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National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
NCMEC is a US non-profit established in 1984 that operates the CyberTipline, the national reporting channel for child sexual exploitation online, and Take It Down, a free service that lets anyone under 18, or an adult who was under 18 in the images, hash intimate images so participating platforms can block them. It is the route for minors' images in most of the removal guidance on this wiki.
Updated November 6, 2026 · 2 min read · reviewed November 6, 2026
What is NCMEC?
NCMEC was created in 1984 with a congressional mandate and private funding, based in Alexandria, Virginia. US law requires electronic service providers to report apparent child sexual abuse material to its CyberTipline, which received tens of millions of reports a year by the mid-2020s and forwards them to law enforcement in the US and abroad. NCMEC also runs a 24-hour call centre, 1-800-THE-LOST, for missing children.
What is Take It Down?
Take It Down, launched in December 2022 with funding from Meta, is a free, anonymous service for intimate images of people under 18. The person selects the image on their own device; a hash, a digital fingerprint, is generated locally and only the hash is sent to NCMEC. Participating platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, OnlyFans, Pornhub and Snap, check uploads against the list and remove or block matches. The image itself never leaves the device. Adults can use it for images taken when they were under 18; for images taken as an adult the equivalent service is StopNCII.
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Open takeitdown.ncmec.org
No account and no name required.
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Select the images or videos
On your own device. Nothing is uploaded.
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Hashes are created and submitted
You receive a case number to check status later.
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Platforms act on matches
Participating services remove matching content and block re-uploads. Non-participating sites need a direct report.
How does it relate to face search?
Take It Down works on exact and near-exact copies of a known image, not on faces. A face search can show where an image has been posted on the public web; Take It Down stops it circulating on participating platforms. The two are complementary, and the Take It Down Act, a separate federal law passed in 2025, now obliges platforms to remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours of a valid request from anyone, adult or minor.
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1984-06-13
NCMEC established
Opened by President Reagan with a congressional mandate.
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1998-03
CyberTipline launched
National reporting channel for online child exploitation.
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2022-12-05
Take It Down launched
Hash-based removal service for minors' intimate images.
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2025-05-19
Take It Down Act signed
Federal removal duty for platforms; NCMEC's service is referenced in the law's title.
Questions
Does Take It Down delete images from the whole internet?
No. It blocks matching uploads on participating platforms. Sites that do not participate need a direct report, and the Take It Down Act gives a 48-hour removal duty on covered platforms in the US.
Can an adult use Take It Down?
Only for images taken when they were under 18. Adults with images taken as adults use StopNCII, which runs the same hashing approach.
Does NCMEC see the images?
No. The hash is created on your device and only the hash is submitted.
Sources
- 1.NCMEC: Take It Down (checked November 6, 2026)
- 2.NCMEC: CyberTipline (checked November 6, 2026)
- 3.FTC: FTC Begins Enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act (19 May 2026) (checked November 6, 2026)
Entry reviewed November 6, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.
Related entries
- Organisation StopNCII.org The hash-based service for adults' intimate images: who runs it, how hashing works, which platforms participate, who is eligible and what it cannot do.
- Law TAKE IT DOWN Act (United States) The US TAKE IT DOWN Act: a criminal offence for non-consensual intimate images and deepfakes, the 48-hour platform removal duty enforced by the FTC from May 2026.
- Term NCII (non-consensual intimate images) NCII defined: non-consensual intimate images, real or synthetic, the laws covering them in the US, UK, EU, India and Australia, and the removal routes.
- Term Sextortion Sextortion defined: blackmail with intimate images, who is targeted, the first steps that stop it, the laws and removal routes, and the limits of a face search.
- Directory Removing intimate images shared without consent, by country Intimate image removal routes in 11 countries: the law, where to report, the platform deadline and the helpline, from the US and UK to India and Brazil.
- Directory Helplines for image abuse, scams and online harm, by country Helplines and reporting portals for image abuse, sextortion, romance fraud, stalking and crisis in the US, UK, India, Canada, Australia and Europe.
Cite this entry
FaceSearch Wiki editors. "National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)". FaceSearch Wiki, updated November 6, 2026. https://facesearch.wiki/organisations/ncmec/