DMCA and leak removal FAQ
Answers I give creators most often, checked against the statute or the platform's own help page and linked so you can read the source yourself. Want a step-by-step for a specific place instead? See the removal guides.
How takedowns work
- How does a DMCA takedown work?The six things a valid notice contains, who receives it, what happens next, and a template.
- What is a DMCA counter-notice?What the uploader has to swear to, the 10 to 14 business day clock, and your options.
- How long does a DMCA takedown take?The clocks the law actually sets, and why nobody can honestly quote you one number.
- Delisting or removal at the source: which do I need?What to file first, depending on whether the site answers, ignores you or is already dead.
- Can removal be guaranteed? What can't be removedNo, and here is what stops a removal: ignored notices, content that isn't yours, your name alone, and re-uploads.
- Why does leaked content come back?Which kind of comeback you have, and what reduces repeats.
- Does the DMCA work outside the US?US law, foreign hosts, the Berne Convention and the EU's notice-and-action rules.
Your rights and your name
- Do I own the copyright to my content?Usually yes. When a photographer, a collab or a signed contract changes that, and why retired or faceless creators still qualify.
- How do I prove the content is mine?What identifies your work if your account is gone or you're faceless, and the trade-off with registration.
- Is a DMCA notice anonymous?Who can see your name: the site, the uploader, and the public Lumen database.
- What is the Lumen database?The public archive behind that removed-result notice, and how Google's requests reach it.
- Impersonators and fake accountsCopyright for the photos, the platform's rules for the identity.
- Do watermarks stop leaks?No. What they can do, including a legal hook if someone strips one.
- Can I sue over leaked content?A short map: registration, damages, deadlines, the Copyright Claims Board and the intimate-image claim.
Doing something about it
- How do I find my own leaks?Exact-match searches, search by image, alerts and the free scan, and what each one misses.
- Do it yourself, or hire a takedown service?Honestly: for a handful of links, DIY is enough. When it isn't, and what to ask a service.
- What do I have to do myself?Your part if you work with me, stage by stage, and what I never need.
Comparing services?
Compare services: plans, prices and process side by side, using only what each publishes.
Related
See what's out there, free.
The free scan needs only your username: no account, no card. It checks hundreds of known leak sites and gives you a report link with every link it found. Send me that link and I'll remove one page free, so you see it work before you pay anything.