What the Proctorio Extension Does: Permissions and Privacy for Students

What is the Proctorio Chrome extension?

Proctorio is an automated exam-proctoring service that runs as a browser extension rather than a separate desktop app. Your school licenses it, your instructor switches it on for a specific quiz, and the extension does the watching while you take the test.

It plugs into learning management systems such as Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard and D2L Brightspace. When you open a proctored quiz inside one of those platforms, the extension takes over: it runs a pre-exam check, asks for camera and microphone access if the exam needs them, and then applies whatever restrictions your instructor picked.

The important detail for students is that Proctorio itself does not decide what is recorded. Each instructor chooses a settings profile per exam. One quiz might only lock the browser to a single tab; another might record your face, voice, screen and room. That is why two classmates can describe completely different Proctorio experiences and both be right.

Because it is an extension, it needs a desktop browser that supports it. Chrome on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS is the standard route. It does not run inside Chrome for Android or iOS, so phones and tablets are out for proctored exams. If your school supports other Chromium browsers, its exam instructions will say so; when in doubt, use Chrome.

What can Proctorio see and do during an exam?

During a proctored exam, Proctorio can record, restrict and verify, depending on the settings your instructor enabled. Nothing beyond what is listed on your exam's pre-check screen should be active for that attempt.

Before the test starts, Proctorio shows a summary of the rules for that exam. Read it. It is the most accurate description you will get of what is being captured, far more accurate than forum posts about somebody else's course.

Flags are not verdicts. Proctorio highlights moments it considers unusual, and a person at your school decides whether anything needs follow-up. If you have a reason to look away (reading from a permitted formula sheet, a disability accommodation, a noisy home), tell your instructor before the exam so the flag has context.

Web traffic recording deserves attention. When it is on, Proctorio logs the sites you visit during the attempt. That is one reason to close personal tabs, banking pages and messaging apps before you start, even if the exam only allows one tab once it begins.

Which Chrome permissions does Proctorio ask for, and why?

Proctorio asks for broad permissions because it has to work on whichever domain your school's learning platform uses and control the browser during exams. Chrome shows these as warnings when you install; the exact wording can change between versions.

Read and change all your data on all websites

Lets the extension run on your school's LMS domain and inspect or restrict pages during an exam. It is the widest host permission Chrome has, which is why it matters when the extension is active.

Capture content of your screen

Needed for screen recording. Chrome asks you to choose a screen to share at the start of the exam, so this is visible when it happens.

Manage your apps, extensions and themes

May appear so Proctorio can detect or pause other extensions that could interfere with an exam, such as screenshot or note tools.

Camera and microphone

Granted per site through Chrome's normal permission prompt, not at install time. You can review them under chrome://settings/content.

To see the live list on your own machine, open chrome://extensions, find Proctorio and click Details. The Permissions heading shows what the current version requests, and Site access shows where it may run.

Our guide to Chrome extension permissions explains each warning in plain language, including why 'all websites' access is the one to take seriously for any extension, not just exam tools.

Does Proctorio monitor you when you are not taking an exam?

Proctorio says its extension only records and restricts during a proctored exam session. Outside an exam, the camera light stays off and there is no screen-sharing prompt, both of which Chrome makes visible.

The honest caveat is technical rather than accusatory. An installed extension with access to all websites is loaded in every tab of that Chrome profile, and you are trusting its code to stay quiet when it should. That is true of any extension with this permission, including popular ad blockers and password managers.

You do not have to take that trust on faith. Two simple habits remove the question entirely:

• Keep Proctorio in a separate Chrome profile used only for coursework, so it never shares tabs, cookies or history with your personal browsing.
• Turn it off between exams with the toggle on chrome://extensions. Switching it back on takes a second and keeps your settings.
• Remove it at the end of term and reinstall from your course link when the next proctored exam comes around.
• Watch Chrome's indicators: a recording dot on the tab and the operating system's camera light tell you when capture is actually happening.

If a school-managed device installed Proctorio for you, the toggle may be greyed out. That is covered in the removal section below.

What happens to your Proctorio recordings and data?

Your recordings go to your school's Proctorio account, and your institution sets how long they are kept. Proctorio describes its storage as encrypted, with access limited to authorised people at your school.

