POSH
What Evidence Parents Should Save Before Reporting
Save the right things before they disappear.
This page helps parents preserve evidence safely, avoid common mistakes, and move into reporting with clearer facts.
ACTION PAGE
Evidence
Reporting
Screenshots
Preserve First
Do Not Delete
If you have found suspicious chats, threats, sexual messages, blackmail, grooming concerns, image threats, or pressure to keep secrets, this page shows what to save before reporting and what not to delete too early.
Evidence disappears faster than most parents expect
SAVE FIRST. REPORT NEXT. DON’T LOSE THE TRAIL.
Messages get deleted. Accounts vanish. Usernames change. Platforms remove content. Children panic. Parents panic. The trail can disappear before anyone has a clear picture of what happened.
You do not need a perfect case file.
You need to preserve the key details that show who, where, what, when, and how the contact happened.
Which state sounds most like you right now?
You do not need every answer before you start. Preserve what is safe to preserve, avoid deleting, and move into the correct reporting pathway.
What parents usually search
- What evidence should I save before reporting?
- Should I delete messages or keep them?
- What screenshots do police, platforms, or reporting services need?
- How do I preserve evidence if my child is at risk online?
- What should I not screenshot or share?
- What do I do if the child has already deleted messages?
If those questions brought you here, focus on this order: protect the child, preserve safe evidence, avoid unsafe handling, then report properly.
Why evidence matters
Evidence can disappear quickly. Messages get deleted, accounts vanish, display names change, and platforms remove content.
If the right details are not saved early, reporting becomes harder and parents may end up relying on memory alone.
Saving the right details early can help show the pattern, not just one isolated message.
What you save early can matter more than what you remember later.
The correct order
Protect the child
↓
Preserve safe evidence
↓
Record key details
↓
Avoid unsafe sharing
↓
Report properly
If you change the order, you can accidentally make reporting harder, lose evidence, or mishandle material that should only be reported through official pathways.
If you found chats, messages, or suspicious contact
Slow down before deleting, blocking, confronting, or posting. The aim is to preserve what proves the contact happened and where it happened.
You found chats, messages, threats, grooming language, or suspicious contact.
You think something may need to be reported later.
You are worried about deleting the wrong thing too early.
You need to save the key details before they disappear.
The goal is not to create a perfect case file. The goal is to stop critical details disappearing before you can act on them.
What to save first
Start with the details most likely to disappear or change.
- Screenshots of chats, messages, comments, or conversations where safe and lawful
- Usernames, display names, profile names, handles, and account IDs
- Profile photos where safe to capture
- Profile links, URLs, invite links, server names, group names, or channel names
- App, game, platform, or website name
- Dates and times, especially around threats or serious requests
- Messages showing threats, sexual requests, secrecy, blackmail, pressure, gifts, or attempts to move apps
- Evidence of in-game currency, Robux, skins, gifts, payments, passwords, or account help
- Any talk about meeting in person, location, school, address, transport, or sneaking out
Start with what proves who, where, what, when, and how the contact happened.
Screenshot checklist
When screenshots are appropriate, capture the surrounding context. One line by itself may not show the pattern.
Make sure screenshots show
- username or profile name
- date and time if visible
- app or platform context
- full message thread where possible
- profile link or account page where safe
- server, group, or channel name where relevant
Capture the pattern
- first contact
- move to private messages
- requests for secrecy
- gifts or pressure
- threats or blackmail
- attempts to meet or move apps
A sequence of screenshots usually tells the story better than one isolated screenshot.
If there may be explicit child images or illegal content
Do not screenshot, save, forward, repost, send, download, or share explicit sexual images of a child or suspected child sexual abuse material.
Preserve surrounding details instead: usernames, URLs, platform names, timestamps, profile details, message context, and where the content appeared. Then report through official pathways.
Do not create extra copies of illegal material.
Details parents often forget to save
- Server names and channel names
- Group chat names
- Invite links
- Friend request names
- Display names that differ from usernames
- Profile URLs or account links
- Email addresses attached to profiles or accounts
- Payment handles, gift records, Robux records, or item transfer details
- Time and date of the most serious message
- The app where the contact started and the app it moved to
Small details can become the only way to reconnect the evidence later.
What not to do
- Do not delete chats too early
- Do not block first if safe evidence still needs to be captured
- Do not crop screenshots so tightly that context disappears
- Do not confront the person before preserving what matters
- Do not rely on memory alone
- Do not wipe, reset, or factory reset the device
- Do not post accusations publicly
- Do not pretend to be the child to investigate further
- Do not save, forward, or distribute explicit underage images
Once evidence is gone, you may not get another chance to save it. Once illegal material is mishandled, the situation can become more serious.
Write down what happened
Alongside screenshots and saved details, write a short factual timeline while the details are fresh.
Write down
- what happened
- which app or platform it happened on
- who was involved
- what the child said about it
- when you noticed it
- what action was taken immediately after
Keep it factual
- avoid guesses where possible
- separate facts from assumptions
- record exact usernames and quotes where safe
- keep dates and times clear
- note what was deleted or missing
- save copies of reports or confirmation numbers
A short factual summary can be more useful than a long emotional explanation written later.
If the child is involved in the evidence
Keep the child calm and avoid making them feel blamed while you save what matters.
Say: “You are not in trouble. I need to save what happened so we can deal with it properly and keep you safe.”
If some evidence is already gone
Do not assume the situation is impossible to report. Partial evidence is still better than silence.
- Save what still exists
- Write down what was deleted and when
- Record usernames, display names, platforms, and profile details from memory while fresh
- Save any notifications, emails, app alerts, login alerts, or platform warnings still visible
- Check whether the child still has screenshots, notifications, or chat previews
- Report with what you have rather than waiting for perfect evidence
Evidence being incomplete does not mean the concern is not real.
When to report
After protecting the child and preserving key details safely, move into the correct reporting pathway.
Report inside the platform when appropriate.
Use the main POSH reporting hub for country-based reporting.
Escalate quickly if there are threats, sexual messages, coercion, image abuse, blackmail, or attempts to meet offline.
Keep confirmation numbers, report receipts, emails, and any response from the platform or reporting service.
Quick action if the risk feels active
Stay calm.
Protect the child first.
Save safe evidence before deleting or blocking.
Do not save or share explicit underage sexual images.
Keep your notes factual.
Move into reporting once key details are preserved.
Preserve safely. Report next. Don’t lose the trail.
What parents often get wrong
- Deleting everything too early
- Blocking too early without saving details
- Cropping evidence too tightly
- Confronting the person before evidence is preserved
- Posting accusations publicly
- Waiting too long because they are unsure if it is serious enough
- Accidentally creating copies of material that should only be reported through official channels
If something feels wrong, preserve safe evidence first and decide the full seriousness second.
Evidence log template
Use this simple structure in your own notes. Keep it factual and clear.
Date noticed: ______________________________
Platform / app / game: ______________________
Username / display name: ____________________
Profile link / server / group: ______________
What happened: _____________________________
What the child said: ________________________
Evidence saved: ____________________________
Immediate action taken: _____________________
Report made / reference number: ________________
This does not replace official reporting. It helps you avoid losing the timeline.
Connected reporting and evidence pages
These pages help parents move safely from evidence into action.
Understand the full pattern
These pages help explain the wider pattern after the urgent evidence is preserved.
Choose your next path
Once safe evidence is preserved, go where the situation fits best.
Help another parent avoid mistakes
Many parents unintentionally lose critical evidence simply because no one told them what to save.
Many also panic and delete, block, confront, or screenshot the wrong thing.
Sharing this page can help another family act earlier and more safely.
One saved detail can change the outcome.