Guide
What to do when a video leaks
In the first 24 hours, decide who leads, save the evidence before it changes, and speak to your lawyer. Do not delete anything or reply in public until you have a plan.
Knowing what to do when a video leaks matters most in the first hours. People panic, post replies and delete things. That makes the damage bigger and the trace harder. Here is a calm checklist you can follow.
This guide is general. It is not legal advice. Laws differ from country to country, so take advice from your own lawyer early.
What are the first 24 hours for?
They have 3 jobs. Stop the situation getting worse. Keep the evidence safe. Prepare what you will say. Finding out who did it comes after, and it works better if the first 2 jobs are done well.
What is the checklist for the first 24 hours?
Decide who leads
Pick 1 person in charge. Name a deputy. Everyone else knows who to send information to. Without this, 5 people will each do 5 different things.
Save everything before it changes
Save the links, download the clip, take screenshots and write down the time you saw each thing. Keep the original files untouched. Posts get removed, and you may need them later.
Do not delete or reply in public yet
Do not delete your own copies, messages or logs. Do not answer comments or messages from journalists on the spot. Say you will come back to them.
Shrink the circle of who knows
Tell only the people who need to act. A smaller group means fewer new leaks and a cleaner list of who knew what, and when.
Take advice from your lawyer early
Call your lawyer in the first hours. They will tell you what you can do, what you must not do, and what to record. Take advice for your own country.
Ask the platform to remove it
Most platforms have their own reporting tools for content that breaks their rules, such as private or confidential material. Where you own the content, there is often a copyright takedown route as well. The rules and the risks differ by platform and by country, so let your lawyer decide which route to use and who sends it.
Agree a short holding statement
Work with your comms lead on 2 or 3 plain sentences. Say you are aware of it and are looking into it. Do not guess at causes, and do not name anyone. Use it only if you are asked.
Tell your staff what is happening
Send a short, calm message. Say what has happened. Ask people not to forward the clip, not to comment on it, and to send any press questions to 1 named person. Tell them where to report anything they know.
Start the trace
List who had access, read the logs, and study the clip for clues. Our guide on how to find out who leaked a video walks through each step. Do not confront anyone yet.
Hold a short review afterwards
Within a week or two, meet for 30 minutes. What worked? Where was the delay? Who had access that did not need it? Change the process, not only the people.
What should you not do when a video leaks?
- Do not delete the clip, the messages or the logs.
- Do not reply in public or in the comments.
- Do not accuse anyone, in writing or out loud.
- Do not forward the clip to "check" it. Every forward is a new copy.
- Do not question people alone and off the record. Involve HR and your lawyer first.
- Do not promise the press or the board an answer by a set time.
The most important step: save everything before it changes, then pause. Evidence you keep today can be used for weeks. A rushed reply or a deleted file cannot be undone.
Who should be in the response team?
Keep it small. 4 roles are usually enough.
- The lead. Makes the calls and keeps the notes.
- Legal. Your own lawyer, or the general counsel. They decide what you may do and say.
- Comms. Owns the holding statement and every question from the press.
- Security or IT. Saves the logs and starts the trace.
Add HR only when the trace points at a person, and only on your lawyer's advice. Write down who joined, and when.
What should you tell the board, partners and clients?
Tell them early, in 3 short parts: what happened, what you have done so far, and when you will update them next. Do not wait until you have the full story. People who hear it from you stay calmer than people who hear it from the news. Do not speculate about who did it. If a partner or a client was affected, ask your lawyer whether you have to tell them, and by when.
What if you find out who it was?
Slow down. A clue is not a verdict. Check it against other clues, and speak to your lawyer and HR before you speak to the person. How you treat them at this point can matter more than how fast you act.
How does a removal request work?
A removal request asks the platform to take a post down. Use the platform's own reporting form and give it the exact link, what the content is and why you have the right to ask. Keep a record of every request, with the date, and any answer.
Takedowns often work within days, but they are not certain, and a clip that has been copied elsewhere may reappear. This is why the trace matters as much as the takedown. Your lawyer can tell you which tools are right in your country and which you should not use.
How can you make the next leak easier to handle?
Most of the pain in a leak is not knowing who had which copy. If everyone received the same file, the circle stays wide. If each person had their own marked copy, you can read the clip and know whose copy it was, with the sign-in, device, network and time around it. That is the idea behind how SealCopy works. It will not stop every leak, and it does not prove who leaked. It makes the first day much shorter.
Teams at a sport club or a board often decide this only after a leak. You can decide it before. See how the security design keeps each link private.
What can you not afford to see on the news?
Tell us what you are trying to protect. We reply by email, and we show you a private demo.