Sourced to vendor docs

Is CodeSignal Proctored? What It Records — Screen, Camera and Mic

Short answer

Some are, some are not — CodeSignal tells you before you start. In a proctored evaluation you share your camera, microphone and entire screen for the whole session, plus a photo ID. CodeSignal reviews that footage itself, deletes it within 15 days, and does not send it to the employer.

CodeSignal is an assessment platform best known for its certified assessments — the General Coding Assessment and its siblings — which are built and maintained by CodeSignal rather than by the hiring company. It also sells a live interview product. Only the assessments carry proctoring; the interview product is a shared IDE with an optional call.

8

Controls documented

4 recorded, 3 flagged only, 1 blocked.

  • RecordedAn artefact is stored and a reviewer can look at it later.
  • Flagged onlyAn event is noted on the report. Nothing is stored to look at.
  • BlockedThe action is prevented rather than observed.
Employer opt-in
5 of 8
Last checked
August 2026
Outside the browser

The assessment is in a tab. The answer isn't.

CodeSignal documents no desktop lockdown app: its assessments run in Chrome or Firefox. Stealth Interview runs outside the browser, in a desktop window set to be excluded from screen capture.

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What it covers on CodeSignal, and what it doesn't
On this page13 sections

What CodeSignal can see at all

  • Your camera, for the duration of a proctored evaluation
  • Your microphone, for the duration of a proctored evaluation
  • Your entire screen, recorded for the duration
  • A photo of your face and a photo of a government-issued ID
  • Copy and paste events, including what was copied
  • Typing and speaking patterns, as behavioural telemetry
  • Similarity between your solution and other submissions and web sources

Proctored is a property of the assessment, not the platform

CodeSignal's own framing is that some assessments include remote proctoring and an identity verification step, and that you can see whether proctoring is required in your Assessments section before you take it. So the answer to "is CodeSignal proctored" is decided per invitation, and it is visible to you in advance.

When it is on, the setup is a fixed sequence: browser compatibility, share your video, share your screen, a network test, a photo of your face, and a photo of your ID. CodeSignal notes that the assessment timer does not begin until all of the setup steps are complete.

What is recorded, and for how long

All three streams are recorded for the whole session — camera, microphone and screen. The screen share is not a browser tab: CodeSignal's walkthrough tells candidates to pick "Entire Screen" in the browser's share dialog, and adds the line "Please note that your screen will be recorded."

Afterwards a CodeSignal team checks three things: that camera, microphone and screen share were shared for the duration, that the ID is valid and matches, and that you observed the evaluation rules shown before your session. CodeSignal describes using a blend of AI review and human oversight for this.

The retention and disclosure rules are unusually explicit for this category. CodeSignal states the proctoring data is reviewed by CodeSignal only, is stored and deleted within 15 days, and is not shared with the hiring company — which receives only your result and score.

The signals that run whether or not you are proctored

Proctoring is the visible layer. Underneath it, CodeSignal describes analysis that applies to submissions generally: copy-paste tracking that records when you paste text from another window and what was pasted, similarity comparison against other submissions and web sources, leak detection for questions circulating publicly, and behavioural signals meant to indicate generative-AI assistance.

CodeSignal is careful about what a flag means. Its own writing notes that a copy-paste event may not indicate cheating — a candidate may be referencing an approved resource — which is a useful reminder that these systems produce evidence for a person to weigh rather than verdicts.

What is recorded, and what is only flagged

An artefact a reviewer can open later is a different thing from an event counted on a report, and both are different from an action the platform simply prevents. Every control CodeSignal documents, tagged and sourced:

  • Camera, microphone and screen share

    RecordedEmployer opts in

    CodeSignal's candidate help centre states that prior to the assessment you will be prompted to share your camera, microphone and screen for the duration of the assessment, and that this data will be recorded.

    CodeSignal — What is proctoring and how does it work?

  • Entire-screen sharing

    RecordedEmployer opts in

    The setup walkthrough tells candidates to select "Entire Screen" at the share-screen step, and states plainly that your screen will be recorded.

    CodeSignal — I can't share my screen. What do I do?

