Does HackerRank Record Your Screen?

HackerRank records your screen only when the employer has enabled Proctor Mode or Desktop App Mode. In Proctor Mode you must share your entire screen, and the platform captures a screenshot every 15 seconds. In Desktop App Mode the native application records the full screen for replay. Secure Mode and default tests capture nothing from your display; they log browser events such as tab switches and pastes. This is the documented behavior as of September 9, 2026.

Which HackerRank modes capture the screen

HackerRank's Test Integrity documentation separates three modes, and only the top two involve your display.

Secure Mode "enforces full-screen mode, blocks copy and paste actions, prevents the use of multiple monitors, and alerts when candidates switch tabs." Each of those is a browser event or a browser-enforced constraint. None of them produces an image of your screen, and the browser never asks for screen-sharing permission.

Proctor Mode adds "AI-powered features such as screenshot analysis, plagiarism detection, and webcam anomaly detection." Screenshot analysis requires screenshots, which requires screen access.

Desktop App Mode adds "operating system–level monitoring to create a fully locked-down environment." Because it is a native application, it does not depend on a browser permission prompt at all.

What Proctor Mode records from your screen

The Proctor Mode documentation lists screen sharing as a required permission: "Screen sharing access: Allows the system to monitor the candidate's screen activity during the test." HackerRank describes the share as the entire screen, not a single tab or window.

On frequency, the documentation states that the system "captures screenshots every 15 seconds. When the system detects suspicious activity such as window switching or exiting full-screen mode, it reduces the capture interval to five seconds". A 60-minute test therefore produces roughly 240 screenshots at the baseline rate, and more if you trigger an event.

These are still images, not continuous video. HackerRank assembles them into a Session Replay that "provides a timeline-based, video-style view of the test session," synchronized with webcam images and integrity events.

What the screenshot analysis looks for

The screenshots are classified automatically. HackerRank documents five categories the analysis targets:

• "Tutorial websites, answer-sharing platforms, or GitHub repositories hosting leaked solutions"
• "External AI coding assistants, such as third-party AI tools or copilots, not integrated within HackerRank's IDE"
• "Specialized browser extensions or invisible overlay applications that assist in answering coding questions"
• "Collaboration tools, such as video conferencing, messaging, or remote desktop applications"
• "Question-leaking tools, such as screen recorders or screenshot applications running in the background"

Reviewers then see each screenshot classified as "suspicious" or "not suspicious" with an explanation. The classification is a model's judgment, and HackerRank's report is designed for a human to review it rather than act on it automatically.

What Desktop App Mode records

The Desktop App Mode documentation describes the Session Replay as including a full screen recording alongside integrity events and webcam images by timestamp. The app also reverses the direction of control: it "prevents candidates from sharing remote access to their systems" and prevents "sharing their screen or taking screenshots" themselves. In this mode HackerRank captures your display and you cannot.

Can HackerRank detect if you share your screen with someone else?

This is a different question from whether HackerRank records your screen, and the answer depends on the tier.

In default tracking and Secure Mode, no. A web page runs inside the browser sandbox and cannot enumerate the other applications on your machine, so a meeting client sharing your display is invisible to the test page. The mechanics are covered in what interview websites can see about running applications.

In Proctor Mode, indirectly. If the meeting window, a chat panel, or a screen-share toolbar is visible on the display when a screenshot fires, it appears in the capture and falls into the "Collaboration tools" category above. A share that leaves nothing visible on screen would not appear in a screenshot, but the tab and full-screen events still would.

In Desktop App Mode, the documentation says the app "Blocks the use of other applications during the test, including tools such as Cluely, video conferencing, messaging applications, or LLM applications." You are asked to close everything before starting, and the app can force-close what remains.

What this means for candidates

If the setup screen asks for screen sharing, assume everything visible on your display for the length of the test will be captured, stored in a replay, and classified. Close personal documents, messaging apps, and password managers before you grant the permission. If it does not ask, HackerRank is not capturing your screen, though it is still logging every time you leave the test window.

How a screen share differs from a tab or window share, and what a reviewer sees in each case, is covered in what interviewers can see when you share your screen. The camera side of the same permission screen is in when HackerRank uses your webcam. For the complete list of signals by mode, see what HackerRank proctoring detects and records.