Social Media Screening & Digital Footprint Check
AI-powered social media background checks and online reputation checks for UK executives, political candidates, and high-profile individuals. Silent Compliance. Strategic Assurance. Digital Defence.
6 platforms · 13 risk categories · 230+ languages · From £29.99 + VAT · Delivered in 48 hours
What is social media screening?
Social media screening is the AI-powered analysis of a person's public digital footprint to flag reputational, regulatory, and security risk before hiring, travel, or deployment. Hermes Digital screens 6 social platforms across 13 behavioural risk categories in 230+ languages, with human analyst verification and 48-hour PDF delivery from £29.99 + VAT.
Every report is a DTVRA
Digital Threat & Vulnerability Risk Assessment — our structured method for reading digital-footprint risk with intelligence-analyst judgement. Choose your depth: a fast Lite screen (£29.99 + VAT), an in-depth Full assessment with mitigation guidance (£89.99 + VAT), or Digital Reconnaissance on a third-party subject (£139.99 + VAT).
6
Platforms Screened
13
Risk Categories
230+
Languages Analysed
10yr
Content History
The Screening Process
Secure Consent and Intake
Candidate provides consent. Screening begins only with explicit approval.
AI-Powered Screening
Machine learning reviews language, imagery, tone, and associations.
Human Review by Intelligence Analysts
Redress and verification are handled by trained professionals.
Web and News Discovery
Articles, public mentions, and digital breadcrumbs are mapped.
Credential Matching
Platform accounts are verified; false positives filtered.
Report Delivered
A confidential, actionable PDF is delivered within 48 hours.
Screening Packages
Transparent pricing. No sales call. No contract. No minimum commitment.
500+ reports delivered across 7 sectors
Digital Screening Report
DTVRA (Lite)£29.99 + VAT per report
Shorter intelligence analyst commentary on your digital footprint.
- •1 subject
- •13 risk categories
- •6 platforms
- •Sentiment and image analysis
- •PDF report with a short written analysis
- •Delivered within 48 hours
Report + Professional Analysis
DTVRA (Full)£89.99 + VAT per report
In-depth professional analysis with bespoke risk advice and mitigation guidance.
- •Full automated screening report
- •Human analyst review of flagged risks
- •Bespoke risk advice and mitigation guidance
- •Reputational due diligence context
- •Delivered within 48 hours
Other ways to screen
US Travel Pre-Clearance
From £29.99 + VAT per report
For UK travellers preparing for ESTA, visa, or US border scrutiny.
- •Tailored to US entry requirements
- •13 risk categories with travel context
- •6 platforms + web and news scan
- •Optional analyst add-on for bespoke advice
- •Delivered within 48–72 hours
NGO Pre-deployment
From £29.99 + VAT per report
Country-aware screening for personnel deploying into complex jurisdictions.
- •Deployment-risk mapping
- •13 risk categories vs destination law
- •6 platforms + web and news scan
- •Analyst mitigation brief available
- •Delivered within 48 hours
The average UK reputation crisis costs £15,000–50,000 in professional fees. A screening report costs £29.99 + VAT and takes 48 hours.
What Our Social Media Screening Covers
Our AI-powered digital footprint check delivers a comprehensive online reputation check — analysing public content across 6 social media platforms, news sources, and web content in 230+ languages.
Content Analysis
- •Up to 10 years of social media activity across 6 platforms
- •Public posts, images, interactions, likes, and reposts
- •Sentiment analysis and behavioural pattern detection in 230+ languages
- •Image and meme analysis: nudity, violence, drugs, extremist symbols, gestures
- •OCR text extraction from images and memes
Risk Intelligence
- •13 behavioural risk categories (hate speech, threats, drug content, self-harm, and more)
- •Web and news search across 1,000,000+ sources
- •Profile discovery and credential matching using OSINT databases
- •Custom keyword flags for client-specific risk terms
- •Platforms: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, and 40+ more
The anatomy of a Hermes screening report
Every engagement produces a structured, analyst-led intelligence document — not a raw data dump. Two tiers, each built to the same standard of discretion and precision. Explore the structure below, then download a sample to see the full read.
- Document class
- Threat & Vulnerability Assessment
- Format
- 12 sections · ~17 pp · A4
- Method
- Analyst-led · human judgement on machine-grade signal
- For
- Selection, appointment & high-stakes decisions
Executive Intelligence Summary
Composite risk score and the bottom-line read, with a sharp “so what” for the decision at hand.
Bespoke analysisSubject Intelligence Profile
Disposition, public persona and the breadth of the digital footprint across platforms.
Posture & personaCollection & Methodology
Sources, date window, corpus size and explicit limitations — the integrity of the assessment.
Sources & scopeKey Evidence
Paraphrased extracts and platform signals, each with a “why it matters” weaponisation line.
Evidence itemsPriority Intelligence Requirements
Standing analyst questions resolved against the corpus, cited to evidence with a confidence rating.
