What Does Proctorio Record? Settings, Flags and Privacy (2026)

Proctorio records only what your instructor or exam administrator switches on for that exam. The options are your webcam video, your microphone audio, your screen, the websites you visit (web traffic) and a scan of your desk or room, plus ID and identity checks before you start. Every enabled setting is listed on the "Before You Begin" page you see before the exam opens. After the exam, Proctorio's software flags moments it considers unusual and gives each attempt a suspicion score, but it does not decide anything: a person at your school reviews the recordings and makes any decision. This guide explains each setting, the review screen instructors use, and what Proctorio says about encryption and retention, using Proctorio's own documentation and a university configuration guide.

Last verified: October 12, 2026 against the official documentation linked below.

Proctorio in one paragraph

Proctorio is an automated remote proctoring service that runs as a browser extension called Secure Exam Proctor, with an optional desktop Companion App for stricter settings and a mobile app for some exams. It plugs into the learning management system your course already uses: Proctorio says it "integrates natively with Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, Brightspace, and Open LMS". The instructor turns Proctorio on for a specific quiz, picks the settings, and the extension enforces them only while that quiz is open. Proctorio's help center FAQ states that the extension is active only during the proctoring session and does not collect data after it ends, and that you can remove the apps after your exam and reinstall them later (unless your device is managed by your institution).

By default Proctorio is automated, meaning no person watches you live. Live proctoring exists as an option: Proctorio's About Proctorio article says live proctors "may provide real-time oversight and just-in-time support when enabled". Whether your exam uses it is your institution's choice.

The exam settings your instructor chooses

Proctorio settings are grouped into four families in the Proctorio Settings tab of the quiz. Oregon State University's Ecampus publishes the settings it recommends to faculty, which is a useful real-world example of what a student is likely to meet (OSU Ecampus, Proctorio Recommended Settings). That guide also notes an important rule: the exam settings "can only be set/changed prior to students engaging with the Canvas Quiz", so everyone in a section takes the exam under the same conditions.

Recording settings

Proctorio's privacy notice confirms the structure: the institution "determines whether audio and/or video is used to monitor and/or record exam sessions", and Record Screen, Record Web Traffic and Record Room / Periodic Desk Scan are additional options. The company's security article puts it the other way round: Proctorio records a test taker only when the exam administrator chooses the video or audio recording option (Proctorio, data security and test-taker privacy). A practical consequence: if your exam has Record Video on, you are being recorded from the first second to submission, and the Periodic Scan option interrupts you to rescan your desk. OSU warns faculty that during a periodic scan "the exam clock does not stop".

Lock down options

Lock down options restrict what your browser and computer can do while the exam is open. They do not record anything themselves, but a blocked action can still show up in the review. The OSU list includes:

• Force Full Screen (with a moderate or severe level; severe locks you out if you leave full screen).
• Only One Screen: a second monitor must be disconnected.
• Disable New Tabs, or "In Quiz Links Only" when the exam links to allowed resources.
• Close Open Tabs, Disable Printing, Disable Clipboard, Disable Right Click, Block Downloads, Clear Cache and Prevent Incognito.
• Disable Extensions: OSU describes it as preventing the use of in-browser, AI-enabled extensions, while leaving some accessibility extensions working.
• Prevent Re-entry: if you get disconnected, you cannot return without your instructor reopening the exam.
• Advanced Program Detection, Advanced VM Detection and Advanced Hardware Detection: these require the Proctorio Companion App, a desktop application installed alongside the extension, and watch for other programs, virtual machines and changes to your webcam or microphone during the exam.

If you are wondering how this compares with what Canvas alone records, our guide Does Canvas detect Chrome extensions? explains that the LMS itself has no documented extension list, while a proctoring extension like Proctorio can turn extensions off for the duration of the exam.

Verification options and in-quiz tools

Before the exam starts, Proctorio can ask you to complete checks: Verify Video and Verify Audio (your webcam and microphone work), Verify Desktop (screen sharing works), Verify ID (you hold a photo ID to the camera), Verify Signature and Verify Login (used with some publisher platforms). The privacy notice says identity verification can involve your name, government ID number, date of birth and photo, and that "your institution controls your identity verification data". The in-quiz tools are an on-screen Calculator and Whiteboard, which your instructor enables only when the exam calls for them.

