FabSwingers.com forum: Companies that monitor social media

By *ools and the brain OP Couple
2 weeks ago

couple, us we him her.

I used to work for a company a few years ago they used to monitor employees FB pages for the purpose of catching people out, one chap had phoned in sick then posted pics of himself on the golf course he got called into the office next day.

Is this an intrusion of privacy or fair game?

Btw it wasn't me I don't play golf and came off FB twitter and the likes yonks ago.

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By *UGGYBEAR2015Man
2 weeks ago

BRIDPORT

If people are stupid enough to shoot themselves in the foot 🤷🏻‍♂️

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By *sWyldWoman
2 weeks ago

Edinburgh

I don't think it's a fair or good practice but equally people really should know when to keep quiet about what they get up to!

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By *ast Lothian couple 888Couple
2 weeks ago

east lothian

The majority of companies or employees within the company will grass you up if you’re doing something you shouldn’t and it can get you into bother at work then leave it off social media

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By *INTMan
2 weeks ago

Minutes from Somewhere Else

Easy solution - set up a second account that fuck all happens on. Give that one to the company for monitoring.

For your *actual* social media, don't make it obviously you. I know loads of people who've completely different names for their social media profiles.

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By *ealitybitesMan
2 weeks ago

Belfast

A company I worked for years ago has recently told a member of staff she must get her hubby to remove a pic and story he shared on social media that could be detrimental to the business.

They hinted that her job could be on the line.

I also know someone who had his position in the fire service scrutinized because he had liked but not shared a number of posts from a family member. He was told he would be reassigned unless he removed that person from his social media accounts.

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By *rsKOTCTWoman
2 weeks ago

Leeds

If they are stupid enough not to have their profiles locked down and post silly stuff like that it's their own fault.

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By *hief_Of_AlwaysMan
2 weeks ago

1313 Mockingbird Lane…

Aaaaand that’s why I don’t have any social media

That & the fact that I’m a total luddite, who hates the 21st century

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By *ose-_inted GlassesMan
2 weeks ago

Glasgow / London

"… one chap had phoned in sick then posted pics of himself on the golf course he got called into the office next day."

That just sounds like Darwinism in action to me. The chap’s an idiot.

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By *vaRose43Woman
2 weeks ago

Forest of Dean

"Easy solution - set up a second account that fuck all happens on. Give that one to the company for monitoring.

For your *actual* social media, don't make it obviously you. I know loads of people who've completely different names for their social media profiles. "

This

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By *all me FlikWoman
2 weeks ago

Galaxy Far Far Away

"Easy solution - set up a second account that fuck all happens on. Give that one to the company for monitoring.

Even easier solution... don't bite the hand that feeds you.

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By *vaRose43Woman
2 weeks ago

Forest of Dean

"Easy solution - set up a second account that fuck all happens on. Give that one to the company for monitoring.

Even easier solution... don't bite the hand that feeds you."

To be honest I don’t want or need any colleagues I have to know I like reading smut or follow a couple of amazing BDSM craftsmen.

The fact that I’m a left wing woke liberal snowflake (insert whatever word you prefer) would be patently obvious to anyone I worked with fairly quickly.

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By *eoBloomsMan
2 weeks ago

Springfield

Many companies now have contracts which refer to 'reputational damage' that covers a lot of out of work activity. That would certainly include Fab btw, another reason to be very careful what you share on here.

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By *icecouple561Couple
Forum Mod
2 weeks ago

East Sussex

It's gross intrusion of privacy in my opinion. I'm so glad I no longer need to deal with this kind of thing

In the early and mid 70s women friends of mine had part time jobs in Woolworths while we were at college. They liked a night out and knew how to enjoy themselves. They were asked by the manager of the store to rein it in because they didn't want their women employees behaving 'like that'. God knows how the manager knew unless other employees told him but my friend let him know in no uncertain terms that their private life was none of his or Woolworths damn business.

