Does Proctorio Record Your Screen? What the Software Actually Captures

If you've been assigned an online exam that uses Proctorio, you've probably wondered exactly what it can see — and what it's recording. The short answer is yes, Proctorio can record your screen, but what it captures, how much of it, and under what conditions depends on several layers of settings that your institution controls.

What Proctorio Is and How It Works

Proctorio is a remote proctoring browser extension built for Google Chrome. It integrates directly with learning management systems (LMS) like Canvas, Blackboard, and Moodle. When an instructor enables Proctorio for a test, it activates during the exam session and monitors activity based on a specific set of permissions the institution has configured.

It's important to understand that Proctorio doesn't operate with a single fixed set of rules. It's a configurable platform — the school, university, or testing body decides which monitoring features are switched on. That distinction matters a lot for understanding what's actually happening during your exam.

Yes, Screen Recording Is One of Proctorio's Core Features

Screen recording is among Proctorio's primary monitoring tools. When enabled, it captures what's displayed on your monitor throughout the exam. This typically includes:

• The browser window and any content visible on your screen
• Tab switching or attempts to navigate away from the exam
• Any applications or windows visible if screen sharing is in effect

Proctorio uses the browser's built-in screen capture API, which means it works at the software level — not by accessing your operating system's deeper functions independently of the browser.

Other Things Proctorio May Monitor (Beyond the Screen)

Screen recording is just one piece. Depending on institutional settings, Proctorio can also enable:

Not every exam uses all of these. An instructor running a low-stakes quiz might only enable basic browser lockdown, while a high-stakes certification exam might activate the full suite.

Who Controls What Gets Recorded?

This is a critical point many students miss: the test-taker has no control over which features are active. Those decisions are made by the instructor or institution when building the exam. Proctorio's dashboard gives administrators granular control over every monitoring toggle.

What you can know: Proctorio is required to display a privacy policy notice before the exam begins, and Chrome will show permission prompts when the extension requests access to your camera or microphone. If those prompts appear, those features are enabled for your session.

How Long Is the Data Kept? 🔒

Recorded data is stored on Proctorio's encrypted servers. Access to recordings is typically restricted to authorized instructors or exam reviewers — not Proctorio staff themselves, under normal circumstances. The data retention period varies by institutional agreement, but recordings are generally held for a defined period tied to the academic term or testing cycle.

Proctorio has published documentation claiming it uses zero-knowledge encryption for stored recordings, meaning the company itself cannot view exam content without the institution's key. Whether and how institutions actually implement and audit this is a separate question worth verifying directly with your school.

Does It Record Your Entire Desktop or Just the Browser?

This depends on the screen sharing mode configured. There are generally two behaviors:

• Tab/window capture: Only the Chrome window running the exam is captured
• Full screen/desktop capture: The entire display is shared, including anything else visible

Most standard Proctorio configurations capture the exam window and flag navigation away from it, rather than recording your full desktop continuously. However, some high-security exam environments do require full-screen desktop sharing. Chrome will display a visible indicator (a highlighted border or status bar notice) whenever screen sharing is active.

What Triggers a Flag vs. a Recording?

Proctorio doesn't just passively record — it also uses automated behavioral analysis to flag suspicious activity. Common triggers include:

• Navigating away from the exam tab
• Unusual eye movement patterns (if eye tracking is on)
• Multiple faces detected in the webcam feed
• Sounds detected in the audio feed
• Copy/paste attempts

These flags are typically reviewed by a human — the instructor or a third-party reviewer — before any action is taken. Proctorio's automated system generates a suspicion score, but the final determination is supposed to rest with a person. 🎓

The Variables That Determine Your Specific Experience

Understanding that Proctorio can record your screen is the baseline. What actually applies to you depends on:

• Which features your institution has enabled for the specific exam
• Your device setup — some features behave differently on multi-monitor systems, where additional screens may also be captured or flagged
• Your browser and OS version — Proctorio requires a current Chrome build, and behavior can vary with OS-level screen sharing permissions, particularly on macOS which has its own screen recording permission controls
• The exam's security tier — a final exam in a credentialed program will almost always have stricter settings than a practice quiz

On macOS, for example, you may need to manually grant Chrome permission to record your screen in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording before Proctorio can function. This is the OS enforcing its own layer of consent, separate from what Proctorio itself requests.

What You Actually Know Before Sitting Down

Before your exam, the practical steps that give you real information are:

1. Check the exam instructions for any mention of proctoring settings
2. Review the permission prompts Chrome displays when launching the exam
3. Contact your instructor or academic technology office if the monitoring scope isn't clear

The exact combination of recording and monitoring features active during your specific exam — on your specific device and OS — is what shapes your actual experience.