How to remove videos and photos from VK

What VK’s rules prohibit

VK’s rules prohibit content that violates the privacy of personal life and information about other people’s private lives. Before posting images of other people, users must check that doing so is lawful.

A leak of your photos or videos falls under these rules. You can report it as the person in the image, even if you don’t own the copyright.

Reporting with the Report option

The fastest route is the Report option in the menu of a post, photo, video, clip, story, comment, message, profile or community.

• Pick the “Explicit image” reason and the item under it that fits. VK has no separate reason for content shared without consent.
• When you report a profile, you can mark up to five photos.
• Report every post with the leak, not just the profile or community as a whole.

VK Support says moderators work around the clock and that one well-grounded report is enough for them to act. You don’t need to send the same report from several accounts.

If the leak is in a community

Report the community through its menu. VK says this report has to come from the person affected.

Include direct links to the posts. If the community is closed and the links don’t open without joining, attach screenshots instead.

Copyright: the vk.com/dmca form

If you own the copyright, file a complaint through the vk.com/dmca form. It takes complaints about posts, photos and clips, and you have to be logged in to open it.

• Give your full name, passport details and contact details.
• Name the work and link to the page where it appears.
• Confirm that you hold the rights and didn’t allow it to be posted.

If VK asks you to clarify anything, you have 24 hours to reply. Under VK’s rules, a valid complaint is handled within the time set by Russian law. Instead of the form, you can email abuse@vk.com.

Videos on VK Video are handled separately: email dmca@vkvideo.ru or use the form inside VK Video.

A complaint under Russian information law

For unlawful content, VK has a separate form under Article 10.6 of Russia’s Federal Law 149-FZ: vk.com/claim_fz149. You can email 149.10.6-fz@vk.com instead.

The complaint needs your name, your VK page ID, your email, a link to the material and the reason it is unlawful.

If someone threatens to post it

Report the threatening messages and pick the “Blackmail” reason. Then write to VK Support.

VK is upfront that it can help, at most, by blocking the blackmailer’s profile. Don’t pay and don’t delete the messages: you’ll need them for a police report.

How long it takes

VK doesn’t say how long it takes to review reports. If a post is still up, report it again and include the link and a screenshot.

• Keep the links, dated screenshots and replies from Support.
• If the leak is posted again, report the new post the same way.
• If a post is gone but the link still shows up in search, use the deleted page forms of Google and Yandex.