London-based startup Linq has raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding for its platform designed to give users control over their intimate images and help combat revenge porn and “sextortion” scams.
Founded in 2024, Linq has developed an app that uses AI technology typically deployed to prevent media piracy, allowing users to grant and revoke access to intimate content. The platform includes features that prevent recipients from taking screenshots or photos of the images, and uses facial recognition to blur images if the front-facing camera detects anyone other than the intended recipient looking at the screen.
“The reality is people are sending nudes, despite the risks, because it’s a normal part of online intimacy — but they’re doing it without any protection,” says cofounder and CEO Toby Bradshaw in an interview with Sifted.
“I think the taboo around this subject has prevented anyone from successfully executing something similar. It’s taken different organisations and media influencers to shift public perception of nude-sending,” he adds.
The funding round attracted investment from venture capital firms including Form Ventures, Calm/Storm, and Ascension. According to Bradshaw, the company “expected to run into a little more pushback from investors.”
Patrick Newton, founding partner at Form Ventures, commented on the need for such a platform: “It’s understandable that social platforms haven’t built the tools to share this content securely. They don’t want to be pigeonholed as the platform for intimate content. But that leaves people that want to share intimate images without a solution, and at risk of fraud or exploitation […] Linq solves a huge problem for a rapidly growing group of people wanting to share intimate content safely.”
The startup’s launch comes amid rising concerns about intimate image abuse. According to figures obtained by domestic abuse charity Shelter, the number of intimate image offenses in the UK has increased in recent years, with more than 13,000 incidents recorded between 2019 and 2022.
Linq intends to roll out the app globally over the next three years and aims to raise a seed round over the summer.
