Colare's proctoring system.

What proctoring covers

Colare assessments are designed to measure real, individual engineering ability. To protect that, every assessment runs through a layered set of integrity controls across three areas.

These controls run in the background, monitor candidate behavior in real time, and flag anything that suggests collaboration, substitution, or attempts to move work off-platform. When something is flagged, it surfaces inside the candidate's report so your team can review it as part of their hiring decision.

Recordings and events are stored privately and securely, visible only to your hiring team and the Colare team.

Session rules and access controls

Each assessment attempt is bound to a single instance and session. This limits reuse, parallel attempts, and handoffs between people or devices. A candidate gets one assessment instance per invitation, and that instance is tied to the candidate it was sent to.

Browser and workspace activity monitoring

Colare monitors behaviors associated with looking up answers, collaborating externally, or moving work off-platform.

• Tab switching. Detects when a candidate switches away from the active assessment tab.
• Window focus and blur. Tracks when the assessment window loses focus (e.g., the candidate clicks into another window or app) and when it returns.
• Copy-paste blocking. Copying text out of the question screen is blocked by default, minimizing the risk of assessment questions being shared online. It is a per-test setting under Test Integrity.
• Inactivity monitoring. Flags extended idle time that may indicate off-screen collaboration or disengagement from the task.

Proctoring and environment signals

Video and audio signals run alongside browser monitoring to verify the candidate is completing the assessment in a controlled environment.

• Proctoring event monitoring. Captures and logs proctoring-related events and anomalies during the session for review.
• Multiple faces detected. Flags when more than one person appears in view, indicating potential collaboration.
• Face out of frame. Flags sustained periods where the candidate's face isn't visible, which can indicate substitution or off-screen assistance.
• Voice detection. Flags sustained speech or voices that may indicate coaching, collaboration, or an uncontrolled environment.

What candidates see

Before starting an assessment, candidates are prompted to enable webcam, microphone, and screen sharing access. They review and accept the assessment's terms and conditions, which explain that their session will be proctored. For the full device, browser, and connection requirements, see Preparing for your Colare assessment.

How flagged behavior is evaluated

Colare does not auto-fail any candidate for a single signal. Raw signals are grouped into incidents with a start time and a duration, and each incident contributes to an overall integrity count for that candidate's session. A single glance away is one short incident, not a dozen flags.

This approach lets your hiring team:

• Review flagged behaviors in context, including what was flagged and when in the session it occurred
• See each incident with its start time and duration, so a short glance away does not read the same as a long one
• Make informed, defensible hiring decisions grounded in the full picture of the session

Test Integrity settings

Each assessment has its own proctoring configuration under Settings → Test Integrity. This lets you tailor monitoring to the specific role you're hiring for, since the right level of strictness varies between roles, candidate pools, and seniority levels.

To configure proctoring for a specific assessment, open the assessment from the Tests section, click into the Settings tab, and select Test Integrity. From here you can set the following:

• Copy paste blocking. Prevent candidates from copying or pasting content during the test. On by default.
• Take-home assessment. Lets candidates close and reopen the assessment multiple times within the time limit, which starts counting when they first click Start. Ideal for 24 to 48 hour engineering tasks. Off by default.
• Voice dictation. Lets candidates speak their long-answer responses alongside typing. Only applies to assessments with long-answer questions; candidates pass a quick mic check first. On by default.
• Time limit. A maximum duration for the test, in minutes. It starts counting down when the candidate begins, and the assessment submits automatically when it runs out. Leave it blank for no limit.
• Invitation link expiry. The number of days candidates have to start the assessment. The default is 2 days.

Webcam, screen, and event monitoring run on every assessment and are not switched from this panel.

Click Save to apply your changes. Settings configured here apply only to this specific assessment, so if you want different proctoring behavior across different roles, you can configure each assessment independently.

Reviewing flagged behavior

Once an assessment has been taken, any flagged behavior surfaces in two places.

The candidate's individual report shows an Integrity Issues card on the Performance Overview tab, with the count of flags raised during their assessment. If no issues were detected, the card reads "0 flags, no issues detected." If there are flags, the count reflects the number of issues raised.

Replay

To dig into a flag, you can use the replay feature. Replays are always available for every candidate, regardless of whether their assessment was flagged. They show the candidate's keystrokes, navigation, and decision-making over the course of the test, in real time or sped up.

Access the replay feature by clicking into a candidate's Detailed Report. Use replay as a verification tool when you want to understand exactly what happened during a specific moment of the assessment.

Best practices

A few notes on how teams typically configure proctoring. These are starting points. Adjust based on the role and the candidate experience you want to create.

What's next

For more on the dashboard view that surfaces candidates needing your attention, see Understanding Colare's dashboard. For more on the send flow that ties into invitation link expiry, see How to send an assessment.