Q&AThreat Vectors
Exploitable surfaces ranked by exploitability and urgency, with target audiences and evidence.
Exploitable surfacesRed Team Assessment
How a competent adversary converts the surface into damage — profiles, paths, worst-case narrative.
Adversary modellingBlue Team Assessment
Defensive priorities, counter-narratives and an owned action ledger with owners and timeframes.
Defensive posturePersonal Brand & Outcome Alignment
From current persona to desired position, sequenced over a 7 / 30 / 90-day plan.
Outcome alignmentStrategic Realism Briefings
Curated reading that arms the client with the language to act on the assessment.
Recommended readingAnalyst Confidence & Limitations
Overall confidence, data gaps and caveats — stated plainly, never overclaimed.
CaveatsFinal Intelligence Judgement
The decision-grade verdict, decision implications and a monitoring recommendation.
Bottom lineEvery report is written to a reporting lens
Download a redacted sample
Four fully worked samples on the same fictitious subject, each written to a different lens.
Threat & Vulnerability Assessment
The flagship analyst-led report. Lens: Political Candidate & Public Office.
Download PDFScreening & Footprint Check
Lens: Executive & Board Leadership — an NED appointment scenario.
Download PDFScreening & Footprint Check
Lens: NGO & Aid Deployment — field and partner risk.
Download PDFScreening & Footprint Check
Lens: US Jurisdiction — country-risk-aware framing.
Download PDFPrivate & Confidential · Recipient eyes only · Samples use a fictitious subject. Open source only — not a substitute for formal vetting.
Who It's For
Why Choose Hermes Digital for Social Media Screening?
Credentials
- •Founded by veterans of UK military intelligence
- •Zero-trace infrastructure: no outsourcing or data resale
- •Trusted by government, media, and global advisory firms
- •Direct, discreet, and defensible
Compliance & Data Protection
- •UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 compliant
- •Equality Act 2010 aligned screening process
- •Electoral regulation compliant for political vetting
- •Consent-based screening with full audit trail
Social Media Screening — Frequently Asked Questions
What is a social media background check?
A social media background check is an AI-powered analysis of an individual's public digital footprint across social media platforms, news articles, and web content. It identifies reputational risks across 13 behavioural categories including hate speech, threats, drug content, nudity, and political volatility — providing a confidential report within 48 hours.
How does social media screening work in the UK?
In the UK, social media screening must comply with GDPR and data protection law. Our screening analyses publicly available content across 6 platforms using AI-powered behavioural analysis, with human analyst oversight. We screen up to 10 years of social media history, analyse text in 230+ languages, and detect risk in images, memes, and visual content.
What platforms do you screen?
We screen 6 social media platforms including X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. We also scan web and news sources for public mentions, articles, and digital breadcrumbs associated with the individual.
What are the 13 risk categories in a digital footprint check?
Our screening analyses content across 13 behavioural risk categories: Disparaging content, Drug imagery, Drug/alcohol mentions, Gory/violent imagery, Custom keywords, Nudity, Politics/government, Prejudice, Profanity, Rude gestures/symbols, Self-harm, Suggestive content, and Threats. Each flagged item includes context, severity, and a probability score.
Is social media screening legal in the UK?
Yes. Social media screening of publicly available content is legal in the UK when conducted with proper consent and in compliance with GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Equality Act 2010. Our process is designed to be compliant, proportionate, and defensible — screening only public content with appropriate consent and data handling procedures.
How long does a social media screening report take?
Standard screening reports are delivered within 48 hours. Our AI analyses content in minutes, followed by human analyst verification for flagged items. Reports with professional analysis and bespoke risk advice are also delivered within 48 hours.
Who uses social media screening services?
Our clients include FTSE 100 executives, political candidates and campaign teams, private clients and family offices, Premier League sports clubs, broadcasters, talent agencies, law firms, and private equity firms. Anyone facing public scrutiny, board appointments, M&A transactions, or media exposure benefits from a digital footprint check.
How much does a social media screening cost?
Digital screening reports start at £29.99 + VAT per subject. Reports with professional analyst review and bespoke risk advice are £89.99 + VAT. Retained and on-account screening for organisations screening multiple individuals is priced bespoke to volume and scope — contact us for a quote. No sales call, no contract, no minimum commitment required.
Can employers use social media screening for pre-employment checks in the UK?
Yes. Pre-employment screening that includes social media is legal in the UK when conducted with candidate consent and in compliance with GDPR and the Equality Act 2010. Our pre-employment screening service analyses publicly available content only, applies consistent risk criteria across all candidates, and provides a defensible, auditable process that HR and compliance teams can integrate into existing hiring workflows.
What is an online reputation check?
An online reputation check is an analysis of what appears when someone searches for you or your organisation online. It covers social media posts, news articles, forum mentions, and web content. Our online reputation check goes further — using AI to analyse sentiment, flag behavioural risk across 13 categories, and scan imagery and memes. It gives executives, candidates, and public figures a clear view of their digital exposure before others find it first.
Last updated June 2026