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By *ennineTopMan
2 weeks ago

York

I'm more concerned about social media companies monitoring what I'm up to.

After the Cambridge Analytica scandal I asked Facebook for the information they had on me even though I hardly ever interacted with Facebook. They eventually sent me a massive document containing all the files they had harvested from my computer.

It included things like invoices with my contact info on, private photos, letters I'd written etc. None of these files had anything whatsoever to do with my interactions on Facebook. They had simply been doing a random trawl through my hard drive making copies of anything they thought might be useful to them or their clients.

Needless to say I closed my Facebook account immediately.

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By *ellhungvweMan
2 weeks ago

Cheltenham

I think it is probably overreach from a company but I could see scenarios where it was reasonable - if you are a pilot and you post photos of you on an all night bender just before a flight then I can see why that might cause issues. If you are the public face of an organisation that advocates for something and and you post the complete opposite activity then I could see why that was an issue. If you are just a low level droid going about their life (ie most of us here) then I don’t think it is reasonable.

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By *rKnightsMan
2 weeks ago

Nott,in,your,mums,forrest

No sympathy for idiots, he’s deserves everything they throw at him.

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By *a LunaWoman
2 weeks ago

Wherever the wind takes me

We have had employees who have had to cover shifts for people who have gone “sick” contact us with Facebook post printouts of said employee out and about.

It pisses people off, and if you’re daft enough to post it publicly on Social media, then tough shit really. You deserve what you get.

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By *aron Van WinkleMan
2 weeks ago

Oldham

It’s a bit stalky. Imagine being told ‘go and spy on them!’ Because that’s it in a nutshell shell.

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By *icecouple561Couple
Forum Mod
2 weeks ago

East Sussex

"It’s a bit stalky. Imagine being told ‘go and spy on them!’ Because that’s it in a nutshell shell. "

Yep, I wouldn't want that job. Snooping on colleagues.

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By *ealitybitesMan
2 weeks ago

Belfast

It's just another variation on paying people to pass on info on people claiming the dole.

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By *bi HaiveMan
Forum Mod
2 weeks ago

Cheeseville, Somerset

"Many companies now have contracts which refer to 'reputational damage' that covers a lot of out of work activity. That would certainly include Fab btw, another reason to be very careful what you share on here."

It's not new.

I had one 20+ years ago. I also got reported to my employers, most likely by someone I'd ejected from a swingers club I hosted at one weekend.

Fortunately my profile was such that it couldn't be proved it was me. Made for an interesting meeting with the RD but walked away unscathed and proved the value of not having easily identifiable photos and personal info on a Fab profile.

No issues these days being self employed, and I rarely use Facey or any other social media but still have to bite my tongue at times because I'm tempted to respond to comments in a way that might put me in disagreement with some clients political and world views and at the end of the day they pay my bills. 🤷‍♂️

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By *issmorganWoman
2 weeks ago

Calderdale innit

Where I work in healthcare there are also spies who you work with.ie colleagues.

One lass was off sick, then posted loads of photos of herself at a festival on FB and was grassed up to our boss by someone on her socials.

They probably did it because she was regularly off sick, leaving her team short staffed.

Be very careful of what you post on Facebook as it can so easily bite you on the arse.

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By *ora the explorerWoman
2 weeks ago

Paradise, Herts

It's not new.

I had one 20+ years ago. I also got reported to my employers, most likely by someone I'd ejected from a swingers club I hosted at one weekend.

Sorry to change the subject but just saw your boing. That’s the best one yet! How have I not seen that!

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By *aftarse59Man
2 weeks ago

workington

I’m self employed. I sacked myself yesterday for a post I made on fb

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By (user no longer on site)
2 weeks ago

People who post their every move on these social sites need to look at themselves very closely

I haven't and never will use them

In my opinion they've totally destroyed the whole fabric of society and are only there to make the rich that own these sites richer while the rest in some cases suffer the consequences of them

Online bullying for example!!!

