Why exam impersonation is the first risk to close
Exam impersonation is when someone other than the registered candidate sits the paper, or part of it. In India it is often called a proxy in an online exam, or a dummy candidate exam. In a hall, an invigilator compares a hall ticket with a face. Online, the same check has to happen through the camera and the session itself.
The damage goes beyond one result. Impersonation weakens the value of every qualification the institution awards and is unfair to candidates who sat honestly, and without a record it is hard to prove after the fact. Identity checks therefore need to be continuous, logged and reviewed by people.
We describe what impersonation is so exam offices can plan for it, and we don’t publish how it is attempted. For your institution, the point is that every identity check leaves a record and a person reviews any mismatch.
How Proctorly verifies each candidate
Student identity verification on Proctorly works in layers. You choose which layers each exam uses, and every check is logged separately in the candidate’s case record.
Photo ID capture
Before the exam starts, the candidate holds a government or institutional photo ID up to the camera. You decide for each exam whether photo ID capture is required. End-semester exams commonly use student ID verification, while entrance and certification exams usually ask for a government ID.
Continuous face verification with replay rejection
The candidate’s face is matched at the start of the exam and then continuously through the session. Checking only at login leaves a gap, since the riskiest moment often comes later in the exam. Proctorly also rejects photo or video replays held up to the camera.
People often search for this as face recognition for exams. In practice it is face matching against the candidate’s own check, and it confirms that the same person is still present. It does not judge the candidate’s emotions, personality or intent, and we don’t infer any of these from a face or a voice.
Active liveness for high-stakes exams
High-stakes exams can add active liveness, a short challenge the candidate completes on camera before the exam starts, as a further check that a live person is present. Certification and licensing bodies usually pair it with photo ID capture and the Live dedicated level.
Signing in with an institution account
Single sign-on with an institution account, through Microsoft or Google, is planned. For LMS exams, Moodle monitoring with OAuth and LTI 1.3 is live and supports Canvas, Blackboard, and other learning platforms, so candidates sign in through their LMS today.
A match is a signal, not a verdict
A face check can fail because of a lighting change, a weak webcam, a new haircut or a dropped connection, and none of those is impersonation. So on Proctorly a failed identity check goes to a person, never to an automatic fail.
The process runs like this:
- The failed check is logged with its time and the snapshot or clip that triggered it.
- A reviewer opens the case at that moment, with webcam, screen and events on one timeline. At the Recorded level the reviewer is one of your own trained staff. At Every flag reviewed and the live levels, a trained Proctorly reviewer looks first.
- At the live levels, a proctor can contact the candidate by chat or audio while the exam is running.
- The reviewer records a decision with a reason. Only confirmed incidents move on to your malpractice workflow, where a committee records the final decision.
Exam impersonation detection is only as fair as the review behind it. Read how human review proctoring handles every flag, identity flags included.
Choosing identity checks for each exam
Candidate verification should match the stakes. Too many checks on a weekly quiz frustrate students, and too few on a licensing exam weaken the credential. Typical setups look like this:
| Exam type | Typical identity setup | Typical assurance level |
|---|---|---|
| Quizzes and internal assessments | Continuous face verification | Recorded |
| End-semester exams | Continuous face verification, photo ID capture (student ID) | Every flag reviewed |
| Entrance and admissions screening | Continuous face verification, photo ID capture (government ID) | Every flag reviewed or Live pop-in |
| Certification and licensing | Continuous face verification, photo ID capture, active liveness, live check-in | Live dedicated |
At the Live dedicated level, a proctor runs a live check-in and confirms identity before the candidate starts. Our live proctoring page explains how live sessions are staffed.
Everything here works on a standard laptop, desktop, tablet or mobile phone with a camera, in Chrome, Safari, Edge or Ulaa. Online exam identity verification by webcam needs no extra hardware.
What we capture, why, and when it is deleted
Biometric verification in an exam comes with real privacy obligations. Before the exam starts, Proctorly tells candidates what is captured, why and when it will be deleted. Nothing is monitored in secret.
- Face checks are kept only as hashed, unchangeable signatures, and only when an institution runs repeat exams for the same students.
- They are deleted on request when the contract ends.
- Your institution sets the retention period for ID images and recordings in each exam policy. A documented deletion process across live storage and backups is planned.
- Candidate recordings and data are not used to train AI models unless your institution opts in.
Read more about proctoring privacy and how candidate data is handled.
Candidates who cannot use face verification
If some of your candidates can’t use face verification, talk to us and we’ll plan the exam with you.
Frequently asked questions
What is identity verification for online exams?
It is the set of checks that confirms the registered candidate is the person sitting the exam. On Proctorly that can mean photo ID capture before the exam, face verification at the start and continuously through the session, rejection of photo or video replays, and an active liveness challenge for high-stakes exams. Each check is logged in the candidate’s case record, so a reviewer can see what happened and when.
Does a failed face check mean the candidate fails the exam?
No. A failed check is a signal for review, and poor lighting, a weak webcam or a dropped connection can all cause a mismatch. A person opens the case at the flagged moment, looks at the evidence and records a decision with a reason. Only confirmed incidents reach your malpractice committee, and your institution makes the final decision.
How does Proctorly help with exam impersonation detection?
Proctorly checks the face at login and continuously during the exam, so if a different person takes over partway through, a flag is raised. It also rejects photo and video replays, can require photo ID and adds active liveness for high-stakes exams. At the live levels, a proctor confirms identity at check-in. Because no check is perfect, every flag goes to a trained reviewer before anything reaches your committee.
Do candidates need special hardware for identity checks?
No. Candidates need a laptop, desktop, tablet or mobile phone with a camera and microphone, running Chrome, Safari, Edge or Ulaa, on a connection of at least 512 Kbps download and 128 Kbps upload. Some exams also ask for the small Proctorly desktop app on Windows, and the exam link will say so before exam day.
How is face data stored, and when is it deleted?
Candidates are told what is captured and why before the exam starts. Face checks are kept only as hashed, unchangeable signatures, and only when your institution runs repeat exams for the same students, and they are deleted on request when the contract ends. Your institution sets retention for ID images and recordings. Data is hosted in the client’s geographic location by default, with other AWS regions available.