Retention periods differ widely. Some institutions keep exam data for a single term to handle appeals; others keep it longer to meet academic-integrity or records rules. There is no single number that applies to every student, so any site that quotes one is guessing.

To find your actual answer, look in three places, in this order:

1. Your course syllabus or exam instructions, which often link the school's proctoring policy.
2. Your institution's privacy notice or IT help pages, searched for 'Proctorio' or 'online proctoring'.
3. The data protection or privacy office at your school, which can answer access and deletion requests on your behalf.

Because the school is the one that contracted Proctorio, requests to see or delete your recordings usually go through the school rather than directly to the vendor. Check Proctorio's official site for its current privacy statements, since policies can change after this page's last check.

How do you install Proctorio in Chrome safely?

Install Proctorio from your course link into a dedicated Chrome profile, then run your school's practice quiz before the real exam. This takes about five minutes and avoids most exam-day problems.

1. Click your profile picture at the top right of Chrome, choose Add (or Add Chrome profile), and create a profile named something like Exams.
2. In that profile, sign in to your learning platform and open the proctored quiz or the practice quiz your instructor provides.
3. Follow the prompt to add the extension, or open the Chrome Web Store listing linked from the quiz and click Add to Chrome, then Add extension.
4. Read the permission warning before confirming. It should match the Proctorio listing your school linked, not a similarly named tool.
5. Pin it if you like: click the puzzle-piece icon in the toolbar, then the pin next to Proctorio.
6. Run the pre-check. Allow camera and microphone when Chrome asks, and choose Entire screen if screen recording is required.
7. Close every other app that uses the camera, such as video-call software, before starting the real attempt.

A separate profile has a second benefit: other extensions from your personal profile are not present, so the pre-check is less likely to complain. The Chrome Web Store's help page on installing and managing extensions covers the profile-independent basics.

For more tools that suit student life outside exam time, browse our extensions for students.

How do you remove Proctorio from Chrome after exams?

Open chrome://extensions, find Proctorio, and click Remove. Removal deletes the extension from that profile immediately; it does not affect recordings your school already holds.

1. Type chrome://extensions in the address bar and press Enter.
2. Find the Proctorio card. Use the search box at the top if you have many extensions.
3. Click Remove, then confirm with Remove in the dialog.
4. Open chrome://settings/content/camera and chrome://settings/content/microphone and delete any exam-site entries you no longer need.
5. If you used a dedicated profile and the course is over, delete the whole profile from the profile menu under Manage Chrome profiles.

On a school-issued Chromebook or a managed work laptop, you may see 'Installed by your administrator' and no Remove button. That means an admin policy forces the install. Only the school's IT team can change it, and trying to bypass the policy can break your device enrolment.

On a personal Mac or Windows PC, removing the extension is the whole job. Proctorio has no separate desktop program to uninstall.

Why does Proctorio fail its pre-check, and how do you fix it?

Most pre-check failures come from another extension, a blocked camera permission, or a browser setting that stops the exam page talking to Proctorio. Work through these fixes in order before contacting support.

• Other extensions interfering. Ad blockers, script managers and screenshot tools are common culprits. Test in a clean profile, or turn them off on chrome://extensions for the exam.
• Camera or microphone blocked. Click the tune icon left of the address bar, open Site settings, and set Camera and Microphone to Allow for your LMS domain. On macOS, also check System Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera and allow Google Chrome.
• Screen recording blocked on Mac. Allow Chrome under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording, then quit and reopen Chrome.
• Cookie restrictions. Some LMS setups need cookies from the proctoring service. If the check stalls, add your LMS and Proctorio to the allowed list under chrome://settings/cookies, then reload.
• Outdated Chrome. Open chrome://settings/help and let Chrome update, then relaunch.
• Incognito or guest window. Extensions do not run in guest mode and are off in Incognito by default. Use a normal window.

If none of that works, use the live chat or help link inside the Proctorio pre-check, or visit Proctorio support, and tell your instructor straight away so there is a record before the exam window closes.

Which extensions help keep your exam profile clean?

A handful of privacy and security extensions help around Proctorio, as long as they live in your personal profile or are paused during exams. None of them block or fool Proctorio, and you should not try to.

Every pick above has a full profile with permissions and trade-offs. See how we judge them on our methodology page, or browse the wider security and privacy category.