Leaked content removal comes down to two requests. You ask the site that has the copy, or the company hosting it, to take it down. Then you ask search engines to stop showing the link. You can do both yourself, and neither has a fee. What you can't do is force the result: each site and each search engine decides.
Removal from a site isn't the same as removal from Google
People say "removal" for two different things, and it helps to keep them apart.
Takedown. You send a copyright notice (a DMCA takedown notice) to the site where the copy sits, or to its host. If the site acts, the page or file comes down.
Delisting. You ask a search engine to stop showing the link in its results. The copy can still be on the site. Google says it plainly: "Google can only remove content from search results pages."
Most people need both. Our guide to removing copies from Google Search walks through the delisting side, Bing included.
Who actually takes it down
You don't remove anything yourself. You ask, and someone else acts:
- The site. Most sites that host other people's uploads list a copyright contact or a web form.
- The host. If a site won't answer, the company that hosts it may take notices too.
- The search engine. Google and Bing each run their own request forms for delisting.
Not sure where a site takes notices? Our Where to report list has the big platforms, each with the day we checked it. The free link check shows it for the links you check, where we know it.
The removal process, in order
- Make sure the work is yours to enforce. If you made the photo or video, you can usually send the notice. If someone else shot it, it gets more complicated. What to do when your content is leaked covers this first step and the full checklist.
- Write down the exact links. A notice has to point to the exact page. Keep a private list: the page address, which of your works is on it, and the date you saw it. How to find copies of your photos and videos shows where to search.
- Check each link. Pages move and go down. Before you write anything, run your links through the free link check to see which pages still load and where each site takes notices.
- Send the notice. How to send a DMCA takedown notice lists what a notice has to include and has a plain template. Our free DMCA notice generator builds one you send yourself.
- Ask search engines to drop the link. See removing copies from Google Search.
- Watch for pushback. The poster can answer with a counter-notice. Here's what a counter-notice means and what happens next.
Where the copy is changes the route
Each platform runs its own process, and they differ on what they pass along to the poster. Reddit says it may share basic details of your notice with the reported user on request. X says the reported user gets a copy of the complaint, contact details included. Telegram says it doesn't process requests about private chats and groups.
Read the one that fits before you file:
If the copy came from a live show, start with how to check if a private show was recorded and posted.
What it costs to do it yourself
Sending a takedown notice has no fee, and you don't need to hire anyone to send one. None of the Google or Microsoft request pages we read mention a fee for delisting either. Where money comes in: a lawyer, if you need one for a subpoena, a site outside the U.S. or a lawsuit, and copyright registration, which has a filing fee.
The real cost is time. One notice is quick. Keeping up with copies across sites, and writing a fresh notice for each, is the part that wears people down.
What no one can promise
No one can promise a site will remove a copy, and we don't. Each site decides what to do with a notice. There's no fixed deadline in the law: a site that gets a proper notice has to act "expeditiously," and what that means depends on the site. If the poster sends a counter-notice, the site may put the content back 10 to 14 business days later unless you go to court.
When a service makes sense
If you'd rather not do the searching and the paperwork yourself, that's what a removal service is for. Before you pick one, read how to choose a leak removal service for the questions to ask.
LeakVoid offers white glove takedowns for creators. We search the leak sites we cover for posts that name your stage names or handles, and your dashboard shows the latest status we have for each link. Once you authorize us at signup, we sign and send your notices for you. Anything that may be fair use waits for you. We don't give legal advice, and we can't promise any site will take a copy down.
The LeakVoid plan: $17.99 a month, about 60 cents a day. Cancel online anytime. Sales tax is added where it applies. US only.
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Free DMCA notice generator (you send it yourself)
Want to know how a site takes notices? Email hello@leakvoid.com with the site's name, and we'll tell you whether it takes them by email, only through its own web form, or through no public channel we could find.
Not ready for that? Start small. Try the free link check on the link that worries you most.
Quick answers
Can I get leaked content removed for free? Yes, you can send takedown notices and file search delisting requests yourself with no fee. The free link check and the notice generator are free too.
If Google drops the link, is the copy gone? No. Delisting only changes what shows in search results. The copy stays on the site until the site or its host takes it down.
How long does removal take? There's no set deadline. The law asks sites to act "expeditiously," and each site works at its own pace. If the poster pushes back with a counter-notice, the content can go back up 10 to 14 business days later unless you go to court.
Will the person who posted it see my name? They might. X says it forwards the complaint, contact details included. Reddit says it may share basic details on request. Each platform guide above covers what that site shares.
Can LeakVoid get my content removed? We sign and send notices for you on the sites we cover, once you authorize us at signup. Each site decides what happens next, so no one can promise removal.
Do I need an account for the free link check? No. It asks for your email only to limit how many free checks each person can run, and it doesn't save the links you check.
Questions? Email hello@leakvoid.com.