How to run a free social media background check on yourself
Short answer: You can run a free social media background check on yourself in five steps: search your name, view your profiles as the public sees them, download your data from each platform, scan it, and clean up what you find. PruneSocial's free Risk Preview scores a 50-item sample of your exports against published screening categories. The full $49 report scores up to 5,000 items with a fix for every flag.
This page is about checking your own social media. If you're an employer screening candidates, see the note at the end.
How to run a free social media background check on yourself
- Search yourself in a private browser window: your name with your city, your email, and any usernames. See how to check your digital footprint.
- Log out and view your profiles as the public sees them. Several platforms offer a "view as" or public preview option. What employers can see explains what a private setting does and doesn't hide.
- Download your data from each platform. It's free, and it's the only way to see your likes and comments in one place. Some screening vendors say they review likes and comments, so they count too. See our export guides.
- Look for the categories screeners flag: harassment, intolerance, threats or violence, illegal activity including drugs, and sexually explicit content.[1][2] Focus on the last seven years, the lookback many vendors describe.[2][3] See how far back checks go.
- Clean up what you find. Remove the like, delete the comment, or tighten the setting, one item at a time. See how to clean up your social media before applying.
This works, but it's slow. Years of likes can add up to thousands of items, which is what the free preview below is for.
Three ways to check yourself, from free to paid
| Do it yourself | PruneSocial Risk Preview | PruneSocial Screening Report | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | $49 |
| What's checked | Whatever you have time to scroll | A 50-item sample from your exports, spread across platforms and dates | Up to 5,000 items from the last seven years |
| Likes and comments | Hard to review by hand | Included in the sample | Included |
| Screening categories | You judge | Each sampled item rated Review, Consider, or Clear | Every item rated, with a fix for each flag |
| Best for | A quick look | Seeing how scoring works on your own content | A full review before you apply |
The free Risk Preview
PruneSocial's Risk Preview is free. You drop in your export files, and it scores a 50-item sample spread across your platforms and dates, showing you each item it scored and how. It's the easiest way to see how the scoring works on your own history before deciding whether you want the full report. It won't catch everything, since it's a sample, so a Clear preview doesn't mean your whole history is clear.
The full Screening Report
The paid report scores up to 5,000 items from your seven-year window, lists everything flagged with a recommended fix, and includes step-by-step pruning instructions for each platform. It's $49, includes three runs within 60 days so you can add platforms and re-check after cleaning up, and comes with a 30-day guarantee. See the methodology for exactly how it works.
Is this the same as a free background check on yourself?
Not quite. A social media check looks at what you've posted, liked, and commented on. A general background check on yourself covers other records, like criminal history, employment history, and credit, and those come from different sources. Nothing here replaces them.
For credit, the FTC says the three nationwide credit bureaus let you check your report once a week for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.[6] If an employer ever uses a screening company on you, the FTC says the employer must give you a copy of the report and a summary of your rights before taking action against you based on it.[5] See your rights in a social media background check.
The social media side is the part most people can't see in advance, which is why it's worth checking yourself first.
If you're an employer
PruneSocial is only for checking yourself, and there's no free shortcut for screening candidates. When an employer uses an outside company to screen a candidate's social media, the FTC treats that report as a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which requires things like a standalone disclosure, the candidate's written permission, and notices before any adverse decision.[4][5] See the candidate's rights for how that works.
See what your own history looks like
PruneSocial scores supported text activity from your own account exports against publicly documented screening categories and gives you one specific cleanup action for anything flagged. Try a free 50-item preview first.
Start a free previewRelated guides
Sources
- Fama: How Fama's online screening solution detects misconduct at work
- Checkr: Social media search
- Fama: Does social media screening only cover social media platforms?
- FTC staff closing letter to Social Intelligence Corp., May 9, 2011
- FTC: Using consumer reports, what employers need to know
- FTC: Free credit reports