Anonib was a free, private forum where members could upload photographs and discuss various topics. It was a component of an online community where people bartered like trading cards. Following a year-long investigation, Dutch authorities seized the servers for the anonymous image panel Anonib last week. The picture board gained notoriety for being used as a repository for revenge porn and for being heavily frequented by people who recognised the women in the pictures. This article will explore Anonib and the Dutch police’s response to Anonib.
Dutch police shut down Anonib during porn revenge investigation:
This special investigation began in March 2017 after a woman discovered that some of her personal images had been stolen and posted online. She filed a complaint with the authorities, and the subsequent investigation led the officers to a 31-year-old man from Culemborg, who was found to have a number of other images of other women. In turn, he led them to additional suspects: a 35-year-old man from Groningen, a 28-year-old Heerlen man, who all knew each other through Anon-IB. There they searched for images from certain women and used them to share the stolen images. Authorities also took data from two extra suspects, a 19-year-old man, and a 26-year-old man, Geleen.
Police say four of the suspects have a considerable amount of personal data from the “several hundred” women they targeted, taken from the e-mail, social networks, and cloud storage accounts they hacked. Earlier this month, RTL News in the Netherlands reported that it found a large number of these images (many of which suspected to be minors) were hosted in a private cloud account in New Zealand and turned their access into police. Read more
The address for Anonib now redirects to a statement posted on Paste Bin, saying that “it vehemently denies any allegations of revenge pornography and child pornography. We do not do this and have never supported or participated in the posting and/or sharing of revenge pornography or the subject as ill as child pornography.
“But despite Anonib’s statement, the picture board has been used in the past to store revenge porn: it has been cited as a place where hundreds of images of celebrities have been circulated and following a report and the closure of a secret Facebook group called Marines United Last year, many former members of the group migrated from Facebook to Anonib to host images, discussions, and requests for images of certain women. The owners of Anonib say they probably won’t relaunch the site, but while it seems like a significant blow to people sharing revenge porn, its members have migrated to other platforms, such as Discord, to start over.
Someone is trying to revive the famous porn site Anonib:
Unfortunately, it looks like AnonIB / Anonib is back. So far, things are going well and we can remove content from their site. If your images have been posted on Anonib, we can definitely help. April 27, 2018 UPDATE: Dutch police deactivated the “porn with revenge” website Anonib on Wednesday. The website contained explicit images of women largely without their approval. Read more
In addition, child pornography was regularly allowed on the site. Police confirm that the site has been removed from the net, but said it will provide more details tomorrow. According to AD, Anonib is registered in Seychelles, but the servers are in the Netherlands. “Dutch police cybercrime teams have confiscated the Anonib forum in an ongoing criminal investigation,” the news website said. “More information about this investigation will be available on April 26, 2018.” Later on Wednesday, the sites were completely removed.
This removal included all Anonib websites. Anon-ib.co, Anon-ib.ru, Anon-ib.su, Anon-ib.tv, and a few others were included in the elimination. Unfortunately, after years of fighting with Anonib for our customers, it is hard for us to believe that they have left for good. For years, Anonib has changed hosts and servers. It would have dropped a few days and then they would reappear. However, we are ECSTATIC that the websites are defective at least for the time being. Victims: If your private images that were on Anonib still appear in search engines, use the Obsolete Content Removal Tool to remove them so that they are no longer displayed.
Conclusion
Anonib was the most notorious online porn site of revenge. Every day there were hundreds of victims sent to Anonib. This is an amazing number of people who have been posted on the site without their consent. If you are not already aware of what Anonib is, it was a vengeful porn site that offered a platform for perpetrators to post private images of their ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend without their consent. The site was used to publicly embarrass the ex in the worst possible way.
Users had the option of posting anonymously, and it is claimed that their posts were untraceable. Although not the only site offering revenge porn, Anonib was one of the biggest and most well-known. More disturbingly, the attackers were given permission to publish the victim’s home address, place of employment, Facebook profile, and other personally identifiable information for public viewing. By contacting the site owners, the victim hardly ever succeeded in having the profile deleted.
