Digital safety guide
Recognise risk
Threats of violence, knowledge of your location or targeting a child require prioritising safety. Seek trusted support suitable for your circumstances and country. The abuser is responsible for the abuse.
Secure accounts
On a trusted device, use a long unique password, enable an additional authentication factor and review sessions and email forwarding rules. Do not follow login links sent by the extortionist.
Compromise or impersonation
Use the platform’s official recovery route on a safer device. Document impersonating accounts and URLs. Do not contact impersonators to entrap them or publish private information. Assess blocking and settings changes in light of escalation risk.
Intimate content and children
Do not redistribute intimate content to demonstrate harm. For minors, do not request sexual images or create further copies; note necessary links and information and seek specialist child-protection guidance.
Higher-risk circumstances
Safe options differ for domestic abuse survivors, minorities, activists and people threatened with exposure. Do not assume involving family or police, or deleting history, is safe for everyone. Choose trusted support for the context.
Emotional support and limits
Extortion may cause fear or self-blame. Seek a safe person or qualified professional where possible. These materials do not diagnose mental health conditions or replace emergency response.
Last reviewed: 27 September 2026