Women who have been secretly filmed on nights out are being urged to contact UK police after videos posted online racked up millions of views and attracted a flood of misogynistic comments.

Police are trying to catch those responsible for dozens of voyeuristic TikTok and YouTube videos that have titles like “Manchester nightlife” and show women who are unaware they are being filmed.

Women have described feeling unsafe after discovering that videos of them have been posted online, some of which suggest they are sex workers or invite sexualized comments.

One woman, Meg, who was filmed on Deansgate in Manchester walking to catch a taxi with other women, told the BBC: “I didn’t see it, I didn’t know I was being filmed. I can’t believe they attacked me like that. She looked at me and thought ‘yes, I’ll record them.’”

The video appears to focus on young women wearing tight clothing or short dresses, focusing in particular on women who have been drinking. Videos are usually posted the same night they are recorded.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a woman reported seeing a man wearing Ray-Ban style glasses and a camera hidden inside.

Although filming people in public is not illegal, it becomes criminal when it constitutes harassment.

Meg said: “I really have no words other than it made me feel a bit bad. It’s just not nice at all, and obviously not only in a selfish way but also towards other women. Many of them will be very, very young girls, perhaps even minors, without knowing that they are being recorded.

“There are videos of girls falling and showing their underwear and stuff. And then by being posted online like that, you really need to do something about it.”

Inspector Stephen Wiggins said GMP needed the women to come forward to catch the perpetrator. He said: “We are very much against it if we don’t get that intelligence, that information, coming from the actual victims and the communities themselves.

“We have recently intervened on several occasions where there were men acting suspiciously in the city centre. Therefore, our request from our organization is that people call us if they see any suspicious behavior in the city center.”

TikTok and YouTube told the BBC that they had removed several videos and accounts related to this content for violating their guidelines.

A TikTok spokesperson said: “Misogyny is prohibited on TikTok. Any content that violates these guidelines will be removed.”

However, searching on TikTok for “UK nightlife” brings up suggested search terms including “chav girls uk”, “uk slagz fit”, “oops girls no kickers” (sic) and “girls helping me finish”.

Meg said: “They should not be allowed to be posted online without consent. These videos are almost creating a danger of violence towards women. The video they took of me was published that same night. “So if he was still out that night and that video was posted, I think that creates some kind of danger of violence.”