What is the ETS Secure Browser?
The ETS Secure Browser is the locked-down application ETS uses to deliver the GRE General Test at home. You download it from ETS's own test-day page, run an Equipment Check inside it, and take the test while a live human proctor monitors you and your screen. The TOEFL iBT Home Edition uses a separate app, the TOEFL Test App, with the same idea: a controlled application, an equipment check, a proctor-led check-in, and a fully recorded session. Everything below is general process, exactly as ETS publishes it.
Two tests, two apps: ETS Secure Browser and TOEFL Test App
ETS does not run at-home tests in an ordinary browser tab. The GRE General Test at home runs inside the ETS Secure Browser, downloadable from ETS's test-day page for Mac and Windows. The TOEFL iBT Home Edition runs inside the TOEFL Test App, which you install from the My TOEFL Home dashboard under Upcoming Tests.
Both apps open to a welcome screen where you run an Equipment Check before test day. That check confirms your camera, microphone, and speaker work and, for TOEFL, includes a bandwidth check. ETS advises running it more than once — bandwidth varies by time of day, so checking at the same day-of-week and time as your appointment gives the most realistic picture.
The published equipment rules are strict and specific: a desktop or laptop only, never a tablet or phone; one monitor and one keyboard; a licensed operating system (Windows 11 or higher, or Mac OS X 10.13 or higher for TOEFL); a speaker you can hear the proctor through; a microphone that is not part of a headset; and a camera you can physically move to show the whole room. Headsets and earphones are not allowed in either test.
| What | GRE General Test at home | TOEFL iBT Home Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Application | ETS Secure Browser | TOEFL Test App |
| Where you get it | ETS GRE test-day page (Mac and Windows links) | My TOEFL Home dashboard, under Upcoming Tests |
| Pre-test check | Equipment Check in the app | Equipment Check in the app, including bandwidth |
| Operating system | Licensed OS per ETS requirements | Windows 11 or higher, Mac OS X 10.13 or higher |
| Screens and keyboards | One monitor, one keyboard | One monitor, one keyboard |
| Proctor | Live human proctor, whole session | Live human proctor, whole session |
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
Identity is verified before test day, not just at check-in
For the GRE at home, ETS requires identity verification through its IDVaaS app, and it must be completed at least 72 hours before the appointment. Register closer than 72 hours out and ETS tells you to complete verification immediately, because late verification can delay check-in on test day.
This front-loaded step is why the name on your ID has to match the name on your ETS account. At check-in the proctor re-checks your ID on camera, so a mismatch that slipped through registration still surfaces on test day — and per ETS, all issues must be resolved before your appointment time.
For TOEFL, your photo is taken during the session, and ETS states that your photo is shared with institutions that receive your scores. The monitoring is not only about test day; it follows the score report.
What the At Home Check-In actually checks
For the GRE, check-in starts about 15 minutes before your appointment, when you click the At Home Check-In link in your ETS account confirmation email. ETS is explicit that this link is the only way to connect — the ETS Secure Browser itself will not connect you to a proctor. You can reach a proctor from 5 minutes before your scheduled time up to 15 minutes after.
The proctor then walks through a fixed sequence: reviewing the exam rules, requesting access to your computer screen for monitoring, asking you to show your computer screen with a handheld mirror or your cell phone, and having you use the computer camera to show a 360-degree view of the room including the tabletop. The proctor also confirms the ETS Secure Browser is downloaded and launched, and may have you set up a second camera and provide a voice sample.
ETS tells candidates to expect the whole process to take about 20 to 30 minutes. The room itself is part of the check: you must be alone behind closed doors, the table and surrounding area clear, transparent walls or windows covered, and your table and chair positioned so the door is visible to the proctor. For TOEFL, the camera must also show the area below the tabletop.
Clothing and appearance are checked too. Ears and face must stay visible for the whole test — no hats, no face masks at any point in the session — and ETS asks you to remove headphones, smartwatches, jewelry, tie clips, and hair accessories before checking in. Wedding and engagement rings are fine.
What the proctor monitors during the test
ETS states it plainly for the GRE: your entire test session is recorded and monitored by a human proctor, and your photo is taken. The proctor watches you through the video camera and your computer screen to confirm you follow testing procedures.
The published behavior rules tell you what the proctor is watching for. Talking out loud to yourself, looking away from the screen, moving out of view of the camera, or taking a break can invalidate the test. ETS's own wording is that suspicious movements could invalidate your test. The GRE at home runs 1 hour 58 minutes with no breaks, and unscheduled breaks are not permitted.
Contact with the proctor runs both ways. Speak up or use the chat function to get attention; ETS says a reply can take 30 to 60 seconds. If the proctor starts a chat, you get an audio signal. At the end of the session, the proctor watches you erase your whiteboard or transparency sleeve and hold it up to the camera, front and back, before you submit and close the browser.
ETS also publishes a quieter, broader rule: it monitors reuse of devices and testing locations for unauthorized purposes, and frequent inappropriate reuse of shared devices or common testing locations can mean score delays, score cancellation, and impact on eligibility for future ETS exams.
The published software and device rules
ETS's testing policies name the software categories you must disable before an at-home test: any screen-sharing or remote-access software must be turned off before the test, stay off throughout, and be set so it will not open automatically mid-test. ETS's own published examples include Apple Remote Desktop, Microsoft Teams, Skype, TeamViewer, Zoom, Grammarly, and Spell Check. That list is ETS's, quoted from its page — it is the full extent of what ETS names publicly, and ETS does not publish how the browser enforces the rule.
The general instruction behind it is simpler than any technical detail: close every browser and application you do not need for the test, keep other household devices off the network, and disable anything that can share or remote into your screen. On a work, public, or university network, ETS warns the network itself must allow the required test-related screen sharing with the proctor — some networks block it, which prevents testing rather than causing a security flag.
Devices and materials follow the same published logic. Unauthorized materials — mobile devices, prewritten notes, textbooks — and personal recording devices of any kind are prohibited. For notes, TOEFL candidates may not use paper at all: one small desktop whiteboard with erasable marker, or one sheet inside a transparent sheet protector with an erasable marker, and both must be shown erased at the end. If your phone is used for check-in, it goes behind you and out of reach afterward unless it is serving as the second camera.
Fail the equipment or environment requirements on test day and the published consequence is blunt: you will not be able to test, and you will not receive a refund or a free reschedule. Rule violations during the session can cost the test itself — dismissal and cancellation of scores, with no refund of the fee.
What happens if your internet drops
ETS publishes the recovery path for connection loss during the GRE at home. If you lose your internet connection momentarily, you are automatically reconnected to the proctor when your connection comes back. If the exam can be reopened, the proctor reopens it for you. If you cannot reconnect to your test or the proctor, you reinitiate the check-in process.
For any technical problem, not just drops, the instruction is the same: notify the proctor by speaking out loud or through the chat function.
This is also why the Equipment Check includes a bandwidth test and why ETS tells you to keep other devices and streaming off the network on test day. Most connection failures ETS describes are treated as recoverable events, not automatic violations — but a sitting interrupted by connectivity still depends on the proctor being able to reopen the exam.
If the Sitting Itself Is the Problem
Knowing the published rules is one thing; getting through a monitored, fully recorded sitting is another. Exam Assist exists for exactly that gap — we handle at-home exam sittings end to end, and the service fee is due only after your agreed result posts. Send your exam, your window, and your deadline, and you will get an honest feasibility answer first.
If you want the broader picture first, our guides to how online proctoring works, the GRE at home, and the TOEFL Home Edition cover the rest of the at-home process, and our comparison of online proctoring software explains how ETS's model differs from other major systems.