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By *ea monkeyMan
2 weeks ago

Manchester (he/him)

I find it interesting how so many of the responses are to defend their position or to further hide their behaviours. I think it’s a case of ‘play shitty games, win shitty prizes’.

Whilst it might not be nice to have your SM accounts scrutinised, the simple answer is; don’t be a cunt.

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By *eoBloomsMan
2 weeks ago

Springfield

Reported everyone on this thread for using Fab at work.

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By *ealitybitesMan
2 weeks ago

Belfast

In early 2011 I interviewed a number of people for a sales job along with the MD.

Later that day as I was leaving, a woman in another business across the yard asked me if we were considering employing one particular woman we had interviewed.

When I told her we hadn't made a decision she advised against it because of all the stuff she was posting on FB.

I had no idea what she was talking about as I wasn't on FB at that stage and neither was the MD.

She took us both into her office and showed us the woman's FB profile on her PC because none of us had phones that could access the internet.

We decided against offering the woman a job based on that because we didn't think she would be a good fit in a small company such as ours. Her profile was completely unhinged and nothing like the person we had interviewed.

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By *UGGYBEAR2015Man
2 weeks ago

BRIDPORT

"I find it interesting how so many of the responses are to defend their position or to further hide their behaviours. I think it’s a case of ‘play shitty games, win shitty prizes’.

Whilst it might not be nice to have your SM accounts scrutinised, the simple answer is; don’t be a cunt.

I’m with this^^^

Whilst people think it is wrong to intrude into personal social media they think it is fine to ring in sick, dump on your work colleagues and then have a jolly time and be dumb enough to advertise it on social media.

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By *ora the explorerWoman
2 weeks ago

Paradise, Herts

"I find it interesting how so many of the responses are to defend their position or to further hide their behaviours. I think it’s a case of ‘play shitty games, win shitty prizes’.

Whilst it might not be nice to have your SM accounts scrutinised, the simple answer is; don’t be a cunt.

This. If you’re stupid enough to put what you do on there it’s tough shit!

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By *a LunaWoman
2 weeks ago

Wherever the wind takes me

"Where I work in healthcare there are also spies who you work with.ie colleagues.

One lass was off sick, then posted loads of photos of herself at a festival on FB and was grassed up to our boss by someone on her socials.

They probably did it because she was regularly off sick, leaving her team short staffed.

Be very careful of what you post on Facebook as it can so easily bite you on the arse. "

Exactly this!

I guess it pays not to add work colleagues on Facebook.

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By *icecouple561Couple
Forum Mod
2 weeks ago

East Sussex

What percentage of people are posting things that might be derogatory to their company's reputation or hinder their ability to do their job properly ? I don't think it's ok to monitor everyone because the few might be doing something wrong. I really, really don't like the idea of a peer or colleague monitoring my socials. I don't have anything to hide...yet. However times change and so do people and things I posted 10 or 15 years ago which were viewed as acceptable then might become unacceptable now or at some point in the future.

It's all very easy to say it's people's own fault for posting things that could get them in trouble until things change.

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By *a LunaWoman
2 weeks ago

Wherever the wind takes me

"What percentage of people are posting things that might be derogatory to their company's reputation or hinder their ability to do their job properly ? I don't think it's ok to monitor everyone because the few might be doing something wrong. I really, really don't like the idea of a peer or colleague monitoring my socials. I don't have anything to hide...yet. However times change and so do people and things I posted 10 or 15 years ago which were viewed as acceptable then might become unacceptable now or at some point in the future.

It's all very easy to say it's people's own fault for posting things that could get them in trouble until things change. "

In our experience (small company) we have had instances where someone has phoned in sick last minute before a shift starts, it’s a mad scramble to get that shift covered. Someone says they will do it, but they also happen to be Facebook friends with said person who cried off work. They do the shift. Next morning they go onto Facebook and see pics of said person out on the razz living their best life. They get annoyed and print it off and pass it onto the office.

