Online harassment: document, report and protect yourself

The essentials

When harassment occurs, first preserve the full screen, URL, date, profile and context. Then reduce access through blocking or restriction, use the most specific reporting category and avoid republishing the abuse to a larger audience.

Digital safety combines prevention, privacy and a proportionate response. The priority is reducing harm without blaming the target.

Why it matters

Planning before a crisis helps preserve evidence, accounts and wellbeing while preventing an aggressor from controlling the attention.

Putting it into practice

There is no single formula. Use these actions as a starting point and adapt them to each person's context and boundaries.

• Ask before assuming and accept the answer without interrogation.
• Revisit the situation whenever the context or a boundary changes.

Editorial review and next step

This guide was reviewed on 20 August 2026 to make its focus more specific and verifiable: “Online harassment: document, report and protect yourself”.

Use this summary as a practical criterion without assuming anyone's identity, consent or availability: A step-by-step approach to preserving evidence, reducing contact, reporting and seeking support without amplifying abuse.

• Next step: Create a secure folder for original records and a simple incident timeline.