HackerEarth proctoring: what it records and flags

HackerEarth proctoring is a set of individual switches rather than a single mode, and the employer chooses which are on. In an ordinary browser the controls are: webcam snapshots at random intervals, a warning-then-logout rule for leaving the test window (HackerEarth suggests five warnings), full-screen enforcement, copy-paste blocking, government ID verification through Aadhaar or PAN, opt-in audio recording, entire-screen monitoring on Chromium browsers, and IP restriction. Audio is documented as off by default; screen monitoring is a separate setting.

The second environment is Smart Browser, a desktop application installed from the invitation email and available on Windows, Ubuntu and recent macOS. Inside it, HackerEarth blocks sharing or recording the test window, screenshots, switching to other applications, resizing the window and using a second display. Linux support is one thing that distinguishes it from HackerRank's desktop app. Which environment you are in is obvious from the invitation: a Smart Browser download link means the heavier envelope.

The recruiter's report lists the number of tab switches, the integrity index, whether plagiarism was found, the audio recording if enabled, whether the webcam snapshots met the proctoring guidelines, and whether ID verification passed. The integrity index has three levels: Acceptable, Marginally Acceptable (violations that need review but do not disqualify automatically) and Unacceptable (significant or repeated violations). It is computed mainly from the events above, so a noisy notification that pulls focus counts the same as a deliberate exit.

Plagiarism is checked two ways. Within a test, each candidate's best submission is compared line by line with everyone else's, and a match above 85 percent flags both. Against the internet, an AI-assisted check compares submissions with public code. Neither check is an AI-use detector as such; a model-generated solution to an unusual problem is often less similar to other submissions, not more.

The posts below take the questions one at a time: whether HackerEarth is proctored and what the settings reveal, whether it records video or your screen, what it flags as cheating, how it treats tab switching and copy-paste, and what a HackerEarth test looks like step by step. Facts are quoted from HackerEarth's own documentation and are current as of September 2026.

Read the pre-test screens: a webcam prompt, a microphone prompt, an Aadhaar verification button or a full-screen launch each tells you a switch is on. Ask the recruiter in writing about resources and AI when the instructions are silent, and if outside help is prohibited, prepare with it beforehand and take the test alone.