What is Mercer Mettl proctoring?
Mercer Mettl is an online assessment platform whose proctoring stack verifies your identity before the exam and then monitors you during it. The pre-exam layer is a three-point authentication the vendor lists as email authentication, OTP verification via mobile phone, and official identity authentication. The during-exam layer combines a lockdown browser, automated AI monitoring flags, and human proctoring - live, recorded for later review, or a hybrid of both - with your screen, webcam, and audio captured while you test.
The short answer to what makes Mettl different: it is not one proctoring product but three delivery models. A proctored assessment can run in a standard browser on the vendor's test site, inside the Mettl Secure Browser - a separate lockdown application for Windows and Mac that closes your other programs - or inside your institution's learning management system through the SecureProctor Chrome extension. Which model your exam uses decides what check-in looks like and what the software restricts.
This page explains the model in general, published terms only - what the check-in requires, what each layer records, which behavior categories the vendor says its AI flags, who reviews those flags, and what happens when the internet drops. Every claim is drawn from Mercer Mettl's own product pages and the vendor's official help center, cited at the end of each section.
Three delivery models: browser, lockdown app, and LMS extension
The vendor's system requirements article states that proctored and non-proctored assessments can both run on standard browsers or on what it calls a special screen lockdown browser, the Mettl Secure Browser. A third path appears in the vendor's LMS documentation: SecureProctor, a Chrome extension that adds proctoring to an exam inside a learning management system. The three models share the same authentication and monitoring ideas but differ in how much of your device they control.
In the browser-based model, you take the exam on the vendor's test site in Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, and the monitoring runs through your webcam, microphone, and a shared view of your entire screen. In the Mettl Secure Browser model, you install a dedicated application and the exam self-launches inside it; the vendor's candidate guide says the application prompts you to close every other running program and force-closes them if needed before the test begins. In the SecureProctor model, you stay inside your LMS - the vendor publishes LTI integration with more than 250 compliant systems and REST API options - and two Chrome extensions handle proctoring and screen sharing.
The vendor positions the layers as modular. Its product page describes automated AI flags, live human proctoring, dual camera proctoring through a mobile phone, audio proctoring, and record-and-review as components an institution combines, and its own FAQ defines three main proctored exam types: live online proctoring with a human watching in real time, recorded online proctoring where AI monitoring is later reviewed by human proctors, and advanced automated proctoring where AI monitors and flags suspicious activity without human intervention.
The three published Mercer Mettl delivery models and their stated requirements
| Delivery model | Where the exam runs | Published requirements |
|---|
| Browser-based proctored assessment | The vendor's test site in a standard browser | Chrome 63+, Firefox 52+, or Safari 12+; not on Edge; not on mobile devices; 512 kbps minimum upload bandwidth |
| Mettl Secure Browser (MSB) | A dedicated lockdown application that self-launches from the test link | Windows or Mac install; 1 Mbps uninterrupted bandwidth; closes other running applications before the test |
| SecureProctor Chrome extension | Inside the institution's learning management system | Windows OS or Mac OS; latest Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge; above 1 Mbps; SecureProctor and Mettl Screen Sharing extensions installed |
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Check-in: system checks, a photo, and your ID
The official candidate guides lay out a fixed sequence before the first question appears, and it starts before exam day. Access comes through one of three routes: an invitation email carrying a Check System Compatibility button, a shared assessment link, or an 8-12 digit invitation key entered at tests.mettl.com. The vendor recommends running the compatibility check a day or two before the test because it can flag a device that does not meet requirements.
In the browser-based flow, the published sequence runs: an automatic system compatibility check in the background, webcam and microphone permissions, and a screen-share prompt where you select your entire screen. You then enter your registration details, accept the terms of service, submit a live face photo captured through your webcam with a re-capture option, and submit a photo of a valid identity proof the same way. After you pick a starting section, the screen goes full-screen and you accept a consent message confirming the session is monitored.
The Mettl Secure Browser flow adds a device-level step in front of that sequence. When you click the test link, the application self-launches and prompts you to close any other application running on the computer - the vendor states it will force-close applications before starting the test, advises you to save your work first, and if it cannot close something itself, directs you to end it manually from the Task Manager, including background processes. Camera and microphone permissions, registration details, your webcam photo, and your ID photo follow.
One checkpoint distinguishes the stricter setups: a human verifies you before the exam starts. The MSB guide states that the test administrator checks your photo, ID proof, and registration fields before you are allowed to start, and can make you resubmit them. The SecureProctor guide describes the same gate as an authorization phase - you submit a photo of yourself and a photo of your ID card, an examiner reviews the identification, and when the Manual Authorization feature is on, a human authorizer verifies the submission on the SecureProctor dashboard while you wait for approval.
