Intimate image abuse

What is an intimate image or recording?

An intimate image or recording is an image or recording of a person that shows:

• the person's genital or anal region, or breasts if the person is female, whether bare or covered by underwear; or

• the person doing a private act.

This includes images or recordings that have been altered or generated by any means, including deepfakes and images created using AI tools such as “nudify” applications.

What is a private act?

A person is doing a private act if, in circumstances where the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, the person is:

• in a state where the person’s genital or anal region, or breasts if the person is female, are exposed or covered only by underwear;

• using a toilet, showering or bathing; or

• doing a sexual act that is not of a kind ordinarily done in public.

Whether a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy depends on the circumstances.

For example, a person showering in an open-concept shower cubicle at a swimming pool may not reasonably expect that no one nearby will see them.

But that does not mean the person has no privacy at all. The person may still reasonably expect not to be filmed, and not to have that recording communicated online. In such a circumstance, the person is doing a private act.

What is intimate image abuse?

Intimate image abuse is when someone communicates an intimate image or recording of you without your consent, and this is likely to cause you harassment, alarm, distress or humiliation.

It is also intimate image abuse to:

• offer to sell or distribute an intimate image or recording of you; or

• advertise an intimate image or recording of you,

without your consent.

This means the image or recording itself does not need to be shown. It may still be intimate image abuse if someone online offers to sell or distribute, or advertises, the image or recording.

As for the likelihood of being caused harassment, alarm, distress or humiliation, in most cases this will be clear. However, there may be cases where the issue is not really online harm, but a dispute about whether someone had permission to use or share the image or recording a certain way.

For example, a model may have consented to be photographed in lingerie for a product catalogue. If someone later shares that catalogue image without the model’s consent, in an ordinary product or fashion context, this may be wrong for other reasons. However, it may not be intimate image abuse if a reasonable person would not conclude that the sharing is likely to cause the model harassment, alarm, distress or humiliation.

When may it not be intimate image abuse?

It is not intimate image abuse if no reasonable person would believe that the image or recording in question depicts you. For example, if someone pastes your face onto a cartoon character doing a sexual act, and no reasonable person would believe that it shows you doing that act, this is not an intimate image of you. However, depending on the circumstances, communicating such an image may be online harassment. Please see the page on online harassment for more information.

Unsure whether this applies to you?

You do not need to work this out alone. You can speak to our community partners for support. They can help you understand what help may be available, and what steps you can take next. Find out more here.