Does Mettl Detect Tab Switching? Browsing Tolerance Explained

Yes. Mercer Mettl's browsing tolerance feature counts every time you leave the test window, shows a warning each time, and can end the test when you pass a limit the employer chose. As of September 9, 2026, Mettl documents this as a per-test setting, so the limit may be generous, strict, or zero. Copy-paste is blocked by default on every test, print-screen is blocked, and in a proctored test the screen share photographs whatever tab you switched to. Mettl cannot read the content of a tab it did not capture.

How browsing tolerance works

Mettl's Start Assessing Better guide defines it: "Browsing tolerance keeps track of the number of times a candidate navigates away from the test window, wherein a warning is displayed to them each time they do so." The administrator can set a limit on the number of warnings beyond which the test is terminated, and a "Show Warnings Remaining" option displays the remaining count to the candidate.

The strictest setting has no warning at all. Mettl's anti-cheating measures page lists the option "No Warning – the test will be terminated without any warning if the candidate navigates outside." Whether your test uses a limit of ten, three, or zero is not shown in advance unless the warning counter is on; the instructions page is the place to look.

What counts as navigating away is any loss of focus by the test window: another tab, another application, a notification you click, a pop-up. The browser events behind this are the same on every platform and are explained in how interview websites detect tab switching.

What Mettl logs and what it cannot see

The log is a count, and the count feeds the report. Browsing Tolerance is one of the seven inputs to Mettl's Candidate Credibility Index, and AWAY_FROM_WINDOW is one of the eight AI flags in the remote proctoring overview. Two exits that a recruiter sees only as a number can still lower an index they use to rank you.

A browser cannot read other tabs. What it observes is that its own window lost focus, and for how long. If the test is proctored, the entire-screen share changes that: Mettl's documentation says the platform "captures the candidate's screen & Camera feed snapshots at every 60 seconds," and a live proctor can view the test screen as you work. The tab you switched to is not read through the browser; it is photographed through the share. That capture is described in whether Mettl records your screen.

Copy-paste and print-screen

Mettl's test settings documentation states: "By default, the Mettl platform does not allow copy/paste on or from the test window. However, if there is any such requirement during the test, we can enable this setting." The anti-cheating page adds "Blocking 'copy-paste', 'print-screen' controls." Unlike some platforms, Mettl documents blocking rather than logging pasted content; what a paste event can and cannot prove is covered in how interview websites detect copy and paste.

Refreshing is its own trap. Mettl's non-proctored guide warns: "Don't refresh the webpage during the assessment. This will lead to immediate submission of your responses."

Tab switching inside the Mettl Secure Browser

In the lockdown browser there is nowhere to switch to. Mettl's MSB guide says it "restricts access to different activities, such as switching to other websites and screens during the exam" and "shuts down all active applications, such as other browsers." On the mobile app, Android's Pin Mode keeps you in the app. Requirements are in the Mettl Secure Browser requirements guide.

Disconnection is not a tab switch, but it has its own limit

Losing your connection does not count as navigating away, but Mettl's test-taker guide lists exceeding disconnection limits among the auto-submit triggers, and a "Test Stop on Disconnection" setting can end the test after a set period offline. Mettl's technical issues page says "it usually takes 7-8 minutes for the Resume button to be enabled" after a drop, and that answers are saved. A wired connection above 512 kbps removes most of this risk.

What this means for candidates

Treat every focus change as counted, and assume the limit may be zero. Close other applications, silence notifications, and keep the test window maximized. If the instructions allow reference material, ask the recruiter in writing whether opening it in another tab is permitted, because the counter does not know the difference. For everything else Mettl records, see what Mettl proctoring records and flags.