Female sellers on Vinted market site report sexual misuse of images

Users of secondhand clothing websites such as Vinted are warning of the risk their images might be used against their will on pornography sites, and sounding the alarm about the spread of sexually charged harassment under their posts.

- Deborah Cole

The danger of photos on the internet being hijacked for erotic content has long been known, but victims say culprits appear to have zeroed in on Vinted with targeted campaigns.

Founded in 2008, the Lithuanian online marketplace for buying, selling and swapping secondhand and new clothing has developed into the most successful website of its kind in Europe, with more than 65 million registered users. Its popularity, particularly among young women, appears to have also made it a draw for misogynist trolls, image thieves and unwanted sexualised content.

In Germany, the EU's largest economy, there has been a wave of recent complaints, prompting media scrutiny of the website as users in France, Italy and Britain have also reported problems.

One young female Vinted user identified as Mina went on social media last month to recount her ordeal and caution others. Her Instagram post has been watched more than 1.7m times and is captioned with a plea: "Please share so a lot of women will see it!"