How do I remove content from leak sites and file hosts?
Leak sites are the hard case: many don't answer, and many hide who runs them. The way through is to work up the chain, one party at a time, and to keep a record of each step. Every step uses the same DMCA notice.
The chain
- The site. Look for a DMCA, abuse, report or contact link, often in the footer. US providers register an agent in the Copyright Office directory, so check there as well.
- Cloudflare, if the site uses it. Cloudflare says it cannot remove content it does not host. For sites using its pass-through services, it will forward your complaint to the website operator and the hosting provider, and gives the host the origin IP so they can locate the content. File through its abuse form with the exact URLs.
- The host. A whois or hosting lookup shows who hosts a site that isn't behind Cloudflare. Send your notice to the host's abuse or DMCA contact, with the exact URLs.
- The registrar. A whois lookup shows it. ICANN lists its own tool, ICANN Lookup, which wouldn't load for my check. ICANN says registrars must publish an abuse contact and take reasonable and prompt steps to investigate and respond appropriately to abuse reports. What "appropriately" means for a copyright complaint varies, so treat this as pressure rather than a guarantee.
- Google. Run this alongside the others, not after them: the Google guide. If the page never comes down, this is what stops a search for your name leading there.
File hosts: MEGA
Some leak posts just link out to a file host. MEGA's copyright page takes notices through its submission form, with a designated agent at copyright@mega.io, and lists elements close to the DMCA's. It also asks for your address, phone number and email, and for the URLs. MEGA reserves the right to remove data at its discretion and says it will terminate repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.
A removed file host link doesn't take down the post linking to it. That needs its own notice too, or the post stays up with a dead link.
Keep records
Keep what you sent, who you sent it to, the date and any reply. You'll need it for the next step up, and you'll want it when a page comes back.
Under 18, or the images were taken when you were under 18? Don't send them to anyone, me included. Take It Down, run by NCMEC, works from your own device: your file stays there and only a digital fingerprint is shared with participating platforms.
General information, not legal advice. I'm not a lawyer and Abolita is not a law firm. Checked against the linked sources on 6 November 2026, except Cloudflare's abuse form, ICANN Lookup and MEGA's submission form, which I couldn't read. What I say about the two forms comes from the Cloudflare and MEGA pages that name them.
Quick answers
The site has no contact page. What now?
Go to its host and registrar. If it sits behind Cloudflare, Cloudflare's abuse process forwards your complaint to the operator and the host. File with Google at the same time.
Do you remove from every leak site?
No one can promise that. Some sites ignore every notice. The free scan shows what's out there, and I'll tell you straight what's likely to go and what isn't.
Sources
- US Copyright Office: DMCA Designated Agent Directory
- Cloudflare: how it handles abuse reports
- ICANN: registrar abuse reports
- MEGA: copyright notice
- 17 U.S.C. § 512 (Cornell LII)
Related
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