  • Identity verification

    RecordedEmployer opts in

    You are prompted to take a photo of your face and a photo of a government-issued, unexpired ID showing your full name and photo. Everything else on the card may be redacted.

    CodeSignal — What is proctoring and how does it work?

  • Close unrelated applications

    BlockedEmployer opts in

    Step three of the proctoring setup prompts the candidate to close all unrelated tabs, browser windows and applications before the assessment timer begins.

    CodeSignal — What is proctoring and how does it work?

  • Copy-paste tracking

    RecordedAlways on

    CodeSignal states that it tracks when candidates copy and paste text from another window, and what was copied — while noting that a paste is not proof of anything, since a candidate may be referencing an approved resource.

    CodeSignal — Prevent and detect cheating in recruiting

  • Similarity and leak detection

    Flagged onlyAlways on

    Submissions are compared against other platform submissions and web sources, and CodeSignal describes technology it calls LeakSweep for finding leaked question content.

    CodeSignal — Cheating Detection & Fraud Prevention

  • Behavioural signals for AI assistance

    Flagged onlyAlways on

    CodeSignal describes flagging patterns that may indicate the use of generative AI or other unauthorised resources, including unusual typing or speaking patterns correlated with outside help.

    CodeSignal — Cheating Detection & Fraud Prevention

  • Human plus AI review

    Flagged onlyEmployer opts in

    Recordings go to what CodeSignal calls its proctoring verification team, using what it describes as a blend of multiple AI reviews and human oversight to decide whether there were issues.

    CodeSignal — What is proctoring and how does it work?

What CodeSignal's documentation does not say

The gaps are as useful as the features, and they are the part nobody else writes down. Where CodeSignal states a limit, it is quoted below. Where it is silent, the entry says it is silent — undocumented is not the same as absent, and we are not going to present it as one.

  • Proctoring does not change your score. CodeSignal states that it has no impact on the score you receive, and that all scores are calculated automatically by the system.
  • The recording does not go to the employer. CodeSignal says identification and proctoring data is reviewed by CodeSignal only, and will not be shared with the company that requested your coding report — that company receives the result and score.
  • It is not kept indefinitely. CodeSignal states that identification and proctoring data is stored and deleted within 15 days.
  • There is no desktop lockdown application in the candidate flow CodeSignal documents. The technical requirements are a camera, a microphone, screen-sharing ability, a photo ID and a current version of Chrome or Firefox.
  • Not every assessment is proctored. CodeSignal says you will see whether proctoring is required in your Assessments section before you take the assessment.
  • Practice is not reported. CodeSignal's practice content page states that companies will not see your activity or performance in a practice session.

What candidates get wrong about CodeSignal

The biggest one is assuming the employer watches the footage. They do not. CodeSignal states that proctoring data is reviewed by CodeSignal only and is not shared with the company that requested the report, which receives a score. The reviewer you need to satisfy is CodeSignal's verification team, not the hiring manager.

The second is assuming a proctoring flag drags the score down. CodeSignal states the opposite: proctoring has no impact on the score, which is calculated automatically. A proctoring problem is a separate, pass-or-fail verification result sitting alongside a score that was computed on its own.

The third is about searching. Candidates often think a proctored assessment means no web at all. On the General Coding Assessment, CodeSignal explicitly permits syntax lookups and documentation, and gives worked examples of what crosses the line — looking up how to implement the algorithm itself.

The fourth is confusing CodeSignal Interview with a CodeSignal assessment. The interview product is a shared IDE you join by link, with an optional in-product audio/video call and a whiteboard. CodeSignal's candidate walkthrough for it describes no ID check, no screen share and no proctoring setup.

Worth knowing before you sit down

  • The assessment timer does not start until every setup step is done, so a slow ID capture costs you nothing.
  • There is a network test in the setup flow, and CodeSignal advises waiting for a better connection rather than starting on a poor one.
  • On the General Coding Assessment, searching the web for syntax is explicitly permitted — CodeSignal's example of an allowed search is "How to get a substring in Python". Searching for how to implement the solution is not.
  • Rules vary between certified assessments, and the rules for yours are displayed before you begin. The proctoring team checks whether you followed them.
  • Free practice questions live at app.codesignal.com/assessments/practice, run one hour each, and reset every two weeks.
  • If you have no government-issued photo ID, CodeSignal's documented route is to contact its support team for an accommodation rather than to skip the step.