How Proctorio flags behaviour: suspicion levels and abnormalities

After an attempt, Proctorio processes the data it was allowed to collect and produces two kinds of signals for the reviewer.

• Frame metrics. Events within your own recording, such as your face leaving the frame, multiple faces, looking away, raised audio levels, leaving full screen, or navigating away. Proctorio's security article describes it simply: if its face detection or gaze detection software finds something unusual, it flags it to the exam administrator.
• Exam metrics (abnormalities). Comparisons between your attempt and the rest of the class, for example an unusually short completion time or more navigation events than everyone else. OSU notes these comparisons are useful in large sections but "may not be helpful for small course sections".

The two are combined into a suspicion level (OSU calls it a "suspiciousness score") for each attempt. Here is the part most students do not know: the weighting is adjustable after the exam. OSU's Proctorio Review Center guidance explains that the exam settings are fixed once students start, but the Behavior Settings and Frame Metrics "are customizable at any time, and intentionally so". An instructor can choose a preset such as "Recommended" for closed-book exams or "Open Note" for exams where materials are allowed, or move individual sliders. Example from the guide: if students keep getting flagged for background noise or for reading aloud to themselves, the instructor can lower the weight of Audio Levels, click Update Proctorio Settings, and every student's score is recalculated.

That has two consequences. First, a high suspicion score is a ranking, not a finding: the same video can score high under one preset and low under another. Second, the score does not touch your grade. The quiz grade comes from the LMS; the score is only a way to sort the class so the reviewer knows which recordings to look at first.

Who reviews the flags and who decides

Proctorio is explicit that it does not make integrity decisions. The help center says "Proctorio does not make determinations about misconduct or outcomes" and that "all decisions remain with the administrator". The security article repeats that Proctorio "flags behaviors; it does not make decisions" and does not use technology that makes exam integrity decisions through an algorithm. In practice the reviewer is your instructor, a teaching assistant, or a staff member your school designates, and any formal allegation goes through your institution's academic integrity process, not Proctorio.

What the instructor sees: the Gradebook / Review Center

Instructors open Proctorio's results from the quiz page in the LMS. In Canvas, Oregon State describes a Proctorio Review Center link on the right-hand side of the quiz; older guides and many schools still call the same screen the Proctorio Gradebook. The layout is broadly:

• A class list with each attempt, submission time, score and the suspicion level, sorted so the highest levels are at the top.
• For each student, a timeline of flagged incidents. OSU's guide says clicking a student shows "timestamps and corresponding video clips for the behaviors/incidents in question", so the reviewer can jump straight to them.
• The recordings that were enabled: webcam, audio, screen, web traffic list, desk scan and ID images.
• A Proctorio Settings tab with the Behavior Settings described above, which re-sorts the list when changed.

What the instructor sees vs what Proctorio does not record

The LMS keeps its own records in parallel. In Canvas, that means the quiz log and the Access Report described in What professors see in Canvas quiz logs and Does Canvas track tab switching?.

Encryption, retention and who can watch your recording

Proctorio's privacy commitments are among the most specific in the industry, so it is worth reading what they actually say:

• Zero-knowledge encryption. The privacy notice says Proctorio uses zero-knowledge encryption for audio, video and screen recordings and images sent by a test taker, and that "only the Institution holds the decryption keys; Proctorio cannot decrypt this content". The security article adds that nothing leaves your computer until it is encrypted.
• Who can watch. "Institutions control who can access exam data and recordings", according to the FAQ. Proctorio staff may get temporary access to help with a technical support case, which ends when the issue is resolved.
• Who controls the data. The institution is the controller and its privacy notice governs; Proctorio acts on its behalf. Proctorio says it does not sell test-taker data to third parties.
• Retention. There is no single number. Proctorio's security article says recordings might exist on its servers "for as little as 7 days" depending on the institution, and the privacy notice says Proctorio does not retain exam recordings longer than required. Your school sets the window in its contract.

If you want a recording deleted or want to know what is held about you, the request goes to your institution, because it controls the data. The privacy notice says plainly that Proctorio itself does not have the ability to edit or delete test-taker data. Ask your registrar, privacy office or the teaching-and-learning centre that runs Proctorio.

