What Can Online Proctors Actually See on My Mac Screen?

Proctors can see whatever macOS' capture API hands them. That means: every visible window, the desktop, the menu bar, the dock, all of it. With one important exception: windows that have set the privacy flag.

When a proctor records or live-streams your screen, the request goes to ScreenCaptureKit (or its equivalents on older macOS), which assembles a frame from the compositor. The compositor consults each window's privacy flag. Windows marked private are removed from the frame; everything else is included. So the proctor sees: your exam content, your wallpaper, anything else you have open, your menu bar with running app indicators, your dock. They do NOT see: the overlay window (privacy-flagged), 1Password's autofill flyout (privacy-flagged), Apple's system password prompts (privacy-flagged).

Yes - banner notifications are not privacy-flagged. Disable notifications during exams or use Focus mode.

Only if their app is still running. Once they release control, they have no further access.

Anything you have visible is captured continuously while the proctor is recording.