The latest in smart recruiting? Social media screening is now commonplace in the hiring industry, allowing employers to see what a potential hire creates and shares online.
In this complete guide, we answer your burning questions about social screening, so you can figure out whether it’s the best choice for you and your business. You may have heard about social media screening, but feel unsure about how to use it, whether to use it, and for what purpose.
Some of the dialogue around social media screening can cause concern and confusion for recruiters and employers. Is social media screening an invasion of privacy, or a way to help employers know exactly who they are hiring? Is social media screening ethical? What can you actually see on a social screening report?
Here, we present a guide to social media screening that covers everything—the basics, the complexities, and all the shades between. No question is too thorny, or too stupid (stupid questions often turn out to be the smartest!), so scan the answers below before your next recruitment meeting, and learn to hire smarter.
Digital screening: FAQs and Burning Questions
Social media screening for employment is fast becoming common practice for large corporates as well as small businesses. With so many of us sharing information about ourselves online, it makes complete sense that hirers are now able to assess someone’s personality, background and suitability for a role by looking at their social media profiles.
While social media screening checks are now far more widely used, there are still points of confusion about the process, and it’s always sensible to brush up on the facts before you decide to use digital screening in your hiring process. There are plenty of pros and cons of social media screening, but with all the knowledge in hand, you can decide if the benefits of social screening will transform your recruitment process for the better.
Here at YOONO we know that dumb questions create smart answers! Read on, arm up and hire smart.
What is social media screening?
Employers, hirers and businesses can use social media screening to review a candidate’s online activity and social media profiles.
How does social media screening work? A background screening tool scans publicly available online data relating to the individual, relaying this to the researcher. Some AI-powered screening tools are able to provide intelligent insights about the data retrieved, giving more information about the person’s patterns of behaviour, tone of voice, and any flagged content that might be of particular interest.
What is the difference between background screening and social media screening?
Traditional background screening is somewhat different to social media screening. These are used to assess somebody’s educational background and employment history, and they might also include criminal checks, such as a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Social media screening is an alternative or complementary type of background check that looks at the individual’s online footprint. This may include social media posts, videos and comments, blog content, news articles and other online material from forums or vlogs.
What can you see on a social media screening report?
A typical social media screening report will cover any content publicly posted, shared or commented on by the individual across a number of social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X (Twitter). Depending on the screening tool you use, you may also see content sourced from other platforms across the web, such as YouTube, Reddit or Bluesky. You would not be able to see any social media content shared via private accounts.
Social media screening reports usually scan all content connected or related to the individual searched for, and pick up on a range of flagged content that may vary in level of importance.
The searcher may be able to see flagged content that relates to extreme themes, such as illegal activity, hate speech or violent content. The social media report may also flag incidents of inappropriate or controversial content, substance abuse or workplace misconduct.
Alongside the scary stuff, the searcher will also be able to see any posts shared publicly by the individual which may relate to everyday social media content, such as insights into the person’s hobbies, family life or work life.
What are the benefits of using social media screening for recruiting?
There are multiple benefits of social media screening, particularly in relation to recruitment. By using a social media screening tool, recruiters can ensure that the individual they are recommending for hire has a squeaky clean online reputation. This is particularly important in industries which require a very thorough hiring process or where individuals may be placed into sensitive roles, such as teaching, healthcare or finance.
Compared to assessing someone’s work suitability through a CV review or traditional background check, social media screening allows the hirer to see how someone behaves and interacts with others in an online environment. The person’s personality traits and real life experiences can also be viewed and assessed by the recruiter.
Compared to a traditional background check, social media screening gives recruiters a much fuller picture of the job candidate, offering more detail and opportunities to cross-check existing information to ensure they are the right choice.
Who uses social media screening?
Social media screening can be used by anyone or any business looking to hire or work with an individual. Screening checks are most often undertaken by recruiters, employers, HR staff or business owners, and can be used to screen any searchable individual online.
Why is social media screening controversial?
Social media screening is considered to be controversial by some, with those opposed to its use citing that social screening is a potential invasion of privacy, may introduce bias into a hiring decision (see below), and brings up information that is not always relevant for a job role.
So, is social media screening ethical? There are groups who have called to stop screening job candidates’ social media for the reasons above, but it can’t be denied that the information found using social media screening is already publicly available and can be discovered by any individual who looks thoroughly enough online.