The published browser-based check-in sequence
| Check-in step | What the official candidate guide says happens |
|---|
| System compatibility check | Runs automatically in the background after you open the assessment; the vendor recommends completing it a day or two before exam day |
| Camera and microphone permissions | You click Allow on the permission pop-up to enable your webcam and microphone |
| Screen sharing | You click Start Screen Capture, select your entire screen, and share it |
| Registration details | You enter the required registration fields and accept the terms of service |
| Face photo | You capture a live photo through your webcam, with a re-capture option before proceeding |
| ID proof photo | You capture a photo of a valid identity proof through your webcam, again with a resubmit option |
| Consent and full-screen start | You accept a consent message confirming the session is monitored; the assessment screen goes full-screen and you are told not to exit or refresh |
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What the monitoring layers record and flag
The vendor's own FAQ is direct about recording: online proctoring involves recording the screen to monitor exam activity, and the software captures your screen alongside webcam and audio feeds during the exam. On top of that recording sit the AI layers. The vendor describes AI-based auto-proctoring across video, audio, and image proctoring, and says institutions can customize the AI cheating flags.
The published flag categories are general by design. The SecureProctor page lists four auto-generated flag categories - facial detection, voice detection, mobile phone detection, and distraction detection - and the Secure Browser page lists flags for candidate distraction, multiple people, electronic devices, and additional sounds. The vendor does not publish how any category is detected, and nothing on its pages describes thresholds, confidence scores, or internal mechanics.
Audio gets its own published layer. The product page describes voice filtering to detect human voices while minimizing noise, automatic tracking of students muting their microphones, and automatic test termination if a microphone stays muted beyond a permissible limit. The vendor also markets SpeechSense, an audio proctoring feature it says identifies the count of unique speakers in the vicinity, detects another person speaking to the candidate, and separates the candidate's audio from background noise so, in the vendor's words, you get no unwanted flags.
The optional dual camera layer uses your mobile phone as a secondary camera for a 360-degree view of the room. The vendor publishes that the system sends instant notifications if the mobile phone disconnects and that the mobile images and videos feed into the review and reporting. Its FAQ also sets a boundary worth quoting: online test monitoring cannot detect other devices directly - it can monitor network activity, require a specific browser, and use dual camera proctoring for the wider view.
The AI flag categories published on Mercer Mettl's own pages
| Flag category | The vendor's published description |
|---|
| Facial detection | Auto-generated AI flag category covering the candidate's face on camera |
| Voice detection | Auto-generated AI flag category covering voices, backed by voice filtering that detects human voices and minimizes noise |
| Mobile phone detection | Auto-generated AI flag category covering mobile phones; the Secure Browser page lists electronic devices among its flags |
| Distraction detection | Auto-generated AI flag category covering candidate distraction; the Secure Browser page adds multiple people and additional sounds to its flag list |
| Away From Test Window | A notification sent to human proctors when attempts to navigate away from the test window occur; the attempts are also notified in the report |
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What the Mettl Secure Browser restricts
The Mettl Secure Browser is the vendor's lockdown layer, and its product page states plainly what it does: exams launch in lockdown mode, additional software and hardware are disabled, and you are not allowed to navigate away from the test window. Institutions can whitelist applications and software as required, so the exact lockdown profile depends on how your program configured it.
The vendor publishes its restriction list as general categories rather than technical detail. Disabled software categories are additional browsers, additional tabs, virtual machines, developer tools, unauthorized applications, and custom applications the client requests. Disabled device categories are external ports, external drives, and any other device connection. Disabled actions are cut, copy, and paste; print commands; right clicks; desktop screen capture; and desktop recording.
The browser-based proctored mode applies a lighter version of the same idea through the browser itself: the vendor's SecureProctor page describes the test launching in a kiosk or lockdown mode where additional tabs are disabled and navigation is restricted, cut, copy, and paste are restricted during the test, right-clicks and developer tools are restricted, and attempts to navigate away from the test window are notified in the report.
Two published behavior rules tie the lockdown to the monitoring. The candidate guide warns you not to switch between the assessment window and other applications or tabs, and says doing so may lead to a warning or disqualification from the assessment. And the vendor advises turning off all notifications on your computer for the duration, since pop-ups interrupt the locked-down session.
Who watches and who reviews the flags
The human layer comes in two published forms. In live proctoring, the vendor says expert human proctors watch one or multiple candidates live - its pages describe one-to-many and one-on-one invigilation, a multi-test-taker view where a proctor monitors several candidates at once and can pin one candidate's window for a detailed look, and real-time user verification to prevent impersonation. Live proctors hold real controls: the Secure Browser page says they can chat with test-takers, pause the test, or end it, and the SecureProctor candidate guide tells you to watch for chat messages from examiners on the exam screen.
