METHOD · THE DESK, STEP BY STEP
How a leaked copy gets found, checked and taken down
Four sources feed one hash-first matcher. People only see the borderline frames and the notices. Every step is logged.
| No. | Step | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Search your handles and aliases daily. Crawl the top 200 leak domains daily and the long tail weekly. Seed list from public notice archives. Public forum, file-locker and channel pages only. | Daily scan |
| 02 | Hash each candidate and compare it with your enrolled items, mirrored copies too. We keep fingerprints, not your originals. | Hash match |
| 03 | 0.95 and up queues a notice. 0.80 to 0.95 goes to a person. Below 0.80 is dropped. | Thresholds |
| 04 | A person checks each drafted notice, then it goes to the host's listed agent, with a search delisting request. | Our desk |
| 05 | Recheck at 3, 7 and 14 days. Cross it out when it is gone. Still up at 14 days: the upstream host and registrar get it too. | Recheck |
Where we look
| Search sweeps | Every day, each handle you proved and its known aliases, on public search engines. |
|---|---|
| Leak-domain seed list | Built from public takedown notice data (the Google Transparency Report and the Lumen archive). The top 200 domains are crawled daily, the long tail weekly. |
| Public pages | Public forum threads, file-locker pages and public channel pages. Never anything behind a login or a paywall. |
| Reverse image lookups | On your enrolled items, to find copies that carry no handle at all. |
| Rechecks | Removed URLs are checked again at 3, 7 and 14 days. |
When a host blocks us
We slow down and stay polite. We never log in, pay, or break a challenge. We keep the URL and the search-index evidence, send the notice to the host's designated agent, its upstream host and its registrar, and file a search delisting request. Our leak-site map records who complies and how fast.
Hash first, people second
You enroll content from your own files or your platform export. Your browser shrinks each picture to a 16 by 12 grey grid and computes a 64-bit difference hash. Only that grid and hash reach us; the original never leaves your device. Each candidate from a leak page is hashed the same way, and compared with every item you enrolled, mirrored copies included.
- 0.95+ notice drafted and queued for a check
- 0.80 to 0.95 a reviewer looks
- under 0.80 dropped and not stored
Protecting reviewers
Reviewers see hash IDs, the score and a pixelated grey thumbnail next to your enrolled item's thumbnail, with the same treatment. A sharper view takes a click and is logged. Review is capped at two hours a day per person. The research on blur is mixed (one study found grayscale lowers impact, a 2026 study found blur and grayscale did not help), so the main protection is volume: people only see borderline matches.
The right rights holder
Before we file anything: you prove each handle with a code in your bio, sign an agent authorization, and pass an ID check. A notice goes out only when the match ties to an item enrolled by your account. A set flagged as a collaboration needs the co-creator's consent first. Each notice carries the elements 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3) requires, including the statement of authority to act, and goes to the agent in the Copyright Office directory or the host's abuse contact.
Backlog cleanup
If the free leak count finds more than 50 live leak URLs, the first invoice includes a one-time $250 cleanup: we work through the whole backlog with notices and delisting requests, then deliver a cleanup report. Under 50, there is no cleanup charge.
Disputes
If someone files a counter-notice, we do not answer it. The case goes to an outside IP attorney who reviews it and signs the response. The attorney bills you directly and we take no cut.