VERIFIED ON MAC AI Overlay Guides

How Respondus Detects Other Devices on Mac

Updated October 2026 · 3 min read · Tested with LockDown Browser v2.1.6.01

Respondus LockDown Browser scans for "other devices" before and during the exam: external monitors, virtual machines, screen recorders, and certain peripherals. The scan is mostly process-name and OS-API based.

Pre-launch, Respondus enumerates running processes and compares against an internal blocklist (OBS, ScreenFlow, Camtasia, etc.). It calls IOKit to count attached displays (multi-monitor flag). It probes sysctl for hypervisor flags (VM detection). It may also enumerate Bluetooth peripherals and USB devices for some configurations. None of these touch screen content. Fracture is not a recorder, uses a per-build randomized identity (e.g., SystemDiagnostics, NetworkService) so process-name match fails, and does not require virtualization. The overlay's actual invisibility to capture is a separate mechanism (window privacy) that Respondus cannot probe for.

No. It enumerates running processes only.

Each Fracture build already has a random innocuous name. You do not need to rename manually.

It blocks launch and shows you a dialog. Most do not auto-report to the instructor; the student gets a chance to fix and retry.

The Safe macOS Solution

Need reference access during your exam?

Fracture runs a native floating overlay that sets the macOS window privacy flag. It is 100% excluded from screen capture feeds, window lists, and proctor recordings.

View Passes →