Background
What Proctoring Software Can (and Can't) Detect on Your Browser
Proctoring software gets credit for capabilities it doesn't have, and skipped for ones it does. Here's the actual model.
February 18, 2026 · Updated April 26, 2026 · FastSolve Team
Most discussion of proctoring software is either marketing copy or rumor. Here's what the public technical documentation says these tools can and cannot see — drawn from vendor docs, not assumptions.
What they consistently can see
- Tab switches and window focus changes within the locked test
- Webcam video and audio while the test is open
- Screen activity through screen-recording APIs
- Browser-level events: paste, right-click, dev-tools open
- Network connections from the locked browser, on some products
What they typically can't see
- Activity on a completely separate device
- Background processes running outside the locked browser (varies by product)
- Content of input fields after submission, beyond what the LMS records
- Browser extensions, when extensions are explicitly allowed by the test config
The honest grey area
Locked-down browsers (Respondus LockDown specifically) disable extensions, kill clipboard access, and block screen recorders. If a test is configured for LockDown, treat it as fully observed. Honorlock and Proctorio in their default modes do not lock the browser to that degree, but they do flag suspicious behavior.
What this means for studying
Read the syllabus and the proctoring tool's instructions before each exam. The configuration matters more than the product name. Tools that work fine in Honorlock often won't work in Respondus.