cyberflashing

English

Alternative forms

cyber-flashing

Etymology

From cyber- +‎ flashing.

Noun

cyberflashing (uncountable)

(computing, crime) The unsolicited sending of sexually explicit pictures of oneself to another person by means of a computer or telecommunication network.
- 2022 June 13, Valeriya Safronova, “The Fight to End ‘Cyberflashing’”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 August 2025:
  For many people of a certain age, particularly women, cyberflashing has become yet another cost of existing on the internet.
- 2023 April 19, Sophie Gallagher, “Cyber-flashing is just as damaging as the ‘real world’ equivalent. When will the law catch up?”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 October 2026:
  For years, the Law Commission has been advising the government to plug this gap in legislation – a chasm between how we punish real-world behaviours and the same behaviour online – by introducing a specific cyber-flashing offence.
- 2025 April 30, Anna Moore, “‘I don’t date at all now’: one woman’s journey into the darkest corners of the manosphere”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 October 2026:
  It covers Davies’s experiences in the digital world – that includes cyberflashing such as all those unsolicited dick pics – as well as the widespread use of her images on pornography sites, escort services, dating apps, sex chats (“Ready for Rape? Role play now!” with her picture alongside it).