Cyberflashing is a specific crime in England and Wales. Section 66A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 makes it an offence to send someone a photo or video of genitals intending to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, or for sexual gratification while reckless about that, with up to 2 years' imprisonment, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own offences. Australia and the US have no national cyberflashing law: in Australia it can fall under the federal offence of using a carriage service to harass or offend, while in the US some states, such as Texas, make it a crime and others, such as California and Virginia, let the recipient sue.
This page covers unsolicited explicit images sent to you, as general information rather than legal advice. If messages come with threats, use the threat triage guide; if someone is demanding money or content, follow the sextortion safety steps; and if the image shows you, including a fake, the UK deepfake law guide and the leak guides deal with those separate offences.
England and Wales: section 66A
The offence has been in force since 31 January 2024, when the Online Safety Act inserted it, according to the annotations on legislation.gov.uk. It is committed when someone intentionally sends or gives a photograph or film of any person's genitals to another person, and either intends that the recipient will see the genitals and be caused alarm, distress or humiliation, or sends it for sexual gratification and is reckless about whether it will cause those reactions. The image does not have to be of the sender. Sending includes doing it by any means, showing it to someone, and placing it for a particular person to find, and an image made or altered by computer graphics that appears to be a photograph counts.
The Crown Prosecution Service's communications offences guidance describes it as an either-way offence with a maximum of 2 years' imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both, and notes that a person convicted may be subject to sex offender notification requirements. Where the elements of section 66A are not met, for instance because the image is explicit but does not show genitals, the same guidance says prosecutors may consider the indecent message offences under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland deals with cyberflashing through section 6 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, the offence of coercing a person into looking at a sexual image. It applies where someone intentionally causes another person to look at a sexual image without consent or reasonable belief in consent, for sexual gratification or to humiliate, distress or alarm them. A sexual image includes an image of the sender, a third person or an imaginary person engaging in sexual activity, or of their genitals, produced by any means.
Northern Ireland created a specific offence of sending an unwanted sexual image, which the Department of Justice said came into effect on 27 November 2023. Its description targets people who intentionally send an image of their genitals or sexual activity to another person without that person's consent, which frames the offence around consent rather than the sender's purpose.
What UK platforms now have to do
Cyberflashing is also a priority offence under the Online Safety Act, listed in the Schedule 7 paragraph on sexual images that took effect on 8 January 2026. When the government announced the change, its news release said social media platforms and dating apps would have to take proactive steps to stop users seeing unsolicited nude images, such as automated systems that detect and hide them, moderation tools or stricter content policies, and that failing to do so could bring fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue. Ofcom enforces those duties against services; individual offenders are still a matter for police.
Australia: harassment law and eSafety
Australia has no federal offence with the cyberflashing label. eSafety's unwanted contact page describes receiving an unwelcome message, text, AirDrop, Nearby Share or email with an intimate image of the sender or someone else as cyberflashing and calls it a form of sexual harassment. Its advice is to stop responding, collect evidence, report to the platform and, if the contact continues or becomes harmful and the platform does not respond, make an adult cyber abuse report.
At the federal level, police can consider section 474.17 of the Criminal Code, which covers using a carriage service in a way reasonable persons would regard as menacing, harassing or offensive, with a maximum of 5 years' imprisonment. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions' cyberbullying and threats page explains that the material must be seriously or significantly offensive by an objective standard. That page also describes an earlier version of the sexual material offences, which the 2024 amendments replaced, so rely on it for the offensiveness test rather than for those sections. State and territory laws differ, so ask police which charge they would consider.
United States: state criminal and civil laws
Federal law has no offence aimed at cyberflashing, so it depends on the state. Texas created one in 2019: the enrolled HB 2789 added Penal Code section 21.19, making it a Class C misdemeanour to knowingly transmit sexually explicit visual material electronically when it was not sent at the recipient's request or with their express consent.
California and Virginia use civil claims. California Civil Code 1708.88 lets a recipient sue an adult who knowingly sends an unsolicited obscene image electronically, with damages for emotional distress, and where you had expressly forbidden such images you can choose statutory damages of $1,500 to $30,000 and seek punitive damages. It excludes recipients who had not opted out of sexually explicit images on a service that offers that option, which makes the platform settings below more than a comfort feature. Virginia Code 8.01-46.2 treats knowingly sending an intimate image to an adult who has not consented, or has forbidden it, as a trespass, with actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees.
Report-route table
Use the platform route and the legal route together. Filters reduce what you see; they do not replace a report.
| Where it arrived or where you live | Route | Settings or notes that help |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram direct messages | Report the chat and block the sender; Meta's announcement said nudity protection offers block and report options when it blurs an image | The nudity protection help page says the setting is in the iPhone, iPad and Android apps, not on computers |
| iPhone Messages, AirDrop or FaceTime video messages | Block the sender from the conversation and keep the thread for evidence | Apple's Sensitive Content Warning blurs detected nudity on the device; turn it on under Privacy and Security in Settings |
| Google Messages on Android | Use the block option on the warning screen and keep the conversation as evidence | Google's sensitive content warnings are off by default for adults and are switched on under Protection and safety |
| England and Wales | Police on 101, or 999 if you feel in danger, citing section 66A | Say whether the sender seemed to want to shock you or was seeking sexual gratification |
| Scotland or Northern Ireland | Police Scotland or the PSNI, under the offences described above | State clearly that you did not consent to receiving the image |
| Australia | The platform first, then an adult cyber abuse report to eSafety if it continues or is seriously harmful, and police for the carriage service offence | eSafety suggests limiting AirDrop and Nearby Share to people you approve |
| United States | Local police where a state offence exists, such as in Texas; a lawyer for civil claims in California or Virginia | Keep proof that you refused or opted out, since California's statutory damages depend on having expressly forbidden such images |
Evidence checklist that avoids re-sharing the image
The aim is to prove who sent what, when, and whether you had said no, without making the image travel any further.
- Do not forward the image to friends, group chats or your team to ask what to do; describe it in words instead.
- If a filter has blurred it, screenshot the conversation with the blur still in place, showing the sender's name, handle and the time.
- Capture the profile page or contact details of the sender, plus the profile link or user ID, before you block them.
- Screenshot any earlier message where you refused explicit images or asked them to stop, and any later messages that reveal their purpose.
- Write down the date, time, time zone, app and how the image arrived, such as a direct message, AirDrop or email.
- Report from inside the app where possible, so the platform receives the message itself rather than a copy from you.
- Leave the original message on your device until police tell you how they want it, and ask before sending anything to them.
- Store your screenshots in one locked folder, away from your camera roll, as eSafety's evidence guide recommends.
- If the image might show someone under 18, do not screenshot or keep it at all, and report it to police straight away.
When police or a lawyer should get involved
- The sender knows where you live or work, or has threatened you: contact police first and work through the threat triage steps.
- Images keep coming from new accounts after you block one: log every account and treat it as possible stalking or harassment.
- The sender wants something in return for stopping: treat it as extortion and do not reply.
- You can identify the sender and live in California or Virginia: a lawyer can tell you whether a civil claim is worth bringing.
- The unwanted contact is also exposing your personal details: see whether doxxing is illegal where you live.
Limitations of this guide
This is general information based on legislation and official pages read on 1 October 2026, not legal advice. It covers only some US states, Australian state and territory laws vary, and whether an offence is made out depends on facts such as the sender's purpose, what the image shows and whether you consented. Platform filters can miss images or blur harmless ones, as Google itself notes. Contact police if you feel unsafe or the messages continue, and speak to a lawyer before starting any civil claim.