What is Proctorio?
Proctorio is an automated online proctoring tool used by colleges and universities. It comes as a browser extension and works inside common learning management systems, so students open a proctored quiz from the course page they already use.
In short, Proctorio records whatever the instructor chooses to record during the exam, raises flags when it sees certain events and gives the instructor a review screen afterwards. In the general model, nobody watches live. The instructor or the exam office reviews the session once the exam is over.
How does Proctorio work, step by step
Broadly, a session goes like this:
- Settings. The instructor chooses the exam settings in the LMS, such as webcam, audio or screen recording, a room scan, ID verification and browser restrictions.
- Extension. The student installs the Proctorio extension in a supported browser such as Chrome.
- Pre-exam checks. The student completes whatever checks the exam requires: camera, microphone, ID or a room scan.
- The exam. The extension records according to the settings and applies any browser restrictions.
- Flags. The software marks moments that match the events the instructor asked it to watch for.
- Review. The instructor opens the review screen, watches the flagged moments and decides what needs follow-up, if anything.
Think of Proctorio proctoring as a toolkit. Your exam office should agree on a standard set of settings for each type of exam so students get a consistent experience.
What can Proctorio see?
Proctorio sees only what the exam’s settings turn on. With webcam recording on, it sees the webcam view. With screen recording on, it sees the screen, and if a room scan is required, it sees the room at the start. Anything outside the camera’s view stays invisible, and no webcam-based product sees everything.
Does Proctorio record you, your screen and audio?
If those settings are on, Proctorio can record the webcam, the screen and audio during the exam. So “does Proctorio record you”, “does Proctorio record your screen” and “does Proctorio record audio” share one answer: it depends on the exam. Put the recording settings for each exam in its instructions, and students won’t have to guess.
The Proctorio room scan and camera view
A room scan is a short video, recorded before the exam, in which the student turns the webcam around the room and desk. Students often ask what the Proctorio camera view looks like and what will appear on their screen. Proctorio’s current documentation shows the current student view. A practice quiz is also worth setting up, so students meet the setup before an exam that counts.
What does Proctorio flag?
Automated proctoring tools like Proctorio usually flag the events the instructor asks them to watch for, such as a face leaving the frame or the candidate leaving the exam page. The instructor sees those flagged moments in the review screen. For the events Proctorio flags today, check its current documentation.
Eye movement, phones and second monitors
The answers to “does Proctorio track eye movement”, “can Proctorio detect phones” and “can Proctorio detect second monitor” depend on Proctorio’s current features and on the settings chosen. Its current documentation will give you the exact answer.
Whatever a product can measure, movement by itself is not misconduct. People look away to think. Some read questions aloud, some use assistive tools and some move because of a disability. Any flag based on movement or audio needs a person to look at it in context.
Is Proctorio safe? The privacy questions institutions should ask
“Is Proctorio safe” is a fair question to ask of any proctoring product, since proctoring captures video, audio and screen activity from students’ homes. The decision belongs to your institution, so put these questions to any vendor:
- What data is captured at each setting, and why?
- Where is it stored, in which country and for how long?
- Who can access recordings, and is every access logged?
- How is data deleted, backups included?
- Is student data used to train AI models?
- What are students told before the exam about what is captured?
Proctorio’s current documentation and data agreements should have its answers.
Why students search for Proctorio cheating, and what institutions should take from it
“Proctorio cheating” and “how to cheat Proctorio” are among the biggest searches around this product. The takeaway for institutions is that rules, exam design and review all have to work together, which matters far more than whether any one tool can be beaten.
We don’t describe methods. Here is what your exam office needs, category by category:
- Help on another device. Phones, tablets or a second screen. Camera views, room scans, extra-monitor detection and clear rules deter most of this and bring the rest to light.
- AI assistants. Chatbots used during the exam. Browser restrictions, AI-tool detection and questions that test reasoning lower the risk.
- Another person. Someone helping in the room, or sitting the exam in the student’s place. Identity checks and camera and audio signals deal with this.
- Leaving the exam. Other tabs, apps or windows. Browser restrictions and screen recording deal with this.
If you are a student reading this, these behaviors are exactly what proctoring is built to notice, and attempts usually leave a record that a reviewer will see. Integrity protects what your own degree is worth.
See our page on what we can and cannot see for an honest account of where any camera-based product’s view ends.
Reviewing Proctorio flags fairly
When faculty review flags themselves, a short checklist keeps decisions consistent:
- Watch the flagged moment with a few seconds on either side, because context changes what you see.
- Rule out a technical cause first, such as a frozen camera, a dropped connection or low light.
- Check the student’s accommodations before you treat movement or audio as a concern.
- Write down, in plain words, what you saw and why you decided as you did.
- Send genuine concerns to your institution’s integrity process, and never penalize a student on a flag alone.
See how human review proctoring builds this discipline into the Proctorly workflow.
How Proctorly handles the same situations
Proctorly works differently. Here is how it covers the same ground, and we don’t claim it suits every institution.
- You pick an assurance level per exam. The options are Recorded (your staff review in the reviewer console), Every flag reviewed (a trained Proctorly reviewer looks at every flag first), Live pop-in and Live dedicated.
- The reviewer console opens each case at the flagged moment with webcam, screen and events on one timeline, and every decision needs a reason.
- A review priority score shows the signals behind it and is labeled as a priority for review, never as a finding.
- Audio and movement are raised as signals for a person to review in context. Reading aloud, assistive tools, household noise and disability-related movement are not misconduct.
- Extra monitors, second devices in view and AI tools from a maintained list are detected. On Windows, an optional desktop agent also checks for extra displays, USB and Bluetooth devices and more.
- No emotion, personality or suspicion scoring, and candidates learn what is captured before the exam starts.
Explore online proctoring at Proctorly, or read the Honorlock vs Proctorio comparison.
Frequently asked questions
How does Proctorio work?
Going by its public descriptions, the instructor chooses settings for each exam in the LMS, the student installs a browser extension and completes any checks, and the extension records the session according to those settings. The software flags certain events, and the instructor reviews them afterwards. Proctorio’s current documentation lists the settings available today.
What can Proctorio see?
Proctorio sees only what the exam’s settings turn on, such as the webcam, the screen, audio or a room scan at the start. It can’t see outside the camera’s view. Settings vary between exams, so a student’s clearest answer is in that exam’s own instructions, which should list exactly what is recorded.
Does Proctorio track eye movement?
That depends on Proctorio’s current features and the settings an instructor picks, so check its current documentation. For institutions, what matters more is that looking away is normal, since people look away to think or read. A person should review any movement-based flag from any product in context before it affects a student.
Is Proctorio safe for our students’ data?
Your institution should judge that against its own policy and local law. Ask what is captured at each setting, where it is stored and for how long, who can access it, how deletion works and whether data trains AI models. Check Proctorio’s current documentation and data agreements, and ask every other vendor on your shortlist the same questions.
How is Proctorly different from Proctorio?
Proctorly hosts the exam itself and lets you choose an assurance level for each exam. At the Every flag reviewed level, a trained Proctorly reviewer looks at every flag and records a decision with a reason before it reaches you, so your faculty aren’t left reviewing recordings alone. Your institution still makes the final finding, with an evidence pack in hand.