How to Use Blackbird with ProctorU
ProctorU is the service universities and certification bodies use when a human needs to be watching. It is the strictest common setup — and the one where behaviour matters most.
What ProctorU monitors
- —A live human proctor watching your webcam and screen
- —AI flagging between human reviews
- —A screen-share and remote-desktop inspection before the exam starts
- —Room scan and photo ID check at check-in
- —Recorded audio for background voices
How Blackbird fits in
ProctorU's pre-exam check asks you to pan the room and share your screen while an agent looks through open applications. Anything with a visible window or an obvious process name is the first thing they close.
Blackbird is a lightweight native Windows overlay drawn at the system compositor level. It is not a browser tab, an Electron window, or a shared surface, so it does not show up in screen recordings, screen-share streams, or active-window checks. It stays on top, accepts clicks without stealing focus, and disappears instantly with a hotkey.
Practical tips
- +Launch Blackbird after the check-in screen share ends.
- +Keep your eyes on the monitor — obvious glances away are the classic human-proctor flag.
- +Answer in your own phrasing; a perfect textbook answer invites a review.
- +Keep the overlay small and near your reading line so your gaze barely moves.
Frequently asked questions
Can a live ProctorU proctor see Blackbird?
The proctor sees your webcam feed and the shared screen stream. Blackbird is excluded from that capture at the OS level, so it is not part of what they receive.
What about the pre-exam application check?
Start Blackbird after the check completes. It has no visible taskbar window while hidden.
Does ProctorU's AI flag it?
ProctorU's AI scores webcam behaviour and audio, not your compositor layers. Keep your gaze and typing natural and there is nothing unusual to score.
Do I need internet during the exam?
Blackbird needs a connection to reach your chosen AI provider, or you can point it at a local Ollama model and run fully offline.
You are responsible for following the rules of any exam, employer or institution you use Blackbird with. No tool can account for human observation or behavioural review.