In most cases, they were completely ignored. There have been other cases where site owners have requested a “proof” image. They asked the victim to take a photo while holding a sign with the date written on it or, in an unknown situation, they asked for the sign to be written “Anonib“. Do not send more images to remove the posted images. It is not necessary. This was the Dutch police action against Anonib.
What Is Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse?
Non-consensual intimate image abuse is when someone shares private or sexual images of another person without that person’s consent. It is often called revenge porn. The name is misleading. It is not about revenge only. Images are shared for many reasons, such as blackmail, control, or attention. The victim may be a current or former partner, a friend, or a stranger whose images were stolen. It does not matter how the images were first taken. Sharing them without consent is the abuse. It can cause serious harm. Victims often feel fear, shame, and anger. Some lose their job or feel unsafe in public. It is a crime in many countries, not a joke and not a prank.
The Law: What Happens to People Who Share Such Images?
Laws against this abuse have grown stronger since 2018. In the Netherlands, Article 139h of the Dutch Criminal Code makes it a crime to share sexual images of another person without consent. The law came into force in 2020. It carries a prison sentence of up to two years. In the United Kingdom, Section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 makes it a crime to disclose private sexual photographs with intent to cause distress. It also carries up to two years in prison. In the United States, most states now have laws against nonconsensual pornography. The exact rules vary by state. In many places, sharing such images can also lead to a civil case, where the victim can claim money for the harm done. The law is still changing. Check the rules in your own country before you act.
What to Do If Your Private Images Are Shared
If your private images are shared without your consent, act fast and stay calm. First, save evidence. Take screenshots of the page, the URL, and the date. Do not delete the evidence. Second, do not reply to the person who shared them and do not send more images. Third, report it to the police. Bring your evidence with you. Fourth, report the images to the website or app where they appear. Most platforms have a report button for non-consensual images. Fifth, ask Google to remove the images from search results. Google has a tool called Remove non-consensual explicit or intimate personal images. It is free and it works for images in Google Search. Sixth, use StopNCII.org. This free tool turns your images into a digital fingerprint, called a hash. Participating platforms use the hash to block the images from being shared again. You never have to upload the image itself. Seventh, get support. In the UK, call the Revenge Porn Helpline on 0345 6000 459. In the US, contact the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. In the Netherlands, contact Slachtofferhulp Nederland, the victim support service. You do not have to face this alone.
How to Protect Your Private Images
Prevention is better than removal. Use a strong, unique password for your email and cloud accounts. Turn on two-factor authentication. That means a code is sent to your phone before anyone can log in. Be careful about who you send private images to. Once you send an image, you lose control of it. Do not store sensitive images in cloud accounts that sync to every device. If you must store them, use an encrypted folder or app. Check the permissions of your apps. Some apps can read your photos. Remove access from apps you do not trust. Update your phone and computer often. Updates fix security holes that hackers use. If you think an account has been hacked, change the password at once and check the login history.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is non-consensual intimate image abuse?
It is when someone shares private or sexual images of another person without that person’s consent. It is often called revenge porn. It is a crime in many countries.
Is sharing private images without consent a crime in the Netherlands?
Yes. Article 139h of the Dutch Criminal Code makes it a crime. It came into force in 2020 and carries a prison sentence of up to two years.
What should I do if my private images are shared online?
Save evidence with screenshots, report it to the police, report it to the platform, ask Google to remove it from search results, and use StopNCII.org to block it from being shared again.
What is StopNCII.org?
It is a free tool that turns your images into a digital fingerprint called a hash. Participating platforms use the hash to block the images from being shared. You never have to upload the image itself.
How can I protect my private images?
Use strong, unique passwords, turn on two-factor authentication, be careful who you send images to, do not store sensitive images in cloud accounts, and keep your devices updated.
Disclaimer: This guide is for general information only and is not legal advice. Laws vary by country and change over time. If your private images have been shared without your consent, contact the police or a victim support service in your country.
Last Updated: 6 November 2026