Or we have had reports of folk being on long term sick and going off on day trips, holidays abroad, etc.

It winds folk up and they then act on it. It’s usually a “why am I working when they are doing all this” kind of mentality.

The Company itself does not monitor employees social media.

We very rarely act on the information passed to us, but staff gossip amongst themselves and it can cause bad feeling, which can sometimes escalate in who will work with who etc.

Only once we have acted on information and there were other circumstances to be taken into account also.

I don’t see it as spying. If you have a Facebook page you should manage your privacy settings and just be aware who you add as a friend.

And maybe not take liberties with your employer.

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By *ad NannaWoman
2 weeks ago

East London

I didn't add anyone from my work to my Facebook account.

They weren't friends, only colleagues.

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By *aron Van WinkleMan
2 weeks ago

Oldham

"It’s a bit stalky. Imagine being told ‘go and spy on them!’ Because that’s it in a nutshell shell.

Yep, I wouldn't want that job. Snooping on colleagues. "

It’s like being a mod….

😬

^nobody else ? 😅

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By *inkyycurvyyWoman
2 weeks ago

Manchester

This is why I'm glad I don't have Facebook or twitter etc anymore and only sporadically post on instagram which is locked down and private. I think most companies monitor your online presence these days, even before you work for them they will do an online search when you apply for a job and scour your accounts. My organisation has a specific policy about social media. I've seen plenty of people fired for things they've done online outside of work hours. That is pretty much the main reason I don't show my full face on my public pics, plausible deniability. It only takes someone I know from work on an anonymous profile to screenshot me half naked and send it to my boss

We live in a surveillance age, it's probably only gonna get worse.

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By *enSiskoMan
2 weeks ago

Cestus 3

This is the only social media I use.

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By *en_Dover79Man
2 weeks ago

Oswaldtwistle

If they are paying you under contract to work for them and the person is taking the P1ss then I am all for it. Too many duckers and divers in this country

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By *ophieslutTV/TS
2 weeks ago

Central

I dislike privacy being intruded upon and there ought to be greater protection for individuals

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By *icecouple561Couple
Forum Mod
2 weeks ago

East Sussex

[Removed by poster at 31/03/25 13:41:48]

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By *avie65Man
2 weeks ago

In the west.

A few years ago my manager had what she called a chat with me because of something I had posted on FB. I saw an article from the local paper on FB and made a comment, which wasn’t inflammatory. The person in question was in court for a sex offence and had a very very tenuous like to my employer.

My manager said I shouldn’t have posted it because…at this point I stopped her and said I hadn’t indicated where I worked either on my profile or in the comment and that if she carried on I would take it further.

She said it was because managers had been told by the person at the very top not to bring the employer into disrepute. This had not been disseminated to us mere mortals.

It wasn’t even my manager who saw the post it was her colleague who used to be part of our team but became a manager in a different location, but still the same department. As I was leaving her office I told her that I was going to sort the problem as I’d be deleting her and her colleague as friends and blocking them as well.

It was quite ironic as management wanted everyone to use SM, in all its guises to help promote what we did. Let’s just say it would be a cold day in hell before I did that and said as much in team meetings when it was brought up.

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By *entleman_spyMan
2 weeks ago

nearby

A smart person would use a public social media page to back their lies up.

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By *ansoffateMan
2 weeks ago

Sagittarius A

If it's public then you've chosen to make it public.

If they've used some method to circumvent your privacy then it's a breach of privacy.

Employees grassing on each other over that kind of thing is dirty in my opinion. Sure if it's some criminal act or whatever that's different, but bubbling someone for pulling a sicky is scum in itself.

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By *reative-mindMan
2 weeks ago

exeter

I actually have this (sort of) but I'm actively looking to work within the social media industry.

I'd say a lot of companies do google an employee and view their social media or will use it against you if they need to.

My tip is lock everything as much as you can and sadly think before you post or like anything.

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