Chrome Extension Proctoring - Technical Limits

Chrome extensions like Honorlock and Proctorio run inside Chrome's sandbox. That sandbox limits what they can see and do, which has direct implications for what they can detect during an exam.

A Chrome extension has powerful APIs within Chrome (chrome.tabs, chrome.management, chrome.storage) but limited visibility outside it. It cannot enumerate Mac apps. It cannot read other process memory. It can call navigator.mediaDevices.getDisplayMedia to capture the screen, but the result is whatever Chrome got from macOS - which means whatever macOS' capture stack returned, with privacy-flagged windows filtered out. So extensions like Honorlock and Proctorio are powerful within Chrome but blind to system-level processes and unable to see the Fracture overlay's window.

No - Chrome's extension permissions are independent of macOS' permissions. The extension cannot grant itself privileged access.

That's chrome.management - it lists Chrome extensions, not Mac apps. Often used to detect competing AI-cheating extensions.

For OS-level checks (process enumeration, system fingerprint), yes. For browser-level checks (extension list, tab activity), the Chrome ext has the advantage.