Social media screening companies: who they are and what they flag
Short answer: Several companies sell social media background checks to employers. Fama, Checkr, and Ferretly publish the most about how theirs work. All three say they review public content only, look back seven years or more, flag behavior like threats, harassment, hate speech, sexual content, and drug use, and sell to employers under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You can’t order their reports on yourself, but you can check your own history against the same categories first.
PruneSocial isn't affiliated with any company on this page, and this isn't a ranking. Everything here comes from each company’s own public pages, cited below, as of October 2026.
The companies at a glance
| Company | What it says it flags | Where it looks | How far back | Human review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fama | Eight behavior flags, including violence, threats, trolling, intolerance, sexual content, cannabis, and illicit drugs, plus custom keywords an employer adds[2][3] | Over 10,000 online sources: social platforms like LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Reddit, plus blogs, forums, and news[1] | 7 years[1] | Analysts review every flagged item[1] |
| Checkr | Violent behavior, illegal activity, hate speech, harassment, sexually explicit content, and drug use[4] | Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, and YouTube, plus news and web articles[4] | 7 years by default[4] | An analyst reviews every flagged report[4] |
| Ferretly | 13 behavior flags, including harassment, threats, prejudicial content, extremism, weapons, drugs and alcohol, sexual content, and self-harm[5] | Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, and YouTube[5][6] | Up to 10 years[5] | Not stated on the page we reviewed; it says each finding comes with documented evidence[5] |
What they have in common
- Public content only. Checkr says it doesn’t analyze posts from private accounts, only the profile and bio.[4] Fama says it excludes private and password-protected accounts.[1] A private account limits what they see, but it isn’t a full shield. See what a private account hides.
- The same core behaviors. Threats, violence, harassment, hate, sexual content, and drugs show up on every list. That overlap is why PruneSocial’s seven categories are modeled on what these companies publish.
- A person checks the flags. Fama and Checkr both say an analyst reviews flagged content for context before the employer sees it.[1][4] So a movie quote or sports trash talk shouldn’t end up in a report, but a real insult aimed at a person will.
- The employer decides, not the vendor. Checkr returns results as Clear or Review and leaves the hiring decision to the employer.[4]
Where they differ
- How far back. Fama and Checkr describe seven years.[1][4] Ferretly says up to ten.[5] See how far back checks go.
- Likes and comments. Ferretly’s help center lists likes on LinkedIn and TikTok, plus comments, replies, and shares on several platforms.[6] Fama and Checkr don’t break this down on the pages we reviewed. See can employers see your likes and comments.
- Beyond social media. Fama includes blogs, forums, and news.[1] Checkr includes news and web articles.[4]
- Extra categories. Ferretly lists weapons, extremism, alcohol, and self-harm among its flags.[5] Fama lets an employer add custom keywords for its brand or industry.[3]
How often employers use them
Less often than you might think. In a HireRight survey reported by SHRM in 2023, 10% of employers with screening programs used third-party social media screening, up from 6%.[7] Far more common is a hiring manager simply looking: nearly 75% said they check applicants’ social media in a 2023 ResumeBuilder survey.[8] A manager’s own search has no category list and no analyst, so the same posts matter either way. See which employers check.
Which is the best social media background check?
That depends on who’s asking. These companies sell to employers, and each employer picks its own vendor and settings. If you’re the candidate, you usually won’t know which one is used until you sign the disclosure, and you can’t buy their report on yourself ahead of time.
The more useful question for a job seeker is what any of them would find. Since their categories overlap, checking your own history against those categories covers you no matter which vendor an employer uses. The free self-check guide walks through it step by step.
Your rights if one screens you
When a company assembles social media information and furnishes it to an employer for hiring, the FTC treats it as a consumer reporting agency.[9] The employer needs your written permission first, and must give you a copy of the report and a summary of your rights before rejecting you based on it.[10] Checkr describes its social media reports as disputable.[4] See your rights in a social media background check.
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 does a social media background check work?
- Fama: How Fama's online screening solution detects misconduct at work
- Fama: What is social media screening?
- Checkr: Social media search
- Ferretly: Social media reports for school hiring
- Ferretly Help: Supported social media platforms
- SHRM: Employers Prioritize Speed Over Accuracy in Background Checks (July 20, 2023, reporting a HireRight survey)
- HR Dive: Hiring managers check candidates' social media (June 2023, reporting a ResumeBuilder survey)
- FTC staff closing letter to Social Intelligence Corp., May 9, 2011
- FTC: Using consumer reports, what employers need to know