System requirements

Proctorio's system requirements page lists, for its standard setup:

Firefox and Safari are not on the supported browser list, which is the most common reason a Proctorio quiz refuses to start on a Mac.

When something goes wrong

Proctorio's troubleshooting hub covers the issues students hit most:

• An access code or password prompt. Proctorio says test takers are never required to enter an access code or password. If you see one, the extension is not running correctly: check that it is installed and enabled, update your browser, and clear the cache.
• Exam will not start. Usually a missing extension, an outdated browser or blocked third-party cookies (look for a crossed-out eye icon in the address bar).
• Other extensions. Proctorio asks you to turn off all extensions except Secure Exam Proctor.
• Multiple displays. Physically disconnect extra monitors when Only One Screen is on.
• Camera, microphone or screen sharing. Restart, check browser permissions, and select the correct screen; hidden pop-up windows are a common cause.
• Connection problems. Test your speed and turn off VPN or proxy services. Campus or workplace networks sometimes block Proctorio.
• "Authorization token has expired". Caused by inactivity in the LMS; refreshing the page is the usual fix.

Getting help during the exam. According to the FAQ, you can open a chat by clicking the Proctorio shield icon on the exam page or by visiting chat.proctorio.com, or email [email protected]; a phone number, if offered, comes from your exam administrator. Proctorio support can fix technical issues but cannot pause your timer, reopen an attempt or grant extra time; only your instructor can do that. Note also that the FAQ warns the extension may uninstall itself during an exam if you open Developer Tools or change its settings.

If you were flagged. A flag is not an accusation. If your instructor contacts you, ask which moments were flagged and explain them (a roommate walking in, a noisy room, a disconnected webcam). If the exam was taken under conditions that were approved in advance, say so and point to the email.

Accommodations. If you need extra time, breaks, a reader, assistive software, or need to be away from the camera for medical reasons, arrange it through your disability services office before the exam. Instructors can adjust settings and behavior weights for an individual exam when they know in advance, and OSU notes that the Disable Extensions setting leaves select accessibility extensions working.

Practical checklist before a Proctorio exam

• Read the Before You Begin page carefully: it lists every recording and lock down setting that applies to you.
• Install or update the extension and run any practice quiz your instructor provides.
• Use a supported browser, close other programs and unplug extra monitors.
• Pick a quiet, well-lit room; tell housemates you are being recorded.
• Confirm in writing what materials are allowed (calculator, notes, scratch paper).
• Save support contacts and your instructor's email before you start.

Your course may use a different tool. Compare them in Honorlock vs Proctorio vs Respondus, or read How Honorlock works and Respondus Monitor explained.

Sources

• Proctorio: Privacy notice
• Proctorio: How Proctorio approaches data security and test-taker privacy
• Proctorio Help Center: FAQ
• Proctorio Help Center: About Proctorio
• Proctorio: System requirements
• Proctorio Help Center: Troubleshooting
• Proctorio: Integrations
• Oregon State University Ecampus: Proctorio Recommended Settings (PDF)
• Oregon State University Ecampus: Proctorio Review Center Guidance (PDF)

FAQ

Does Proctorio record you the whole time?

If your instructor enabled Record Video, Proctorio records your webcam from the start of the attempt until you submit. Audio, screen and web traffic are separate settings. Nothing is recorded before the exam starts or after it ends, and the Before You Begin page lists what is on.

Can Proctorio see my screen and the websites I visit?

Yes, when Record Screen and Record Web Traffic are enabled for the exam. Your instructor can then review your screen during the attempt and the list of pages you visited while it was open.

What is a Proctorio suspicion level?

It is a score that ranks attempts by how many flagged moments and class-wide abnormalities they contain. Instructors can change the weighting at any time and the score is recalculated. It does not change your grade and is not a finding of misconduct.

Does Proctorio watch the recordings?

No. Proctorio says recordings are encrypted so that only your institution holds the keys, and that institutions decide who can view them. Staff may get temporary access only to resolve a technical support case.

How long does Proctorio keep recordings?

Your institution sets the retention period in its contract. Proctorio says data might be stored for as little as 7 days at some institutions. Ask your school for its policy, and send deletion requests to the school rather than to Proctorio.

Can I uninstall Proctorio after my exam?

Yes. Proctorio says you can remove its apps after an exam and reinstall them for the next one, unless your device is managed by your institution.