What this means if you use an AI assistant

A proctored CodeSignal evaluation records your entire screen for the whole session, and the share target is chosen by the platform, not by you. What the browser's capture holds is a question about a capture, and that is all the covered list below answers. It is not a claim about CodeSignal's verification, which also has your camera, your microphone and the rules you agreed to.

The camera is a second, independent channel, and it is pointed at a room rather than at a screen. It sees a second display, a phone, and where your eyes go. Screen-capture behaviour has nothing to say about any of that.

The setup step that asks you to close all unrelated tabs, windows and applications is a rule you are agreeing to, and CodeSignal's verification team checks whether you observed the evaluation rules. That is a policy question, not a technical one, and it does not resolve in software.

What Stealth Interview documents about itself

  • A desktop app for macOS and Windows, not a browser extension.
  • Not captured by screen-sharing or meeting software.
  • Reads the coding problem from a screenshot and returns a working solution in real time.
  • Step-by-step explanations with time and space complexity.
  • Live transcription of the interviewer's audio.
  • Multiple AI models, driven by keyboard shortcuts.

What Stealth Interview covers on CodeSignal

Our side of the record, applied to CodeSignal. A covered line is a statement about screen capture, never about detection: it says nothing about what CodeSignal, its reviewers or a camera can tell. The second list is the one to read twice.

Covered

  • The entire-screen recording. CodeSignal has you pick Entire Screen in the browser's share dialog. The app's window is set to be excluded from screen capture on macOS and Windows, so that stream should leave it out.

    CodeSignal — I can't share my screen. What do I do?

Not covered

  • Camera and microphone. Both are recorded for the whole session alongside the screen, and they capture you and the room.

  • The verification review. CodeSignal's team checks the footage against the rules shown before you start, and those include closing unrelated applications.

  • Behavioural signals. Copy-paste tracking, similarity and leak checks, and typing or speaking patterns run whether or not anything is on screen.

  • Untested setups. We haven't tested Chrome and Firefox on every macOS and Windows version, and how a capture is made decides whether it honours the window's setting.

CodeSignal proctoring: common questions

Is CodeSignal proctored?

Some CodeSignal assessments are and some are not. CodeSignal states that you can see whether proctoring is required in your Assessments section before you take the assessment, and a proctored one adds camera, microphone, screen sharing and photo-ID steps to the setup.

Does CodeSignal record your screen?

Yes, in a proctored evaluation. CodeSignal's setup guide tells candidates to select "Entire Screen" at the share-screen step and states that your screen will be recorded for the duration of the assessment.

Does CodeSignal record your camera?

Yes, in a proctored evaluation. CodeSignal says you are prompted to share your camera, microphone and screen for the duration, and that this data is recorded and reviewed after you finish.

Who sees my CodeSignal proctoring recording?

CodeSignal only. Its help centre states that identification and proctoring data is reviewed by CodeSignal, is stored and deleted within 15 days, and will not be shared with the company that requested your coding report — that company receives your result and score.

Does being flagged by CodeSignal proctoring lower my score?

No. CodeSignal states that proctoring has no impact on the score you receive and that all scores are calculated automatically by the system. Verification is a separate check on whether the session followed the rules.

Can I use Google during a CodeSignal assessment?

On the General Coding Assessment, syntax lookups and documentation are permitted — CodeSignal's own example of an allowed search is how to get a substring in Python. Searching for how to implement the solution is not. Rules differ per certified assessment and are shown before you begin.

Is CodeSignal practice mode monitored?

No. CodeSignal's practice content page states that companies will not see your activity or performance in a practice session. Practice questions run for an hour each and your code resets every two weeks.

Sources

Every page below is published by CodeSignal or its parent company. Last checked in August 2026; vendors change these features often, so check the date on the page you land on.

Product home: CodeSignal

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