Frequently asked questions

Asmita is a privacy-first support platform for adults in India seeking help with non-consensual intimate-image abuse. It helps prepare platform notices under IT Rules 2021, track notice status, and preserve a clear audit trail - all without anyone at Asmita ever seeing your content.

No. Asmita reads only the domain string from a submitted URL to identify which platform to contact. The link itself never reaches our server, and the content it points to is never fetched, opened, rendered, or stored. This is enforced at the architecture level, not just policy.

The grievance officer at the receiving platform receives a secure link to view the notice. That link is protected by a one-time password and burns after it is opened once - it cannot be revisited or forwarded. No one else at Asmita or outside it can access the notice content through that link.

Yes. Notice templates are reviewed by a legal advisor before activation.

The system schedules a follow-up at 24 hours and a re-send at 48 hours. If there is still no response after 7 days, Asmita prepares a police-ready FIR package for submission to cybercrime.gov.in.

Intimate images are images or videos showing nudity, underwear, genitals, sexual activity, or sexual poses. Deepfakes and AI-generated images that depict you in these ways are also included.

Yes - this is called the preemptive or sextortion path, and it is fully supported. You can create a digital fingerprint of your images on your own device. That fingerprint, not the image, is included in legal notices to platforms so they can block the content before it is ever posted. Your images never leave your device.

Yes. If you are in the image and it was shared without your consent, you can file a case regardless of who else appears in it.

Yes. Sharing intimate images without consent is a criminal offence under the IT (Amendment) Act 2023 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Platforms are also required under IT Rules 2021 to respond to takedown notices within 24 hours for such content. Asmita automates that notice process.

A digital fingerprint - technically called a PDQ hash - is a 64-character code generated from your image entirely on your own device. Only that code is sent to Asmita; the image itself never leaves your browser. Duplicate or near-duplicate copies of the same image produce the same fingerprint, so platforms can detect and block matching content without ever seeing the original. The algorithm cannot be run in reverse to recreate your image.

No. Hashing is a one-way process. The fingerprint cannot be used to reconstruct or view your image by anyone - including Asmita, the platforms, or anyone who intercepts the notice.

Each edited version produces a different fingerprint. If the version being circulated is cropped or filtered, you should generate a fingerprint from that version, not just the original. You can create multiple fingerprints - one for each meaningful variation.

Yes. Once the fingerprint is generated, you can delete the image from your device. The fingerprint persists and will continue to work. It does not require the original image to remain.

Yes. If a deepfake or AI-generated image depicts you in an intimate way, you can generate a fingerprint from it. Asmita treats synthetic intimate images the same as real ones.

No. Minors are routed to CHILDLINE 1098, TakeItDown (NCMEC), and cybercrime.gov.in before any email or URL is collected. No case, session, or record is created. Content depicting anyone under 18 is governed by POCSO, which requires specialised handling that Asmita does not provide.

No - the case must be filed by the person depicted. This rule exists to prevent the tool from being used to target others. If you know someone who needs help, you can share Asmita with them and help them connect with a support organisation such as iCALL (9152987821).

No. These platforms use end-to-end encryption, which means content inside private chats cannot be detected or matched by any external tool. Asmita reaches platforms with public-facing content and verified grievance contacts. For encrypted-platform abuse, the National Cybercrime Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) is the right path.

No. Asmita sends notices to platforms that have a verified grievance contact under IT Rules 2021. Personal websites, obscure hosting services, or platforms that ignore notices are beyond what Asmita can automatically resolve - in those cases the FIR package is the next step.

Asmita prepares a guided form handoff. The notice text, your PDQ fingerprint if applicable, and a direct link to the platform's own reporting form are all ready for you. You paste the text, submit the form yourself, and Asmita logs that submission in your case record.

For URL takedown, you don't need the image at all - just the link where the content appears. For digital fingerprinting, a high-quality screenshot can work if it is the best version you have access to.