What can employers see on your social media?

By Dave Fradette · Published September 26, 2026 · Last reviewed October 9, 2026

Short answer: Employers and screening companies can see your public content: posts, comments on public pages, and on some platforms your likes. They can't see private posts, messages, search history, or saved posts, and many states bar them from asking for passwords. Deleted posts usually won't show up in a new check, but existing copies can.

Can employers see my public posts?

Yes. Public content is exactly what social media screening reviews. Screening companies say they look at publicly available posts, comments, likes, and shared content across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Reddit.^[1]^[2] They typically find your accounts by matching your name, email, and location, not by asking for usernames.^[2] See how employers find your social media.

Can employers see my social media if it's private?

Not the private content itself. Compliant screening companies review public content only, not private accounts or password-protected platforms.^[1] Many states also bar employers from asking for your passwords, asking you to log in while they watch, or requiring you to add them as a friend.^[3]

But a private account isn't invisible, and the gaps differ by platform. See does a private account protect you from a background check. A few of the common ones:

Your name, profile photo, and bio are often public even when posts aren't.
Comments you leave on public posts and pages are public.
Photos other people post of you can be public on their accounts.
Anyone who can see your content can screenshot it.

Can employers see my Instagram comments?

If you commented on a public account's post, yes, that comment is public. Comments are often replies in heated threads, and harassment and trolling is the largest category of flagged behavior in Fama's data.^[4] Instagram lets you review and delete multiple comments you've made at once.^[5]

Can employers see what I've liked?

Some screening vendors say they review likes along with posts and comments.^[6] A like on a post that clearly falls into a screening category can be read as an endorsement. See can employers see your likes and comments.

Can employers see deleted posts?

A new check of your public content generally sees what's public when it runs, so a post you've deleted usually won't appear. But deleting doesn't remove copies that already exist: screenshots, reposts, web archives, or a screening report that was already run.

How far back can they see?

Screening companies commonly describe a seven-year lookback.^[2]^[7] An employer searching on its own isn't bound by that. See how far back social media background checks go.

What are they actually looking for?

Not your vacation photos. Screening companies flag specific behavior categories: harassment and trolling, intolerance, threats or violence, illegal activity including drugs, and sexually explicit content. They say they remove protected information, like religion, health, or sexual orientation, from what the employer sees.^[8]^[9]

Can employers see my search history, messages, or saved posts?

No. Social media screening covers public content. Private messages, your search history, and posts you've saved or bookmarked aren't public, so they aren't part of it.^[1]

How to see what an employer would see

Log out and look at your profiles as a stranger would, search your name and email in a private browser window, and review your public activity, including likes and comments. Your data exports make that last part manageable, and PruneSocial can score them against the same published categories. Start with how to check your digital footprint. Your archive and your public profile answer different questions, so check both. See archive vs. public profile.

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 preview