT DOWN Act into Law It also criminalizes threatening to publish such images for purposes of intimidation, coercion, or extortion.1U.S. Congress. Text – S.146 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): TAKE IT DOWN Act That is the provision that applies to a Snapchat threat.
Penalties depend on whether the images are real or AI-generated and whether the target is an adult or a minor:
- Threats involving real images of adults: up to 2 years in prison, a fine, or both.
- Threats involving real images of minors: up to 3 years in prison, a fine, or both.
- Threats involving deepfakes of adults: up to 18 months in prison, a fine, or both.
- Threats involving deepfakes of minors: up to 30 months in prison, a fine, or both.
The law also requires online platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate images within 48 hours of a valid takedown request from the victim.1U.S. Congress. Text – S.146 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): TAKE IT DOWN Act One boundary to know: the TAKE IT DOWN Act does not create a private right to sue the person who shared the images for money damages. Its remedies are criminal.7Congressional Research Service. The TAKE IT DOWN Act: A Federal Law Prohibiting Nonconsensual Intimate Visual Depictions
Federal Cyberstalking
If the threats are part of a pattern — repeated messages, contact across multiple platforms, or ongoing harassment — the behavior may also violate 18 U.S.C. § 2261A. The federal cyberstalking statute covers using any electronic communication service in a course of conduct that puts someone in reasonable fear of serious injury or causes substantial emotional distress.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2261A – Stalking A “course of conduct” needs at least two acts, so a single message will not qualify, but a string of threats will. Federal stalking convictions carry up to five years in most cases, longer if the victim suffers serious bodily injury, and a one-year minimum if the stalking violates a protective order.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261
Get the Images Blocked Before They Spread
If you are worried the person will follow through, you can prepare a defense across platforms without ever uploading the images themselves.
StopNCII.org (18 and Older)
StopNCII.org generates a digital fingerprint, called a hash, from an intimate image on your device. The image never leaves your phone. Only the hash goes to participating platforms, which use it to detect and remove matching copies automatically.10StopNCII. Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse
NCMEC Take It Down (Under 18)
If you are under 18, use Take It Down, run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It works the same way: the tool creates a hash on your device without uploading the file, and participating platforms scan for matches.11National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Frequently Asked Questions – Take It Down The hashing technology does not work on encrypted platforms, so it will not catch everything, but it covers major sites. Start at takeitdown.ncmec.org.
Protective Orders
A protective order is a court order prohibiting the person from contacting or harassing you. Rules vary by state, but most states allow one for online harassment even if you have never met the person in person. You file a petition at your local courthouse, attach your evidence, and present it to a judge. If the judge finds a risk of immediate harm, you may get a temporary order the same day, before the other side is notified. A longer-term order requires a hearing.
If you only know the person by a Snapchat username, you can file against a “John Doe” and use the court’s subpoena power to compel Snap Inc. or an internet provider to identify them, then amend the case once you have a name. Violating a protective order is a separate criminal offense, and stalking someone in violation of one carries a one-year federal minimum.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261
If You Are a Minor
The FBI’s message to minors is direct: you are not in trouble. Not if the situation started on an app you were too young to use. Not if you shared something voluntarily at first. Not if you accepted money or gifts. The person threatening you is the one breaking the law.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sextortion
Tell a trusted adult: a parent, teacher, school counselor, or coach. If you are not ready to talk to police yourself, that adult can help. You can also call the FBI directly at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov. Use NCMEC’s Take It Down to block your images from spreading on participating platforms.
Support While You Work Through This
The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative runs a free, 24/7 helpline for victims of image-based abuse at 1-844-878-2274. Advocates there can walk you through evidence preservation, takedown requests, and next steps.12Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. Thank You for Contacting Us If you are in crisis, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available any time by call or text at 988.