Different companies will take different stances on the use of social media screening, so it’s worth having a discussion within your business about whether you would feel it would be the right choice for your hiring process.
Is social screening illegal?
No, social media screening is not illegal in the UK. Recommendation under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Equality Act 2010 outlines that employers should inform candidates that their social media activity will be reviewed as part of the screening process and obtain consent for the person’s data to be processed.
Is social media screening legal for personal use? Social screening is not normally recommended for personal use, as in the case of screening romantic partners, friends or acquaintances, as it can be seen as an invasion of privacy, and in this case should only be undertaken with the consent of the individual.
Does social media screening promote discrimination?
Is digital screening biased? With a well-considered recruitment policy in place, there’s no reason that social media screening should introduce bias into a hiring process. However, misuse of social screening checks do run the risk of introducing discrimination along lines of age, gender, ethnicity and disability. It is the business’ responsibility to ensure that any information sourced through a screening check is assessed by a panel of several people, reducing the risk of conscious or unconscious bias, and that any information used to make a hiring decision is carefully considered with bias in mind.
Some would say that an interview alone is more likely to introduce bias into the hiring process, and that background screening builds a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the person for the employer. Arguably, the more information YOONO about a person the less likely you are to have a snap-judgement, biased view of the individual.
In short, there is a risk of introducing bias and discrimination through social media screening, but with the right guidance in place this can be kept in check.
Do I need permission to run a background check on someone?
In the UK, it is necessary to inform candidates that you will be conducting a background check, which applies to most forms of traditional background check, including a DBS check.
However, some social media screening checks do not require the consent of the individual, although it is advisable to do so in order to comply with GDPR guidance. An example of a pre-consent background check would be YOONO, which scans already publicly available data, negating the need for consent.
Should I tell my manager before I run a social screening check on someone? It is advisable to check with your manager or HR department before running a social screening check or using a new screening service provider, to ensure that the company’s policies align with those of the provider.
Will someone know if I do a background check on them?
If you have obtained consent from the individual (which in most cases you should, see above), they will know that a background check is being conducted, though they will not receive an alert, such as an email or message, that this is the case unless sent by the employer or provider running the check.
A background screening service like YOONO is completely discrete, and individuals searched for will not be made aware that a report has been run about them.
Can I do a social media background check for free?
Background checks vary in price and scope, but you can benefit from 3 free background searches when you sign up to YOONO.
How do employers find your social media?
If your social media accounts are public, not private, an employer can easily find and view the content you share. If you don’t wish a potential employer to see your social media account, you will need to switch to a private account or delete the account.
What happens if I fail a social media background check?
Whether someone is deemed to fail a social media background check is at the discretion of the recruiter or employer. For example, if an employer views images that suggest the employee enjoys going out or socialising frequently, they may not see this as problematic, while another employer might assess this to be incompatible with the company’s culture or the nature of the job role applied for.
If an employer says that you have failed a social media background check, unfortunately there is not normally much that can be done about it. It is possible to request a copy of the background report, in accordance with data protection laws that grant the candidate or employee to access personal information about themselves held by the company. However, the result of the report and whether information within it is deemed to have ‘passed’ or ‘failed’ by the employer’s standards is a matter of individual company policy.
You can request a new background check from an employer, but the decision to conduct one or not lies with them, and they may have reasons for not complying with the request.
How can I pass a background screening check?
To ensure the best possible outcome from a social media screening check, it’s a wise idea to do a little social media ‘housekeeping’. Ensure that any accounts you do not wish an employer to see are set to private or deleted. Remove any content from a public social media account that you would not want to hire someone on the basis of. Illegal content, offensive words, substance abuse, and other controversial activity is a huge red flag, but you should also consider removing or editing any content that would place you in a non-professional light.
Put yourself in the shoes of the employer—would you hire you?
Social Screening for Smart Folk!
At YOONO, we believe in having a curious mindset. With so many conflicting opinions circulating about social media screening online, it can be difficult to know what position to take with confidence.
With a YOONO background report you can skip the guesswork. Our fully compliant and discrete background searches use AI-powered tech to scan all publicly-available data relating to an individual, leaving no stone unturned.
Make a hiring decision with confidence, knowing that you have all the relevant facts to hand and every level of due diligence met. Try running a report with no obligation, and see how YOONO can transform your hiring process for the better.
