Photos posted on a dating profile can be copied and altered by someone who has never met the person shown. Since 6 February 2026, England and Wales has had specific criminal offences for creating, or asking someone to create, a fake intimate image of an adult without consent. This guide explains what sections 66E and 66F of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 say, as inserted by section 138 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and how they sit alongside the earlier offences on sharing intimate images. It covers England and Wales only, and it is general information rather than legal advice.
When the offences came into force
The Ministry of Justice announced the measure on 22 January 2025 as an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill, describing it as targeting artificial images showing someone naked or engaged in sexual acts. The commencement note on legislation.gov.uk records that section 138 of the 2025 Act was not in force at Royal Assent and was brought into force on 6 February 2026 by S.I. 2026/31.
Creating a purported intimate image: section 66E
Under section 66E, a person commits an offence if all three of these apply:
- they intentionally create a purported intimate image of another person;
- that person does not consent to its creation; and
- the creator does not reasonably believe that the person consents.
The Act defines a “purported intimate image” as an image that appears to be, or to include, a photograph or film of the person (but is not, or is not only, one), that appears to be of an adult, and that appears to show the person in an intimate state.
What counts as an intimate state
Section 66E borrows the definition in section 66D, which was inserted by the Online Safety Act 2023. An image shows or appears to show a person in an intimate state if it shows or appears to show them:
- participating in an act a reasonable person would consider sexual, or doing something a reasonable person would consider sexual;
- with all or part of their exposed genitals, buttocks or breasts, which includes parts visible through wet or transparent clothing or covered only by underwear;
- urinating or defecating, or carrying out personal care linked to urination, defecation or genital or anal discharge.
Section 66D excludes images that show something other than breastfeeding that is of a kind ordinarily seen in public. Section 66G provides that an image appears to be of an adult if the impression conveyed, or the predominant impression conveyed, is that the person is aged 18 or over.
Editing a photograph: an exception
Section 66E(4) contains an exception. Creating an image by modifying a photograph or film of the person does not count if the modified image appears to show the person but does not appear to show something within the intimate-state definition that the original did not show, or a person who was not shown in the original.
Requesting a fake image: section 66F
Section 66F creates two further offences:
- intentionally requesting the creation of a purported intimate image of another person, in general or specific terms, without their consent and without reasonable belief in consent;
- intentionally requesting that such an image, if created, include or exclude something in particular, again without consent or reasonable belief in consent.
The section says making a request includes doing an act that could reasonably be taken as a request, and that a request can be directed at particular people or made available to people generally. It is an offence regardless of whether the image is actually created, and regardless of where in the world the recipient is.
Consent, excuses and penalties
- Consent. Section 66G says consent includes general consent covering the act as well as specific consent, and that reasonableness of a belief in consent is judged by all the circumstances, including steps taken to ascertain whether the person consents.
- Defence. For both offences it is a defence to prove a reasonable excuse.
- Penalty and time limit. Both are summary offences, punishable by imprisonment up to the maximum term for summary offences or a fine, or both. A magistrates’ court may try them if proceedings start within three years of the offence and within six months of the prosecutor having sufficient evidence.
How this differs from the sharing offences
The Ministry of Justice’s announcement noted that it was already an offence to share or threaten to share intimate images, including deepfakes, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 following amendments by the Online Safety Act 2023. The site’s guide to intimate images shared without consent covers sharing, removal and the position in Scotland. The new offences address the earlier step: making the image, or asking for it to be made.
Practical steps
The site’s guides to documenting and reporting suspicious dating behaviour and what dating photos reveal cover keeping evidence and how photos travel.
Frequently asked questions
Does the offence apply in Scotland?
Sections 66E and 66F were inserted into the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and section 66D, which they draw on, is marked as applying to England and Wales. This guide does not cover Scotland or Northern Ireland.
The bottom line
Since 6 February 2026, creating or requesting a purported intimate image of an adult without consent or reasonable belief in consent is a summary offence in England and Wales, subject to a reasonable-excuse defence. The offences cover fabricated or altered images that appear to show a person in an intimate state, and they sit beside the existing offences on sharing.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk, Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, section 138 “Creating, or requesting the creation of, purported intimate image of adult”
- legislation.gov.uk, Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 66D “Sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film: interpretation”
- Ministry of Justice, “Better protection for victims thanks to new law on sexually explicit deepfakes” (22 January 2025)