24 September 2026 by Banana Passion
When it comes to sending nudes, seven in ten adults we surveyed have done it, and more than half of them have regretted it.
We ran an anonymous survey of 230 adults in June and July 2026. 85% of men and 60% of women had sent a nude to a partner or someone else. Of those who had, 56% said they had regretted it at least once.
I expected a lot of people to say yes. I didn’t expect more than half of them to say they’d regretted it. Sending a nude is normal. What happens to it afterwards is the part people worry about, and nobody talks about it.
Men were far more likely to have sent a nude than women: 85% compared with 60%.
Regret ran the other way in our survey. 62% of the women who had sent one said they’d regretted it, compared with 47% of the men.
| Asked | Sent a nude | Regretted it (of those who sent one) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 150 | 90 (60%) | 56 (62%) |
| Men | 80 | 68 (85%) | 32 (47%) |
| Everyone | 230 | 158 (69%) | 88 (56%) |
I’ll be honest, I expected the first number to be high. I didn’t expect the second one to be this high.
This wasn’t a poll on Instagram where your mates vote for a laugh.
The study was conducted from June – July 2026, where we picked people at random from everyone who’s shopped on our website (an Excel spreadsheet was involved, very glamorous). Everyone we invited had bought from us before, whether a waterproof blanket, a massage oil, a massage candle or our sensual balm. They got a survey link. It was anonymous, it was 18+ only, and nobody got a discount or a freebie for answering. Once it closed, we deleted anything that could identify anyone. Anyone who said they’d sent a nude got the regret question straight after.
150 women and 80 men replied.
These results reflect people who’ve shopped with Banana Passion, not every Australian. And not everyone buys from us for the bedroom. Plenty of our waterproof blankets go to period nights, pets and spills. But it’s real people, answering honestly, with nothing to gain.
Our survey didn’t ask why, so I won’t pretend to know. Regret could mean a lot of things. It could be the ex who still has it. A photo you’d take differently now. Or the gut drop of wondering where it ended up.
What I do know is that sending a nude is only half of it. The other half is what happens to the photo once it leaves your phone.
There’s an ugly word for when it goes wrong: sextortion. Someone threatens to share your photos unless you pay up, send more, or do something you don’t want to do.
Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne went through 24 studies on it in 2024. What they found is worth knowing.
It’s more common than you’d think. Depending on the study, somewhere between 4% and nearly 19% of adults have been on the receiving end.
And it’s usually not a stranger. It was more often a partner, an ex, or someone the person already knew. Not the faceless hacker we all picture.
Most people never report it either. Shame keeps them quiet.
In Australia, sextortion is now the most common image-based abuse reported to the eSafety Commissioner. Most of the people reporting it are young men aged 18 to 24, often targeted by scammers pretending to be women online.
Put that next to our 85% and it’s hard to ignore. Men are the most likely to hit send, and young men are the ones scammers go after.
None of this is a reason to stop. It’s a reason to be smart about it.
Don’t pay. Don’t send anything else. Paying almost never makes it stop.
Screenshot everything: the messages, their profile, any payment requests. Then block them.
Report it to the eSafety Commissioner at esafety.gov.au. They can help get images taken down. Sharing someone’s intimate images without consent, or threatening to, is against the law in Australia.
And tell someone you trust. The whole scam relies on you feeling too embarrassed to speak up. You haven’t done anything wrong.
If you’re under 18, this is a different conversation. Sharing nudes of anyone under 18 is illegal, even if everyone agreed. Kids Helpline is on 1800 55 1800.
How many people send nudes? In our survey of 230 adults, 69% had sent one to a partner or someone else. That was 85% of men and 60% of women. It’s a small survey, so the national number could be different.
Do people regret sending nudes? More than half do. Of the 158 people in our survey who had sent a nude, 56% said they had regretted it. Women were more likely to regret it (62%) than men (47%).
Is sending a nude illegal in Australia? Sending your own photo to another adult who wants it isn’t a crime. Sharing someone else’s without their consent is, and so is threatening to. Anything involving under-18s is illegal.
What is sextortion? When someone threatens to share your intimate photos to get money, more photos, or something else out of you. Research shows it’s most often someone the victim knows.
Where do I report it? eSafety at esafety.gov.au. If you’re in danger right now, call 000.
Sources: Ray, A. & Henry, N. (2024). Sextortion: A Scoping Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 26(1), 138–155. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380241277271 · eSafety Commissioner, esafety.gov.au
Meg is the founder of Banana Passion, a woman-led intimacy brand from Sydney. She also asks slightly nosy questions.