In record-and-review proctoring, the exam is recorded and a team of expert proctors reviews every recorded session afterward. The vendor describes reviewing the AI-based flags together with a credibility report, analyzing flagged suspicious activity after the exam, and questioning students on that activity. The product page names the report the Credibility Index - it captures flagged instances and their duration - and states that reviewers watch the recorded footage to verify the AI flags, which is the human check on the automated layer.
A third layer is unusual enough to name: the vendor proctors its own proctors. The published Proctor Management System gives exam heads a dashboard to monitor proctor and student activity, including whether proctors are properly responding to student queries, cheating flags, and suspicious activity. The product page adds an integrated chat window between proctors, access to proctors' live video feeds, and screen sharing between proctors and super proctors for additional oversight.
Reporting closes the loop. The vendor publishes auto-generated, instantaneous reports delivered in the institution's LMS in the desired timezone, with the candidate's video and a time-stamped activity log. One marketed number needs attribution rather than repetition: the vendor advertises its AI-based proctoring with a 95% cheating detection figure, which is the company's own claim, not an independent measurement. The vendor publishes scale figures in the same marketing voice - 32 million-plus proctored test takers and 200,000 concurrent assessments in one day.
Internet drops, disconnections, and auto-save
The vendor's candidate guide publishes two rules that matter most when a connection stutters. First, all your responses are saved automatically, and the guide states that in case of a disconnection or shutdown you can resume easily. Second, do not refresh the webpage during the assessment - the guide states that refreshing leads to immediate submission of your responses. The practical posture is to wait, reconnect, and resume rather than touch the page.
Bandwidth floors are published per delivery model. The system requirements article sets a minimum upload bandwidth of 512 kbps for a webcam-proctored assessment in a browser and 256 kbps for a non-proctored assessment, and says that above the advised speed you should not face a problem. The Mettl Secure Browser guide raises the floor to an uninterrupted 1 Mbps during the test, and the SecureProctor guide requires at least 1 Mbps. Those numbers are the vendor's own minimums, and the invitation email's compatibility check exists to catch a connection that cannot meet them before exam day.
The vendor's prevention advice is also published: disable security patches, antivirus definition updates, and application updates during the assessment because downloads and auto-restarts hamper progress; clear your browser cache and cookies before starting; and uninstall any external third-party webcam software beforehand. For the dual camera option, the product page notes the system sends an instant notification if the mobile phone acting as the secondary camera disconnects.
When the allotted time ends, the MSB guide states the test auto-completes and submits on its own, and the Finish Test flow shows a summary before final submission while you wait on the test screen. The vendor's design assumption throughout is that interruptions are recoverable events with a published path - auto-save, resume, and human contact - rather than automatic failures.
Devices, browsers, and connection requirements
Device support is narrow and published plainly. For the browser-based proctored mode, the system requirements article lists Chrome version 63 and above on Windows and Mac, Firefox 52 and above on Windows, Linux, and Mac, and Safari 12 and above on Mac - and states that proctored assessments are not supported on mobile devices of any kind and not supported on Edge. The Mettl Secure Browser is a Windows and Mac application. The SecureProctor extension model supports Windows OS and Mac OS with the latest Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
The hardware assumption across all three models is a webcam-integrated computer - the vendor's guides describe monitoring through an integrated or USB webcam plus a microphone, and the SecureProctor guide adds a well-lit place to its prerequisite list. Without webcam and microphone permission, the SecureProctor guide states you cannot start the proctoring and cannot take the exam.
The connection requirements restate the bandwidth floors: 512 kbps minimum upload for a browser-based webcam-proctored assessment, 1 Mbps uninterrupted for a Mettl Secure Browser test, and above 1 Mbps for a SecureProctor-enabled exam. Institutions behind office or campus firewalls get their own published instructions, since local network restrictions can block the exam from launching.
The common thread through the vendor's documentation is that every published failure path - the compatibility check flag, the missing permission, the blocked launch - is checkable days before the exam. The compatibility check in the invitation email, the install guides, and the bandwidth floors exist so exam day holds no surprises.
If the Sitting Itself Is the Problem
Understanding how Mercer Mettl verifies, locks down, and records an exam is one thing; sitting a high-stakes exam under those conditions is another. Exam Assist exists for exactly that gap - we handle online 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 wider picture first, our guides to how online proctoring works and the comparison of online proctoring software explain where Mettl's three delivery models sit among competing systems, our ExamSoft overview covers a vendor that takes the opposite approach with fully offline exams, our online proctoring software explainer breaks down the monitoring layers programs add on top, and our what-to-expect walkthrough covers exam-day check-in step by step.